Wind / Pinball
Hear the Wind Sing (Novelette, 1979)
The first novel of Haruki Murakami and the first published novel of Murakami, and the first volume of the ‘trilogy of the Rat’.
This novel is composed of fragments of descriptions of 1970 and past (childhood and school years) by the narrator on 1979, and reflections and tales of the narrator. This story are composed of 40 chapter fragments and begins August 8 and ends August 28 1970. It’s only a record of boring summer days of an adolescence. Also the nattator told his memories and way of life, and his thought and method about literature and writing while referring to Derek Hartfield (an imaginary writer).
-Note | Who is Derek Hartfield?
Pinball, 1973 (Novelette, 1980)
The second novel by Haruki Murakami, and the second volume of the “Trilogy of the Rat”. This novel is composed of fragments. This fragments are composed of 25 chapters and consisted of 3 separated main plots as the private life with mysterious twins, the translation work in a private office and the adventure look for the space ship pinball machine.
A Wild Sheep Chase (Long Novel, 1982)
The third novel by Haruki Murakami, the last volume of the “Trilogy of the Rat” and the first full-length novel of Murakami. Former his two novels are anti-novel and anti-literature attempts. But, Murakami’s full-scale modern urban adventure, his grand narrative and his real literal career began by this novel.
Norwegian Wood (Long Novel, 1987)
Haruki Murakami's 5th long novel and his first romance novel. But this novel is an unusual and mysterious romance story.
Sputnik Sweetheart (Long Novel, 1999)
This novel ninth long novel by Haruki Murakami, and the third romance novel follows Norwegian Wood and South of the Border, West of the Sun, originally published in 1999. But he has not written a romance long novel again until now. Also, this novel is an unusual romance novel that describes today’s persons who have no existence or reality who can’t fall in love really, seriously and passionately.
Sumire is a close friend of mine. She dropped the university at her sophomore year to become a novelist. And she visited my apartment on weekends, she showed me her manuscripts. I love her, but she didn’t have love feeling for me. At a time, she came across a merchant lady Miu, she became an assistant of Miu, then Sumire couldn’t write a novel.
Miu and Sumire went to France and Italy on business, on their way home, they dropped in a Greek island as a vacation. At the Greek island, Sumire suddenly disappeared. I went to the Greek island requested by Miu, but we can’t find Sumire. A day, I found two texts in a floppy disk written by Sumire…
After the Quake (Short Stories, 2000)
A short stories book by Haruki Murakami published in 2000. The quake seems to be the Great Hanshin earthquake, appears on or relates all stories. And, the quake is a thing make people’s minds change, or person’s mental hurt and trauma emerged from it.
Kafka on the Shore (Long Novel, 2002)
After Dark (Long Novel, 2004)
An experimental 18 chapters long novel describes occurrences during a long midnight by the objective third person viewpoint. In this novel, Murakami splendidly described situation, state, atmosphere and communication in the network and global age and the 00’s internet and cellphone era. The era of which people connect through the internet and cellphones, and meet at third place such as family restaurant, convenience store and Starbucks café as points of networks.
At autumn midnight, in Shibuya, a 19 years old boyish and innocent girl, a student of the University of Foreign Studies, Mari Asai was reading a thick book at Denny’s. Her sister’s ex-classmate Tetsuya Takahashi found her and shared the table with her. Then Kaoru, the manager of a love hotel, Alphaville, got her to speak and help a Chines prostitute girl, Dongli who was ruined and robbed of her belongings.
Simultaneously, Mari’s older sister Eri Asai who had been slept for two months was shut into the room in a TV screen by the Man with No Face, and suffered meaningless violence…
Mari had grown by to come across night people, Takahashi, Kaoru, Korogi and a bartender. In the morning she got back home, got into Eri’s bed…
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (Long Novel, 2014)
A middle scale long novel published after a voluminous and grand work, 1Q84.
In his high school years in Nagoya, Tsukuru Tazaki, two boys Aka and Ao and two girls Kuro and Shiro made a perfect harmonious group. Tsukuru had no outstanding characteristics and ability but he consisted an inevitable part of the five. And only Tsukuru went to a university in Tokyo, the rest four stayed in Nagoya.
In the summer vacation of Tsukuru’s sophomore year, he was refused to see by four anyhow. And he had been thought about passing away and had an odd sensation for half a year.
When he was thirty six years old, his girlfriend Sara Kimoto suggested to see other four and to solve his emotional problem.
Men Without Women (Short Stories, 2014)
Novelist as a Profession (Essay, 2015)
An essay treats the themes of novelist, literature and writing, an it’s not a usual “how to write a novel” book at all. On this essay Murakami only told his experiences, way of life, thought and policy about novel and literature honestly, and invites readers to spontaneously write a novel.
Killing Commendatore (Long Novel, 2017)
Horned Owl Spreads Its Wings Only With the Falling of the Dusk (Haruki Murakami A Long, Long Interview) with Mieko Kawakami (Interview, 2017)
Abandoning a Cat, When I Talk About My Father (Essay, 2020)
An essay by Haruki Murakami, about his family history especially his father. And it’s not only and usual essay, but also has a story and is like a novelette take up his family history and his fundamental experiments.
First Person Singular: Stories (Short Stories, 2020)
A short story collection is consist of eight short stories. Descriptions of each of the stories are wrote by simple first person singular noun and its view. So the stories appears to be made by real personal experiences, and their mysterious occurrences have a certain reality.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls (Long Novel, 2023)
-Symmary Synopsis & Book Review
-Résumé & Commentaire de livre
Movies Based on Works of Haruki Murakami
Summary & Review | Tony Takitani
Other / Autre / Andere
Haruki Murakami Made a Speech at An Entrance Ceremony of Waseda University
Haruki Murakami a prononcé un discours lors d’une cérémonie d’entrée à l’Université Waseda
Related Posts and Pages
Works of / Œuvre de / Werke von Paul Auster
Œuvre de / Works of / Werke von Jean-Philippe Toussaint
YouTube Haruki Murakami Commentary Playlist
YouTube Literature & Philosophy Channel
List of Poetry Translations
(English, Français, Deutsch, Español, Italiano)