Books Like...
If you liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, here are the top 100 books to read next:
- #1
Save:A delightfully bizarre, thematically rich book that’s best experienced rather than decoded. Read it for the atmosphere, the journey, and the feeling of being swept along a literary fever dream. Perfect for open-minded readers up for an adventure in magical realism - just don’t expect all the answers.
Cash isn't the only thing I take from my father's study when I leave home. I take a small, old gold lighter—I like the design and feel of it—and a folding knife with a really sharp blade. Made to skin... - #2
Save:A surreal, immersive epic best suited for adventurous readers with a taste for slow-burn puzzles, magical realism, and literary atmosphere - but bring your patience (and maybe a snack).
The taxi’s radio was tuned to a classical FM broadcast. Janáček’s Sinfonietta—probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi caught in traffic. The middle-aged driver didn’t seem to be listening very... - #3
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... - #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,... 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...- #6
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... - #7
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... - #8
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 ) - #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... - #10
Save:Dreamy, unsettling, and deeply philosophical - a quietly powerful read for those who enjoy ambiguous, literary dystopias. Not for readers seeking thrills or clear resolutions.
“Long ago, before you were born, there were many more things here,” my mother used to tell me when I was still a child. “Transparent things, fragrant things…fluttery ones, bright ones…wonderful things...
