The Running Novelist (2008)

newyorker.com

13 pointschitofan3 comments

I believe this is a direct quotation from Murakami's memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. The whole book is worth a read, especially if you liked this article.

If you want to read an actual novel by him, I highly recommend 1Q84, which is an engaging and somewhat surreal story.

So this may just be a question of taste, but I don't feel that 1Q84 is the most accessible of Murakami's novels. Norwegian Wood is probably a more typical entry point, or else Kafka On the Shore, or his latest book, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

I believe that the Strange Library (2014) is his latest book, but yes, Norwegian Wood or Kafka on the Shore would be a great entry point. Really, anything but 1Q84.

One thing to note is that Norwegian Wood is perhaps his most "normal" book. His other books have a distinct surrealist undertone that might be hit-or-miss to some readers (like how he mentions in the article).

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