What I find interesting is the role reversal of husband and wife. I can’t imagine that Komiko is happy with this. The passages about the beef and peppers had me laughing hysterically. There is a stigma in American culture about a man who relies on his wife for money, this stigma can only be ...

Suzanne thanks for the lovely information. Isnt that the brilliance of surrealism here. It isnt about whats true or false but about how it affects the reader.

The husband mentions very briefly that the wife was once pregnant, he says it so fast, its easy to miss. He spends more time talking about ...

"Such a Long Journey" by Rohinton Mistry.

Nope I haven't read that. Canadian or not - nine times out of ten I agree with your thesis about Indian books. And the one exception is in the vernacular. There is such a rich tradition there and it is a pity it isnt publicized as much. Then again I am ...

I've read three books by Indian writers and to me, they were the same thing. Life in India, the common man living in his common house in a city trying to live in a good life. I just find them super boring! But maybe I haven't read a wide enough variety to really judge. I am in general a fan of ...

Boy this chapter is better than the earlier one. It really has me hooked now. Suddenly here is a simple chapter on marriage - the mundane aspect of its daily existence and the sudden discoveries it sometimes throws up.

Also can someone corroborate about the horses? I didn't know they die in hoards ...

One word I have seen associated with Murakami often enough to catch attention is "surreal" and hence perhaps Kafka crops up often in such discussions.

I have read Metamorphosis and it absolutely got me. Did it fascinate? I am not sure. But it did strike. Kafka was the other surveyor of the modern ...

Just finished reading this chapter. It has the same feel about it like "Sophie's Choice" with the first person narrator.

I also like the way the urban figures in this chapter: the references it makes to a world where space is at a premium to telephonic sex. It is also a world whose culture is not ...

Thank you for the story.

The story, stylistically, reminded me of mirrors that look at each other. Here is a writer standing in front of the mirror under the title of the story and writing a story about writing that story. So yes, Murakami is a strong writer - a man who, in this story, comes ...

2 votes for Windup Bird Chronicle
1 vote for Book Kafka on the shore

Alright her are the reasons.

Murakami has piqued my interest ever since I knew he was the Japanese translator for Raymond Carver. The I read about Windup Bird Chronicle and bought it. Unfortunately, my friend borrowed it then ...