Blind Willow, sleeping woman

Haruki Murakami presents this book that consists of 26 short stories (in the English version) published by Vintage Books London, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin. The books title is given by one of the stories, Blind Willow, sleeping woman, which is wonderful, but in my personal opinion not the best. Murakami is an extremely talented writer, the sutile style of writing along with a priviledged imagination turn him into a MUST read author. Either short stories or one of his novels (Sputnik sweetheart, The wind-up bird chronicle, South of the border, west of the sun, etc.) are a delight, a real pleasure to read. Authors like Murakami are not easily found. He is a fully accomplished writer, his stories leave us in a state of shock. Hours, days, after reading we are still wondering of different conclussions and ideas.

In these English version the stories are: Blind Willow, Sleeping woman, Birthday girl, New York mining disaster, Aeroplane: Or, how he talked to himself as if reciting poetry, The Mirror, A folklore for my generation: a Prehistory of late-stage capitalism, Hunting Knife, A perfect day for kangaroos, Dabchick, Man-Eating cats, A "Poor Aunt" story, Nausea, The Seventh Man, The year of Spaghetti, Toni Takitani, The rise and fall of sharpie cakes, The Ice Man, Crabs, Firefly, Chance Traveller, Hanalei Bay, Where am I likely to find it, The kidney-shaped stone that moves every day, A Shinagawa monkey.



All of these stories are different and somehow arise different reactions and feelings, thought I have to say that my favourites so far, (I may change my mind, as I re-read them) are: Nausea, The mirror (that is a bit scary) the one that has impressed me the most is The Seventh Man and according to my incredibly talented son, Toni Takitani is one of the most interesting.

If you are looking for something different, for an excellent author, and you like short stories, this book is a gold medal.

What a pleasure to read Haruki Murakami´s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, a book definitely worth buying.