“I am 55 years old now. It takes three years to write a book. I don’t know how many books I’ll be able to write before I die. it’s like a countdown. So with every book I’m praying for, let me live until I’m done.”
haruki murakami
haruki murakami novels
It’s rare for readers to work through a list of haruki murakami’s books and stories in chronological order, but if you want to trace the evolution of his writing, knowing when each work was published will help open your eyes to the way it was written. where these worlds bleed together. There is no wrong way to read Haruki Murakami, but there is what I consider the best way to read Haruki Murakami. If you would like to see a list of Haruki Murakami’s books in order, here is an overview of when each of his novels were published in Japanese. You’ll also find a quote from each book that gives you an insight into Haruki Murakami’s exquisite prose. even in translation, he really has a way with words.
HEAR THE WIND SING
HEAR THE WIND SING“For example, the wind has its reasons. we just don’t realize it as we go through our lives. but then, at some point, it makes us notice. the wind envelops you with a certain purpose in mind, and rocks you. the wind knows everything that is inside you. and not just the wind. everything, even a stone. everyone knows us very well. from top to bottom. it only occurs to us at certain times. and all we can do is go with those things. as we incorporate them, we survive and deepen.”
You are reading: Haruki murakami books in order
pinball, 1973
“On any given day, something catches our attention. nothing at all, inconsequential things. a rosebud, an out of place hat, that sweater we used to love as kids, an old gene pitney record. a trivia parade with nowhere to go. things that roll around in our consciousness for two or three days and then go back to where they came from… into the dark. we have all these wells dug in our hearts. while over the wells, the birds flutter from one side to the other.”
a wild sheep chase
“Body cells are replaced every month. even at this very moment. almost everything you think you know about me is just memories.”
HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD
HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD“You tell me that in the town there is no fight, no hatred, and no desire. that’s a beautiful dream, and I want your happiness. but the absence of struggle or hate or desire also means that the opposites do not exist either. without joy, without communion, without love. only where there is disappointment and depression and sadness does happiness arise; without despair or loss, there is no hope.”
NORWEGIAN WOOD
NORWEGIAN WOOD“no truth can heal the pain we feel for the loss of a loved one. no truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that pain. all we can do is watch it to the end and learn something from it, but what we learn won’t help us face the next pain that strikes us unannounced.”
dance, dance, dance
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“so what can i do now?” she spoke a minute later. “Nothing,” I told him. “Just think of what comes before the words. you owe it to the dead. As time goes by, you will understand. what lasts, lasts; what not, not. time solves most things. and what time cannot solve, you have to solve yourself. Is it too much to ask?” “A little,” she said, trying to smile. “Well, of course it is,” I said, trying to smile too. “I doubt this makes sense to most people. but I think I’m right. The people die all the time. life is much more fragile than we think. therefore, you must treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. fairly and, if possible, honestly. it’s too easy not to make the effort and then cry and wring your hands after the person dies. Personally, I don’t think so.” yuki leaned against the car door. “But that’s very difficult, isn’t it?” she said. “Very hard,” I told him. “but it’s worth a try.”
south of the border, west of the sun
“I think you still love me, but we can’t escape the fact that I’m not enough for you. I knew this was going to happen. So I don’t blame you for falling in love with another woman. I’m not angry either. I should be, but I’m not. I only feel pain, a lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt, but I was wrong.”
THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE
THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE“But still, from time to time I felt a violent pang of loneliness. the very water I drink, the very air I breathe, she would feel like long, sharp needles. the pages of a book in my hands would take on the menacing metallic sheen of razor blades. I could hear the roots of loneliness creeping through me when the world was silent at four in the morning.”
honey sputnik
“Why do people have to be so lonely? what is the point of all this? millions of people in this world, all of them longing, seeking others to satisfy them, but isolating themselves. why? Was the earth put here just to feed human loneliness?”
kafka on the shore
“Sometimes destiny is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing direction. you change direction but the sandstorm is chasing you. you turn again, but the storm adjusts. over and over you interpret this, as a sinister dance with death just before dawn. why? because this storm is not something that came from afar, something that has nothing to do with you. this storm is you. something inside you. so all you can do is give in, step into the storm, close your eyes and cover your ears to keep out the sand, and walk through it, step by step. there is no sun, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. just fine white sand swirling skyward like pulverized bones. that’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.
and you will really have to overcome that violent, metaphysical and symbolic storm. no matter how metaphysical or symbolic it may be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through the flesh like a thousand razor blades. people will bleed there, and you will bleed too. hot red blood. you will catch that blood on your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.
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and once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it, how you made it through. you won’t even be sure, in fact, if the storm is really over. but one thing is true. when you come out of the storm you will not be the same person who came in. that’s what this storm is about.”
after dark
“In this world, there are things you can only do alone and things you can only do with someone else. it’s important to combine the two in just the right amount.”
1q84
“As I see it, you are living with something that you keep hidden inside. I felt something heavy from the first time I met you. you have a strong look, as if you have decided on something. To tell the truth, I carry those things inside myself. heavy things. That’s how I can see it in you.”
colorless tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage
“one heart is not connected to another only through harmony. instead, they are deeply bound through their wounds. pain linked to pain, fragility to fragility. there is no silence without a cry of pain, there is no forgiveness without bloodshed, there is no acceptance without a step through acute loss. that is what lies at the root of true harmony.”
kill the commander
“in the silence of the forest I felt as if I could hear the passing of time, of life passing by. one person leaves, another appears. one thought flies away and another takes its place. an image says goodbye and another appears on the scene. as the days piled up, i too was worn down and remade. nothing stood still. and time was wasted. behind me, time turned into dead grains of sand, one after another giving way and vanishing. I just sat in front of the hole, listening to the sound of time dying.”
murakami novels checklist
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