Japanese postmodernist novelist and spokesman for a new generation.
As a boy, Murakami rebelled against the study of Japanese literature, instead reading American paperbacks. This early and sustained interest is evident in the structure and nontraditional style of his own novels. His works include
Kaze no uta o kike (1979;
Hear the Wind);
Hitsuji o meguru boken (1982;
A Wild Sheep Chase); the allegorical
Sekai no owari to hadoboirudo wandarando (1985;
The End of the World & Hard-Boiled Wonderland), which won the Tanizaki Prize; the realistic
Noruwei no mori (1987;
Norwegian Wood); and
Dansu, Dansu, Dansu (1988;
Dance, Dance, Dance). He also wrote short stories and several collections of essays. --
MWELmore