From the First Person

Haruki Murakami — a Japanese writer who became a classic during his lifetime. During a baseball game in 1978, Murakami suddenly realized that he could write a book. He created his first texts at night in his jazz bar. This... collection of stories is the quintessence of the author's creativity. Can this book be called autobiographical? Yes and no. Murakami will tell you eight stories, and you'll have to decide for yourself whether you believe them. In the stories, you will encounter a girl writing tanka and shouting someone else's name at the moment of highest pleasure, and an old man who will tell you about the cream of creams – the essence of life. On the shelves of the store, there will be a non-existent record by The Birds. The narrator will meet the ugliest woman and will listen to all the recordings of Schumann's 'Carnival' with her. A beautiful girl with a 'With the Beatles' record will walk through the school hallway and will dissolve into oblivion forever. And a talking monkey from Shinagawa will confess over a mug of beer that it stole names from women.