[cuchulain]

Strange. Murakami's recent novel won almost universal praise. But I didn't like it nearly as much as his earlier work. Have been reading him for some time, now. Pretty much everything I could get my hands on. Only one I haven't read is his Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I believe. Which many fans think is his best. Saving that for last . . . .

I prefer Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood to Kafka on the Shore. Wild Sheep Chase is wonderful as well. As is Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Though it's probably the most devoid of irony and humor. Perhaps the "coldest" of his books.

An excellent companion book is Jay Rubin's Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words. He's one of Murakami's translators, and does an excellent job discussing its difficulty.