Underground

What happens when an unthinkable act of terror shatters the illusion of safety in a modern metropolis? Discover the human stories behind the 1995 Tokyo gas attack, a tragedy that changed Japan forever and revealed the hidden cracks in its society. Through intimate, firsthand interviews with survivors and members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, you'll go beyond the headlines to understand the personal impact of extremism. Murakami’s powerful investigation explores the ordinary lives caught in an extraordinary nightmare, forcing you to confront the nature of good, evil, and collective trauma.

Haruki Murakami is one of the world's most acclaimed novelists, whose work explores themes of alienation and the surreal lurking beneath everyday life in contemporary Japan. Following the 1995 Tokyo gas attack, he felt compelled to step away from fiction to interview victims and perpetrators, seeking to understand the human stories behind the tragedy. This journalistic endeavor, translated by Alfred Birnbaum, provides a powerful, non-fictional account of an event that deeply scarred the Japanese psyche and revealed a profound national vulnerability.