PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949. Following the publication of his first novel in Japanese in 1979, he sold the jazz bar he ran with his wife and became a full-time writer. It was with the publication of Norwegian Wood - which has to date sold more than 4 million copies in Japan alone - that the author was truly catapulted into the limelight. Known for his surrealistic world of mysterious (and often disappearing) women, cats, earlobes, wells, Western culture, music and quirky first-person narratives, he is now Japan's best-known novelist abroad. Nine novels, three short story collections and one work of non-fiction are currently available in English translation.
Stylish and enigmatic Economist The novel could be an allegory of sleep, a phenomenology of time, or a cinematic metafiction. Whatever it is, its memory lingers Guardian The narrative carries considerable literary weight with a rare grace Spectator A captivating mood piece, delicate and wistful Evening Standard
