Reviews
"A true miscellany [or] more like one of those overstuffed, career-spanning CD box sets…[But] the tales seem to speak with one, very seductive, voice. That voice, in each of these wildly varied excursions into the strange, dim territory of the self, says that someone named Haruki Murakami is still looking, quixotically, for something less fragile, less provisional than the usual accommodations we make do with on the road." --Terrence Rafferty,New York Times Book Review "A virtuosic demonstration of Murakami's incredible range . . . thrilling, funny, sad, moving, scary--all at once. Since 1980, the year Haruki Murakami wrote his first short story, the Japanese author has been a walking definition of genius . . . He is a master of tone, and can manipulate a reader's curiosity at will, [and he] approaches the large subjects indirectly, through mood and bizarre occurrences, and always trusts his reader to be moved." --John Freeman,Atlanta Journal-Constitution "In this extraordinary new story collection by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, reality is ever in danger of breaking loose of its moorings . . . The inconsequential registers as significant in these wonderful stories as people struggle to figure out how to be, and what 'normal' means, if anything." --Joan Mellen,Baltimore Sun "Blind Willow, Sleeping Womanis a satisfying, entertaining collection [and] a solid introduction to the eclectic talents of this master storyteller." --Robert Allen Papinchak,The Seattle Times "Murakami effortlessly conjures modern fairy tales that dazzle . . . These stories are full of wisdom, wrenching us into understanding our innermost impulses by confronting us with the unexpected." --Geoffrey Bateman,Rocky Mountain News "Murakami's writing perfectly captures the way surreal, even seemingly supernatural, encounters can subtly alter the terrain of everyday life." --Sara Cardace,Washington Post Book World "Chance on this writer, and you're lucky . . . Each of these tales is delightfully entertaining, a pleasure to read and to ponder at one's leisure. And believe me, they do stick with you, creeping back into consciousness at the oddest moments, giving rise, quite out of the blue, to yet another surprising insight . . . Read through a selection or two, and you likely will be hooked [on] one of the most fascinating, playful literary minds around." --Lee Makela,Cleveland Plain Dealer "Whimsical, magical, daring or sometimes played with the mute in the bell of the trumpet . . . the best of these linger far beyond the reading of them, creating an aura about the world that for many of us just wasn't present before we read them. " --Alan Cheuse,Chicago Tribune "As beautiful and metaphysical as anything Murakami, an artist who's at the top of his form, has offered in the past . . . The tales inBlind Willow, Sleeping Womanstrike a gripping balance between the bizarre and wise [as] empirical reality is bluntly scrutinized, if not entirely undermined . . . He's the rare sort of artist who not only creates uncanny landscapes but effortlessly ferries you through them." --Dan Lopez,Time Out New York "Mysterious and evanescent . . . [The] stories inBlind Willow, SleepingWoman juxtapose the deeply bizarre with the mundane [as] Murakami explores the loneliness of spaghetti, man-eating cats, romantic alienation, and eyeless, cake-obsessed crows . . . [A] dexterous story collection that illustrates the range and vitality of the genre." --Jennifer Reese,Entertainment Weekly "Murakami's first collection of stories in more than a decad, "A warning to new readers of Haruki Murakami: You will become addicted. . . . His newest collection is as enigmatic and sublime as ever." -San Francisco Chronicle "Whimsical, magical, daring or sometimes played with the mute in the bell of the trumpet. . . . The best of these linger far beyond the reading of them." -Chicago Tribune "Murakami's writing perfectly captures the way surreal, even seemingly supernatural, encounters can subtly alter the terrain of everyday life." -Washington Post Book World "This collection shows Murakami at his dynamic, organic best. . . . InBlind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Murakami demonstrates brilliantly the perils of trying to squeeze life into prefabricated compartments." -Los Angeles Times Book Review, "A warning to new readers of Haruki Murakami: You will become addicted. . . . His newest collection is as enigmatic and sublime as ever." - San Francisco Chronicle "Whimsical, magical, daring or sometimes played with the mute in the bell of the trumpet. . . . The best of these linger far beyond the reading of them." - Chicago Tribune "Murakami's writing perfectly captures the way surreal, even seemingly supernatural, encounters can subtly alter the terrain of everyday life." - Washington Post Book World "This collection shows Murakami at his dynamic, organic best. . . . In Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman , Murakami demonstrates brilliantly the perils of trying to squeeze life into prefabricated compartments."- Los Angeles Times Book Review
