Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

I got my book for less than I could elsewhere. it was a good first experience with overstock.com

* If you like to read International author's and postmodern fiction, you will want to get to know Murakami, the most popular writer in Japan. He has won many International awards for his novels and short stories. * Some people say that Haruki Murakami is hard to read and difficult to understand. This has not been my experience. When I read him I do pay attention yet his imaginative writing and creative characters take me to the worlds he invents, and I like his worlds. * The best novel to start with is EAST OF THE SUN, SOUTH OF THE BORDER. This is a nice love story that will introduce many Murakami themes: the fragility of love, the role of chance in our lives, the silence within great intimacy, and the enjoyment of life. * Next, you can read some of his short story collections (Sleeping Willow, Blind Woman) or go to THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE. This is his major novel to date, and I took my time reading it. That's just me. WIND-UP BIRD is about a married couple (30-ish) whose cat disappears. The wife reallys pines for the cat, and her husband tries to locate the cat. (Murakami adores cats and jazz!) 600 pages later the cat has not been found but what a search/journey it was. While reading this book I laughed out loud, and I almost cried. Once you have read this novel, you can't forget it. * Someday soon, I think Murakami will get a Nobel Prize for Literature. I hope he does: He's a great writer, and he has transformed modern Japanese fiction forever. * He taught at a univeristy in the United States for about four years. Two terrible events prompted him to return to Tokyo: The release of serin gas in the Toyko underground system by a cult group which harmed thousands of people, the terrible earthquake that hit Kobe in 1995, killing nearly 7,000 people. * Open any book by Haruki Murakami and you will find yourself in a strange world where people really do love each other. I read his new novels as fast as I can buy a copy. Best Wishes.