Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

About

Twenty-four stories spanning Haruki Murakami's career — from early work to pieces written specifically for this collection. A man's reflection tries to take control of him. A couple eats exquisite crab on holiday and something shifts between them. A monkey steals names. A woman vanishes and the only clue is a song. Murakami's short fiction distills what his novels do at length: it finds the seam where ordinary life opens onto something uncanny, and it stays there, watching, without insisting on explanation. The best introduction to Murakami for new readers, and for longtime fans, the confirmation that his strangest ideas often arrive in the smallest packages.