For those who have enjoyed and finished this book, I thought I'd mention a few other of Murakami's works.

"Kafka on the Shore" is the one I've read most recently. It was a really interesting and bizarre novel, more along the lines of the abstract and the random feeling of "this MEANS something". It gets quite peculiar, and the ending answers pretty much nothing, whereas usually I feel at least some closure. I would recommend this title to anyone who wants to follow the more bizarre thoughts of this quirky writer. It's about a boy self-named Kafka who runs away from home and finds another place and space of mind. Woven through this story is another tale of Nakata, an old man who can talk to cats and has other strange encounters.

"Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" is my other favourite book of his (beside "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle"). It's the book that got me off science fiction and into general fiction - it's a good "gateway" book. I always fight with myself about which book I like better. This book follows the narrator in a near future environment where he's a mental storage bank for data (sort of like the concept behind Johnny Mnemonic). A companion narrative is his dreamlife, that follows through consistently, bring the question of which life is real.

The other really popular book by him is probably "Norwegian Wood". At the very least, it's the book I most hear people have read by him that isn't "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle". I read it so long ago that I forget most of it. I try to forget his books purposefully, so I can read them again and enjoy them all anew! However, I recall this story being more mellow and nostalgic.

If anyone wants to read any of these (or any other of his works), please feel free to start up a topic about it. I hope you won't be let down because you started with the best of his works, but I think regardless they are all interesting and worth reading, even if not as stellar as Wind-Up Bird. I savour each of his books, and I'm eagerly awaiting his next title to be translated into English (1Q84).