From the First Person

Haruki Murakami – a Japanese writer who became a classic during his lifetime thanks to novels such as "A Wild Sheep Chase," "Norwegian Wood," and others. During a baseball game in 1978, Murakami suddenly realized that he could write a book. He created the first texts at night in his jazz bar. This collection of stories is the quintessence of the author's creativity.

Is this an autobiographical book? Yes and no. Murakami will tell you eight stories, and you will decide for yourself whether you believe him. On the pages of the book, you will encounter a girl writing tanka and shouting someone else's name at the moment of ultimate pleasure. An old man who will share the essence of life – the crème de la crème. On the store shelves, there will be a nonexistent record by The Birds. The narrator will meet the ugliest woman and listen to all the recordings of Schumann’s "Carnival" with her. A beautiful girl with the record "With the Beatles" will walk down the school corridor and dissolve into nothingness forever. And a talking monkey from Shinagawa will confess over a mug of beer that it stole names from women.