A collection of short stories. About, well, men without women. The German translation is already available, the English one out in May 2017. Great stuff.
- Kafaku, a widowed actor, has lost his driver's licence and is relying on a young female driver, Misaki. He begins telling how he started meeting his deceased wife's lover to talk about his late spouse.
- Kitaru, a young Japanese studying to be admitted to university, asks his friend Tanimura to take out his long-term girlfriend Erika for a date. On the date, Erika explains the problem of being together with somebody one has known all life long. A couple of weeks later, Kitaru disappears. Sixteen years later, Erika and Tanimura meet again. It turns out Kitaru left Tokyo and later Japan after Erika had had an affair with another man.
- Dr. Tokai, a middle-aged succesful plastic surgeon and happy bachelor, has been together with dozens of women, but never with a serious intention to get married. When he finally falls in love with a woman, this sets in motion a process of physical and psychological decline.
- For reasons that are not discussed, Habara is unable to leave the house he is staying in. His only contact to the outside world is a nurse, Scheherazade, who regularly comes to visit him, sleeps with him, and tells him stories.
- Kino, freshly separated from his wife, takes over an aunt's cafe and turns it into a bar. After a couple of surreal events, he temporarily closes the bar and heads for a journey in search of himself through various Japanese cities.
- In a short story clearly inspired by Franz Kafka, a man wakes up in bed barely capable of moving, having been turned into "Gregor Samsa". He finds himself on his own in a large house in a city that seems to be a war zone. A camel-backed woman comes by to repair a defunct lock. Samsa discovers the new emotion of being attracted by the woman.
- A final short story turns around a man reflecting on a former girlfriend after receiving a phone call informing that the latter has committed suicide.
A great collection, covering the entire range of Murakami's story-telling, from realist (think Norwegian Wood) to surrealist (think Wind-Up Bird Chronicle). Told in his typically minimalist language, Murakami once more succeeds in creating the magic characteristic of his work.
Random movie reference.
Favorite quotes:
Will leave that one to the translator.
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