Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami

This is a book of short stories from the great Japanese writer. This selection includes Tony Takitani, which has been made into a film, Firefly, which was incorporated into the novel Norwegian Wood (which was itself, recently made into a film) and Man-eating Cats, which was incorporated into the novel Sputnik Sweetheart.


I have to admit that although I enjoyed most of these stories, I didn't find any of them as brilliant as the best of Murakami's writing (for example his other short story collection The Elephant Vanishes or the novel Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World).


I think my favourite story in this collection is Where I'm Likely to Find it, where the protagonist volunteers to help a woman find out what happened to her lost husband. This is the story that has for me the greatest combination of insight and quirkiness, which is the most satisfying part of Murakami's best writing.


I also really enjoyed A Shinagawa Monkey, in which a talking monkey is discovered as having been responsible for stealing people's names.



Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami published by Vintage

For the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge