Read with me: Haruki Murakami

There's something about Haruki Murakami's writing that keeps you hooked, enchanted, unable to put his books down. There is some magic quality to it. I guess you could characterize his style as magic realism - the characters are people like us, living in the real world but something unexpected and unexplainable happens in their lives, and it's as if they are living in 2 parallel realities. 

The only thing I dislike about Haruki Murakami's books is his graphic descriptions of sex and everything to do with it. I don't think sex scenes add anything to either literature or movies, but I guess there are people who find them appealing - there is no accounting for taste.

I am going to give you some glimpses into some of Haruki Murakami's books that I've read so far and I hope it will be enough to make you want to read them.

1Q84 introduces us to a paid assassin working for a good cause (killing abusive husbands), an aspiring writer working as a math teacher, a teenage girl who has experienced some magic events that have scarred her for life and who described them in a story that became a national bestseller, as well as some dark forces interfering with their lives.
The story is a mixture of the real and the paranormal, of life and death, of love and fear.
In 1Q84 "Q" stands for "Question", but instead of answering all the questions the book leaves you with quite a few questions unanswered.

Kafka on the Shore is a crazy, complicated, macabre in places and addictive philosophical tale. A story about a teenager escaping from his estranged father, discovering his sexuality, searching for the meaning of life. You will also meet talking cats and a sweet old man who can understand them. The book tackles the eternal questions of life and death, love and hate, crime and punishment. Impossible to put down.

And if you want to get some insights into the life of this fantastic writer, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is the book for you. It will tell you how and why Haruki Murakami became a writer, why he took up running and what influence it has had on his life, his writing, and his personality.