nouveau

if Murakami had only written one book, he would exist predominately in some computer reference file, an odd little short novella that had some stylistic advances and paved the way for post-modern Japanese lit., but would otherwise be known only to a few thousand people. instead, of course, Murakami became sliced bread.

Hear the Wind Sing, somewhat hard to find in US bookstores, is the preliminary work of H. Murakami, and in many ways, the antecedents of all his famous trademarks-- the hero who is easy with girls, tendency to riff onto possible mental conditions, jazz and spaghetti and elephants -- are all present, as is the abandonment of plot-centered, rising-action, climax, and resolution "hero's tale" that is the staple of literature of every country and historical period. HTWS may not rise to greatness, but for the true HM fan, indispensible to see what his debut looked like, and unlike other obscure J-books that take years to track down and then disappoint, the book is what it is, and it's worth the search.