History Creator / HarukiMurakami

* FirstInstallmentWins: Discussed in ''What I write when talking about writing'', in which he considers Creator/ErnestHemingway first two books,''Literature/TheSunAlsoRises'' and ''Literature/AFarewellToArms'' alongside Nick Adams stories to be the best stories of the man. He remarks these tales have an energy to them that takes his breath away, but later stories lack the impact of the first.

** He also ''loves'' whisky--a collection of whiskies reduced to pieces and spilled liquid is his idea of nightmare fuel. And an antagonist is named after a well-known scottish brand.

** He also ''loves'' whisky--a collection of whiskies reduced to pieces and spilled liquid is his idea of nightmare fuel. And an antagonist isnamed after a well-known scottish brand.

* DreamSequence: Almost every book has at least one.
** EroticDream: Almost as frequently.

* GenreBusting: Most of his works blend genres together.
* KindheartedCatLover: Just about every protagonist, thanks to AuthorAppeal.

* LoveHurts: His protagonists tend to find this out the hard way.
* MagicalRealism: And how!

* OldShame: ''Hear the Wind Sing'' and ''Pinball, 1973''.

* TwoLinesNoWaiting: ''Literature/HardBoiledWonderlandAndTheEndOfTheWorld'', ''Literature/KafkaOnTheShore'', ''Literature/OneQEightyFour''.

* ''Let's Meet in a Dream'' [[/index]](in collaboration with Creator/ShigesatoItoi)[[index]]

* FoodPorn

* The "Trilogy of the Rat"

* ''Killing Commendatore''

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic

Murakami's fiction often concerns dreams, sex, violence, the inexplicable, loneliness, parallel worlds, jazz and cats.

** He's also a ''huge'' jazz fan. In a 2007 essay for [[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/books/review/Murakami-t.html the New York Times Book Review]], he discussed his his prior career as a jazz club proprietor in Tokyo, named Peter Cat, and the influence and inspiration that his writing has drawn from jazz music.

** He also ''loves'' whisky--a collection of whiskies reduced to pieces and spilled liquid is his idea of nightmare fuel. And an antagonist is named after a well-known scottish brand.

Most authors are not Haruki Murakami.

** Murakami seems bizarrely fixated on ears, for some reason.
** He's also a ''huge'' jazz fan. In a 2007 essay for [[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/books/review/Murakami-t.html the New York Times Book Review]], he discussed his his prior career as a jazz club proprietor in Tokyo, and the influence and inspiration that his writing has drawn from jazz music.
** He also ''loves'' reading--basically all of his main characters are avid readers.

* BadAssBookworm: The author himself, who is a triathlete and marathon runner (which is the main subject of his memoir).
* CatsAreMagic: Pops up frequently, especially in ''Kafka on the Shore.''
* DreamSequence: In almost every book.

* KindHeartedCatLover: Just about every protagonist, thanks to AuthorAppeal.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: ''[[Literature/Pinball1973 Pinball, 1973]]''[='s=] title is an allusion to Kenzaburo Oe's ''The Silent Cry'' (Japanese title ''Football, Man'en 1''[[note]]1860, according to the Gregorian calendar[[/note]]).
* LoveHurts

* NamelessNarrative: ''Literature/AWildSheepChase'' and ''Literature/HardBoiledWonderlandAndTheEndOfTheWorld''.

* TrilogyCreep: ''Dance Dance Dance'' to the "Trilogy of the Rat."

** ''[[{{Literature/Pinball1973}} Pinball, 1973]]''

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: ''Pinball, 1973''[='s=] title is an allusion to Kenzaburo Oe's ''The Silent Cry'' (Japanese title ''Football, Man'en 1''[[note]]1860, according to the Gregorian calendar[[/note]]).

!!His work in general and Murakami himself provide examples of:

** He also ''loves'' reading -- basically all of his main characters are avid readers.

** He also ''loves'' whisky -- a collection of whiskies reduced to pieces and spilled liquid is his idea of nightmare fuel. And an antagonist is named after a well-known scottish brand.

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: ''Pinball, 1973''[='s=] title is an allusion to Kenzaburo Oe's ''The Silent Cry'' (Japanese title ''Football, Man'en 1''[[note]]1860 according to the Gregorian calendar[[/note]]).

* NoEnding: Some of his stories, most infamously ''Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage''.

Murakami's works include twelve novels, dozens of short stories, an autobiography, and a non-fiction book of essays and interviews exploring a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway terrorist attack on Tokyo's subways that occurred in 1995.]] He achieved literary super-stardom in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} with the publication of ''Literature/NorwegianWood'', but opinion is very much divided among the Japanese literary community whether he is a genius or a purveyor of somewhat odd popular fiction. His fans say, [[TakeAThirdOption why not both?]]

Murakami's works include twelve novels, dozens of short stories, an autobiography, and a non-fiction book of essays and interviews exploring a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway terrorist attack on Tokyo's subways that occurred in 1995.]] He achieved literary super-stardom in Japan with the publication of ''Literature/NorwegianWood'', but opinion is very much divided among the Japanese literary community whether he is a genius or a purveyor of somewhat odd popular fiction. His fans say, [[TakeAThirdOption why not both?]]

* AmnesiacLover: The narrator imagines that he and his dream girl are actually both examples of this in "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning".

** He also ''loves'' reading--basically all of his main characters are avid readers.

** He also ''loves'' whisky--a collection of whiskies reduced to pieces and spilled liquid is his idea of nightmare fuel. And an antagonist is named after a well-known scottish brand.

* TrilogyCreep: ''Dance Dance Dance'' to the "Trilogy of the Rat".

* NoExportForYou: ''Hear the Wind Sing'' and ''Pinball, 1973'' have never been published outside of Japan (with the odd exception of Thailand), as Murakami is [[OldShame not anxious for a wider audience to find his earliest work]]. Translations into English have been published for students of English in Japan, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes and can be found here and there on the internet]].

** ''Pinball, 1973''

** ''Hear the Wind Sing''

* MindScrew: In almost every single book. The notable exception to this is ''NorwegianWood'', which was his attempt to write a book [[GenreAdultery very much unlike his usual work]].

* EroticDream

* Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage