c03n3nj0 said:
Asriel said:
Chunli said:
OHHH!!!! Murakami is awesome!!
I read 1Q84 and loved it but I was so dissapointed in the ending. So many things were left unexplained. Like the "Little People" etc.
I read Norwegian Wood and loved it too but not as much as 1Q84. I just felt that Book 3 in 1Q84 was so rushed and urgggh..if only things were explained much better.
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I haven't read IQ84 yet, though I will at some point. If you're already familiar with him, I'd highly recommend Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. They straddle the boundary between being enjoyable, accessible, yet surreal, better than any modern book I've read. If you found the lack of explanation/closure in 1Q84 frustrating, I think those two would be perfect for you. Kafka on the Shore might be one of my all-time favourite books.
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Both of youse! (And whoever else wants to share something.)
I've actually heard of Murakami and was considering reading one of his books. I have no idea what to expect, though. Is his surrealness a turn-off for a first-time reader?
I'm basically asking which book I should start with. :P (But hey, don't feel like you can't recommend any of the real good stuff).
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Everything I've read of his I've really enjoyed, honestly, it's just that Hard-Boiled Wonderland was simultaneously the most surreal and least favourite book of his I've read yet, so I'm not sure how to judge his output based on that.
I would start with Norwegian Wood or South of the Border West of the Sun. Both are very naturalistic, but introduce key ideas, tropes and themes that Murakami explores across his literature. They're also both excellent books. If you enjoy them, I can't recommend The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Kafka on the Shore highly enough. I couldn't put down any Murakami book I've picked up, but the impact of those two novels was particularly profound for me. I think he's really, genuinely worth checking out, and like I said, Norwegian Wood and South of the Border are both great places to start. Norwegian Wood was his first novel, so that's where I started.
