First heard of Murakami when an ex-girlfriend read 1Q84, but my initial reaction to reading a few pages was finding it boring. Recently, old SEer jewypez sent me a copy of HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD. I'm gonna take it with me on my trip to Japan for something to read on the trains.

Do that. 1Q84 is a bit more slow burn, but it blows your mind by the end. Pure Murakami. Wind Up Bird Chronicle is similar (there is a scene early in that book that almost had me hyperventilating it was so well written. Breathtaking).Kafka on the Shore - holy shaved and lubed fuckballs, that thing is amazing. Pretty much all of his stuff is other-level excellent.

I remember finishing my first Murakami (A wild Sheep Chase) and being super happy that I knew I had found a writer I loved to bits, and I had a whole back-list to read. That is a fine and giddy feeling. I'm hoping you might experience something similar.

Wild Sheep chase was amazing but I don’t know if it is because I lived near that area for a long time and it was an old haunt.

So...yeah, have been digging through boxes to get all my Murakami books out into the light.

Thanks for the reminder, chaps - I'm going to enjoy this.