The short story seems to be a lost or dying art, perhaps because there are not so many outlets for them any more. Or perhaps because I just don't know where to look. In any case I was happy to find a collection of Murakami's short stories. I like his novels, but sometimes I end up feeling wrung out and lost by the time I'm done with them. Some of the short stories are just as confusing, but they are quickly done. And he is such a good writer that the ones that click can be re-read many times. (The Fall of the Roman Empire... and Barn Burning respectively)

Many of the stories fall into the contemporary/urban fantasy category his novels typically inhabit (TV People, The Little Green Monster), but some of them are timeless/placeless character studies full of the rich interior monologue that Murakami does so well (The Last Lawn of the Afternoon).

There are also pieces that are taken from, or are stepping stones to his novels, such as the opening story The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women, which is pretty much the opening chapters of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Others, like The Dancing Dwarf feel like they were taken from fairy tales (maybe The Red Shoes and Cinderella, or something specifically Japanese) and given a Murakami twist (a factory that *makes elephants*?)

Sometimes a name will come up repeatedly, like Noboru Watanabe, but applied to such different characters that they can't actually be the same person & Murakami is just playing with the name and who it might be. That or connections are far deeper and more subtle than I can fathom.

All in all, a nice collection with more good than bad. And the beauty of short bad stories is that the end and a new beginning is not far off. ( )

click for review ( )

Murakami showcases the prenultimate short story. I actually enjoyed these more than his full length novels.Interestingly, the same names appear ... so one is given a glimpse of his novel's characters outside of their novels. The first story is excerpted from Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. And if you haven't read this yet, well, I guess you will want to after having read this anthology! ( )

It’s a collection of 17 short stories mostly describing the ordinary lives of people of twenty five to thirty something, into which in some cases permeate bits and pieces of what seems to be other dimensions of reality. Those interferences are all invasive and they radically change the characters’ lives.
Not bad, no Murakami is ever bad, but I don’t think short stories are his real forte. Most of the stories seem to be more of the stepping stones into his novels anyway. ( )

More hit than miss, but not many bullseyes either. Haruki Murakami's collection of short stories is a must for fans of the Japanese author (myself included), but probably not a good starting point for anyone wanting to learn why he seems to have attracted a legion of dedicated followers. The usual ingredients of Murakami's novels are all here, but in too brief a form to be anywhere near as captivating. ( )