Inside Murakami’s surreal and spellbinding literary universe

After DarkYou never forget your first Murakami Reading Norwegian Wood at 19 without a fully developed frontal lobe is an experience into itself For the readers who continue to pursue the magic of Murakami I would recommend trying the 2004 novel Between a city that never fully sleeps and a woman who never fully wakes up we explore a different side of Tokyo that comes to life after dark I enjoyed the prose more than the story at times It is easy to get lost in the worldbuilding that leaves you with more questions than answersGarima Bhatt marketing professionalWhat I Talk about When I Talk about RunningHaruki Murakamirsquos nonfiction gives us a sneak peek into his lifestyle If you are familiar with his magical realism then yoursquod be surprised to know how an optional act of suffering influences his writing One of the key lessons from his book about how lsquocreativity is a discipline and talent is limitedrsquo has busted my myth of a creative block A professional cannot afford having one I began running for my physical fitness but later it grew into me escaping reality momentarily His books reflect the same immersive experienceShraddha Pednekar interior designerKafka on the ShoreI like Murakamirsquos unconventional storytelling and masterful blend of reality and magical realism This novel is a great example I was especially taken by the themes of identity solitude and fate told through parallel stories that gradually intertwine in an unexpected way Its dreamlike atmosphere philosophical undertones and surreal imagery make it a compelling read I love all his works but this one especially stayed with meMalabi Das communications specialistKilling CommendatoreExperiencing transcendence into the literary realm of magical realism is what reading works of Haruki Murakami feels like mdash from his flappy short story collections to his chunky novels For me this 2017 novel stands out as a masterpiece Buckling up in a Subaru Forester accompanied by a nameless narrator a mysterious wealthy neighbour and an enigmatic idea and embarking on an uphill drive into a hauntingly isolated Japanese forest is an odyssey waiting to be explored This novel is indeed a piece of art a testament to Murakamirsquos unparalleled storytelling prowessAdwait Bhosale medical studentThe WindUp Bird ChronicleI was away from home for the first time and it was serendipitous to have my first Murakami novel fill my days while working on Wes Andersonrsquos Darjeeling Limited My loneliness and my weirdness found a friend in Murakami He makes the ordinary and the mundane magical and dark and sees people as deep wells you never know what will float up Microwaving rice pudding became a mystery under a lid I wanted to be May Kasahara and Toru and the well I am pieces of them all The chapter lsquoThe Story of the Monkeys on Shitty Islandrsquo is a cautionary tale till dateTess Joseph casting directorColorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of PilgrimageIrsquod recommend this and A Wild Sheep Chase as they both spoke to me at different emotional periods in my life At different times they felt like they understood me What stood out to me about this novel was how normal Tsukurursquos loneliness felt He isnrsquot broken or dramatic hersquos just going through life carrying unanswered questions and that felt very real to me I remember finishing the book and feeling strangely calm like it had put words to something I hadnrsquot fully processed yetManjyot Singh IT professionalA Wild Sheep ChaseNorwegian Wood was my first Murakami I had found it in a bookstore once at the airport and Irsquod liked the gist at the back of the book Irsquom so glad I picked it up since itrsquos a great Murakami starter My personal favourite though was the third book in the Trilogy of the Rat it was Murakami at his peak The story the characters the setting the end mdash everything works well The character of the Rat really spoke to me He enters towards the end and has some wonderful lines and ideas especially about how fleeting life really isUdit Gor chartered accountantAvailable Leading bookstores amp estores