"Barn Burning" by Haruki Murakami

“Barn Burning”, one of the short stories from the book “The Elephant Vanishes” by Haruki Murakami engages the reader from a distinct and uncanny perspective throughout the story. A married thirty-one-year-old man meets a young woman and they get to see each other in a friendly approach occasionally. They enjoy being together and they share a mutual, intelligible relationship. Especially the girl has no one to talk to as honestly as the man and eventually they need to escape from the real life concerns.

However, the story’s conflicting point starts when the girl’s boyfriend is introduced. This man says, in one of the dialogues between the main character and him, that he has a guilty pleasure about burning the barns around the town. He also mentions that the barns are already useless and he does not even hurt and damage any living. The idea hits him hard and he wants to learn more about the logic behind the burning action namely the urge behind it. There is no obvious reason or clear conclusion about the burning issue in the story but somehow the reader can solve and interpret the ending in their own way. It could be like an act of revenge and aggression towards oneself or someone, a reaction, a conflict or a relief that the man experiences. It’s also interesting that the protagonist wants to justify his acts about burning or he could feel some suspicion.

Speaking of doubt, the short story also has a 2018 adaptation film: “Burning” by Lee Chang-dong, in Turkish “Şüphe”. The film itself is shaped around the protagonist and his suspicion against the girl and her boyfriend and due to the overt feelings of distrust and fear so, in the film version he prepares the boyfriend’s end by burning his car and obviously him. As in the story, he couldn’t find the burning barns but he also tries to cope with those emotions such as jealousy after indirectly being cheated by the girl. He doesn’t get over and doesn’t accept the situation therefore the aggression and bravery generate a new form of conclusion in comparison with the story.

Both the original Japanese version of the story and the film mention Faulkner when the protagonist reads one of his books. He is also the creator of the first “Barn Burning” story which was published in 1939, that’s why maybe Murakami couldn’t have passed without mentioning him.