Almost Transparent Blue (限りなく透明に近いブルー) is a novel by Japanese author Ryu Murakami, published in 1976. Ryu Murakami (村上龍 Murakami RyÅ«, born 19 February 1952 in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan) is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. ...

Murakami submitted the novel to the literary magazine Gunzo's debutant contest, in which it won the first prize. It also won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize the same year. The Akutagawa Prize (芥川龍之介賞 Akutagawa Ryūnosuke Shō) is Japans most prestigious literary award. ...

The novel is focused on a group of young people in a Japanese town with an American military base. Their lives are focused around sex (to a degree making parts of the novel similar to pornography), drugs and rock 'n roll. The storyline is very dark, including violence, overdoses, suicide and a dissatisfaction with the way of life the characters have ended up with. Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφια pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) (also informally referred to as porn, porno, pron or pr0n) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... A drug overdose occurs when a chemical substance (i. ... The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David, 1787 Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life; it is sometimes a noun for one who has committed or attempted the act. ...