Favourite Author: Haruki Murakami - Tips to get started & mini reviews 

Murakami's books give me a feeling I can't describe or find in any other author's works. Every Murakami you read feels like coming home to a surreal world that feels weirdly like home. Kafka on the Shore is my favorite, maybe because it was the first one of his works that I read, it introduced me to his magical world.

Remember to listen to jazz while reading his novels!

my first Murakami was Kafka On The Shore and it was life changing

Top favourites by MURAKAMI- 1. The Wind up Bird Chronicle 2. The Wild Sheep chase 3. After Dark 4. Kafka on the Shore 5. Norwegian Wood ❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍

My first Murakami book was "Norwegian Wood"

I started with Kafka on the Shore after the Ted Ed video on it. Life changing read.

murakami books ranked (of the ones i've read) 1. 1Q84 2. Norwegian Wood 3. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 4. Killing Commendatore 5. A Wild Sheep Chase 6. Kafka on the Shore 7. Wind/Pinball I would also rank his nonfiction memoir pretty high up there.

My favorite is Colorless Tsukuru tazaki and his years of pilgrimage

I’m halfway through Wind-up Bird Chronicle. I love the unpredictability and highly imaginative storyline. Especially the exploration of the meaning and depth of life and death. Also, the very flawed aspects of being a human life form.

such a lovely video, got me even more excited to read more by him (you described norwegian wood excellently)

Great video thank you I love Kafka on the shore it’s just amazing. The story the imagination the idea ! I love magical realism and this one of the best books of this category

I enjoy watching your videos.Keep going!

Thanks much for the video!! I'd love to read all of these! 💗

I have read 6 of his books. I love him. He is so weird, I am in love with his writing style. Right now I am reading his Hard Boiled Wonderland and the end of the world. I am enjoying the book.

Nice Disney pillow in the background!

today I learnt about magical realism. today was a good day. thank you

Yay he's my favourite too! I'm reading Kafka on the Shore this month and Norwegian Wood is my all time fave :)

Picked up wind-up bird because of the cover, definitely don’t regret it! haha

1Q84 - one more observation. Murakami made several book/author references. Chekhov, for example. I found that interesting and it made me wonder about those other books/authors, and I couldn't help but imagine that Murakami may have read those books or heard about them, which to me adds to the intimacy of 1q84 as if Murakami is sharing something personal.

My first was/is Wild Sheep Chase. It’s quite amazing. Lol. Very strange but I got used to it halfway through. And now it’s one of my favorite books.

watching this after having finished norwegian wood. i can’t get over it, what an experience. midori kobayashi ❤️

Hello there~ I was actually recommended your video when I was going through the comments on my own video about this very same topic! I find it really funny how we have the same suggestion of "Norwegian Wood" as a great starting point, but I personally recommended Kafka as another starting point because I thought it was one of his easier books to follow - while I said Wind Up Bird should be saved for after getting used to him! And while Kafka was good, I loved Wind up Bird the most out of all his books:) Colorless Tsukuru I actually just finished today, but I agree it's a WONDERFUL place to start with Murakami to get a pretty normal story with just a flavor of his weirdness. It's always so interesting to see people talk about Murakami because everyone I've met seems to think of him differently!

The first two you mention are the first two I’ve read. I am very fond of Colorless Tsukuru. Very symbolic.

I've read 'Birthday Girl's & 'The Strange Library' but yet to read a full fledged Murakami book. Thanks for this video...now I know where to start!

I'm so surprised you weren't such a fan of Wind Up Bird Chronicle! It was the first one I read and is one of my favorites up there with Kafka On The Shore and Hard Boiled Wonderland.

Very nice reviews. Thanks.

The first book that introduced me to Murakami was The wind up bird chronicle,ever since then he is my favourite contemporary author🥰

Currently in my sophomore year of high school and I used to dislike reading because I never really got anything out of it? I just never found a good book. Then, I bumped into Kafka on the shore. I’m currently almost done with it. I only need like 8 chapters and I love it! I’m a tad bit confused and I’m probably going to reread it like 5 times over the summer. This really helped me to think about what to read next. His writing style really interests me.

Sputnick Sweetheart is cool too!

I love weird! Wind Up Bird was my first. If someone is interested in Murakami, why start with a more ‘vanilla’ novel? I’d say jump into a weird one and see what he can do!

Loved the Sheep book and 1Q84 was unable to put down. Was neat to read these while actually being in Japan too. Thanks for the recommendations on his others. I’ve got Kafka on the ashore on deck.

A relative just gifted me Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. These will be my first time reading Japanese lit. Any thoughts on them? :)

My first book was 1Q84 the three of them, i couldn’t stop reading once i started it was that good then read the colorless guy (takazuki or smth like that), then underground , after the quake, these three weren’t the best , then i read kafka on the shore and DAMN that book was so beautiful 😍 I m now reading the elephant vanishes, it looks as weird so i will hopefully like it

Great review thanks

for me Hard Boiled is #1, followed by Kafka On The Shore & Wind-Up Bird. Also think Dance, Dance, Dance is underrated (plot is lacking, but it's one of his best written books) and Absolutely On Music is amazing if you like classical music.

I’m getting 4 of his books for Christmas so I’m going to have a BLAST.

My first murakami Kafka on the shore I enjoyed it

My first was After Dark which i loved so much. I then read The Rat series, and watched Norwegian Wood (film) and THEN read the book which was beautiful. I took a break away from him and since then I've read: Men Without Women, The Elephant Vanishes, Birthday Girl, Desire (Vintage Mini), The Strange Library (My favourite!) and next on my list is Sputnik Sweetheart!!

where do you get that books? I want to collect that uk edition

Norwegian Wood is the first novel that I read. I had finished Kafka on the Shore few days. It full of mysteries and riddles to me. Next book, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

My first Murakami is Sputnik Sweetheart. Next is Norwegian Wood, I'm reading it now. Then I'll move on to Kafka on the Shore.

