Books Like...
If you liked South of the Border, West of the Sun, here are the top 100 books to read next:
- #1
Save:Haunting and beautifully written, Sputnik Sweetheart is one for readers who enjoy reflective, melancholic stories and don’t mind some unanswered questions along the way.
IN THE SPRING of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life. An intense love, a veritable tornado sweeping across the plains – flattening everything in its path, tossin... - #2
Save:Quintessential Murakami - dreamlike, weird, gorgeously written, but uneven and polarizing. A must for fans, but its quirks and indulgences mean it's not for everyone.
From May until early the following year, I lived on top of a mountain near the entrance to a narrow valley. Deep in the valley it rained constantly in the summer, but outside the valley it was usually... - #3
Save:Beautifully bizarre and deeply atmospheric, Dance Dance Dance is an existential mystery best enjoyed for its mood and magical realism rather than its answers. Come for the strangeness - stay for the feels.
The Dolphin Hotel is distorted, much too narrow. It seems more like a long, covered bridge. A bridge stretching endlessly through time. And there I am, in the middle of it. Someone else is there too,...
(Also, see 100 recommendations for the series The Rat ) - #4
Save:A dreamlike romp through 1970s Japan with a surreal quest at its heart - A Wild Sheep Chase is Murakami in full whimsical, mysterious form. Not for everyone, but a treat for those who love strange, thought-provoking fiction.
The day of the funeral, I took a streetcar from Waseda. I got off near the end of the line. The map proved about as helpful as a globe would have been. I ended up buying pack after pack of cigarettes,... - #5
Save:A moody, meandering coming-of-age novella best suited for Murakami fans or literary curiosity-seekers; not his strongest, but worth it if you want to see where it all began.
A writer I happened to meet when I was in college told me this. It was a long time before I finally understood what those words meant, but just knowing them was a kind of comfort that put me at ease.... - #6
Save:A moody, atmospheric deep-dive into nostalgia, love, and loss - with gorgeous writing, flawed characters, and plenty to reflect on, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re in the mood for a melancholic, character-driven coming-of-age tale, it’s worth a try.
I WAS THIRTY-SEVEN THEN, STRAPPED IN MY SEAT AS THE HUGE 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport. Cold November rains drenched the earth and lent everything the gloomy... - #7
Save:A moody, beautifully-written collection perfect for fans of introspective, bittersweet fiction - Murakami at his quietly weird best, though not for everyone.
BASED ON THE MANY TIMES he had ridden in cars driven by women, Kafuku had reached the conclusion that most female drivers fell into one of two categories: either they were a little too aggressive or a... A dazzling, genre-mashing trip through the edges of reality - wonderfully strange, occasionally perplexing, and deeply thought-provoking. If you like your fiction weird and your questions unanswered, this is Murakami at his most hypnotic.
THE elevator continued its impossibly slow ascent. Or at least I imagined it was ascent. There was no telling for sure: it was so slow that all sense of direction simply vanished. It could have been g...- #9
Save:A whimsical, often haunting, but occasionally uneven set of short stories. Dive in if you want a strong dose of Murakami’s signature mix of the ordinary and the extraordinary, but don’t expect every story to resonate the same way. Great for fans of surreal literary fiction or anyone looking for modern fairy tales with a melancholic twist.
I’M IN THE KITCHEN cooking spaghetti when the woman calls. Another moment until the spaghetti is done; there I am, whistling the prelude to Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra along with the FM radio. Perfect sp... A meditative, beautifully-crafted story about loss and reconnection that’s more soft-spoken than sensational. Best for fans of introspective, slow-burn literary fiction - or anyone curious about the emotional aftershocks of old friendships.
From July of his sophomore year in college until the following January, all Tsukuru Tazaki could think about was dying. He turned twenty during this time, but this special watershed—becoming an adult—...
