@PostIronic
I haven't heard much about Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World. How is it compared to Murakami's other books?
It's the first book of his I read, so it holds a special place in my heart for that. It's probably more "out there" than any of his books aside from 1Q84. But I like the blending of genres, from a sort of noir cyber-punk world, to a surreal fantasy realm. Postmodern Cityscape to Phantasmagorical dreamland. Kafka meets Blade Runner meets Lewis Carroll. It's like much of Murakami, with a sort of lack of emotion and passion from the characters, a very prosaic approach to everything in life, whether it be sex, eating, drinking, fighting for your life, etc. Everything seems to come across as ordinary.
It's not as developed as his later works
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (my favourite of his),
Kafka On The Shore,
1Q84. All three, are, in trying to be objective, better books. But it's still a favourite of mine, perhaps for nostalgic reasons alone. Any of those 4 though, and
Sputnik Sweetheart. One cannot go wrong.