Norwegian woods is my favourite book

May I please know what is the name of the edition of the Wind Up Bird Chronical?

From what I have read- 1. Wild Sheep Chase 2. Dance Dance Dance 3. Kafka on the Shore 4. Norwegian Wood 5. Hear the Wind Sing

I had to put the book down for a few minutes while reading the graphic cat scenes in Kafka haha, it felt too visceral

I have followed a number of your reviews (Murakami, Gaiman and few more). You should consider making a best magical realism books video. :-)

For me, the trick to writing a novel, or shall I say elements, is the same as music. First, there must be a rhythm. Then you need harmony. And improvisation. These three elements are extremely crucial for me. - Haruki Murakami-

Just read 1Q84 (1 & 2), my first Murakami book. Amazing. Loved the writing style; it felt natural and alluring. English translation was quite good. Patience - his prose required patience from me, not because i found them difficult - quite the opposite. Rather I found them detailed and intricate, each scene carefully, meticulously crafted. Multiple references to music I found fun and exciting. Multiple references to sex, not really. The theme of love, uplifting. How he depicted death - tolerable. Inscrutable - he seems to like that word. I'll never forget this book, one of my all-time favorites.

Thank you for the list! I love their covers. Brazilian covers are boring, I wish we had such beautiful ones here. Where do you live?

Hi! I was wondering what the title is of the red book behind you with the characters on it? It caught my eye the entire video and I’d love to look into it. Loved your video of Murakami, he is one of my absolute favorite authors!

Kafka On The Shore is the place to start: the deep end. I started with The Wind/Pinball combo, silly me

where did you get that style of covers? (like the norwegian wood cover) ive been looking it up and i cant find any.

Great video. He's also my favourite author. My favourite novel is 'Hardboiled wonderland and the end of the world.' If you like his style you should check out Etgar Keret's 'Missing Kissinger.' They are quite similar. I hated the Norwegian Wood movie by the way. I felt they missed out on such a great opportunity. Midori, for example, lost all of her charisma in the film. The movie was beautiful to look at with the great scenery but the story was weak. :(

My fave was the wind up bird chronicle and I always thought of it as his masterpiece but Killing commandatore really surprised me so I don't Know which one is my fave

Nice sharing, thanks. I am planning to start reading Murakami’s work. But the problem is I am already so introvert and sensitive to touching and sadness,and easy to live the life of the characters in the story for a certain time. That is the reason why I keep delaying reading his work. I am afraid of being obsessed with the sadness in his story, so I am not sure if I should read N. Woods though I really want it . Can I ask in my case, which one is good for me to start, maybe the work with more delighted story? Thank you

How do i get this paper back copy of Norwegian wood

I'm hesitant with Kafka on the Shore coz of some strange cat scenes as some people say 😂

I'm used to anime logic and imma start with Kafka on the shore and I think I'll be fine 😂😂😂

What do you think about (1Q48) ?

My first book was South of the border west of the sea... Now I am reading Kafka on the shore... I really can't get into other writer's work after after reading his work😭... So better continue with his book.. I love it tbh

hey, why dont you use whitenoises as your bgm?! try once!!!

I read wind/pinball first and enjoyed the concept, but getting through it was quite the plight. I was also caught off guard at the multiple mentions of Adolf Hitler that didn’t really seem to fit into the content. Didn’t realize that it wasn’t a good one to start with until after I finished it.

Wierd I started with Kafka on the shore which really confused me then moved onto wind up bird which I’m reading rn idk if I should be reading in this order

I want read Haruki Murakami and others Japanese authors.

After watching this video as i search for recommendations for good authors, i searched his name and then a korean movie pop up. The title is "burning" with a-lister actors and good review will be showing based on his works.. I think i gotta search him more :)

First Murakami - Norwegian Wood :)

my first was Play,play,play...

I'm surprised that you didn't talk about 1Q84. Have you not read it? I'd like to know your opinions on it.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is my favourite murakami :( 😞😓😩 😥 it was the only murakami book I really liked now I think about it

個人的にはアフターダークが好きかも。

This is a wonderful video. Rare to hear people speak English so well on RU-vid. Isn't that a sad thing to have typed? The death of language and increasingly poor communication on social media is genuinely depressing to me. Thank you for lifting me up today with this terrific video. I also agree with something you said near the start of the video by way of an aside: when you're reading Japanese literature either IN Japan or after you've BEEN to Japan it's a much richer experience. It really is. :)

She looks like that author fan from misery 😱😱 Run Haruki Run

For readers new to Murakami, what is the best book to start with ?

What’s the red book behind you? The one that’s written 台所

I wouldn’t say Norwegian wood film was true to the book 👀

I see you have kitchen and the devotion of suspect X. Hopefully your love of Japanese fiction is still going on with convenience store woman and before the coffee gets cold. Thank you for your posts

I’m not a big fan of Haruki Murakami. Still, I love “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World”. That is a well-made fantasy for adults.

I thought it was a girl’s name, but by 50 pages into 1Q84 it became obvious this was written by a man. lol loving it

i recommend you to read men without women for him

So, if instead of fish falling from the sky, it was turtles, and if instead of talking cats, it was talking dogs, would it make any difference? If not, why fish? Why cats? What is the meaning of these symbols. If it is completely opaque I have no use for it.

Norwegian wood is the worst book to start with, it's the least Haruki style. I recomend to star with colorless because it's a hybrid of fantasy and alternate reality and real and straight forward.

Kafka was a weird writer

I actually find Murakami's books very boring. I would rather read Keiichiro Hirano which I think is a way more interesting author.