Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

"Murakami's bold willingness to go straight over the top [is] a signal indication of his genius . . . a world-class writer who has both eyes open and takes big risks." -The Washington Post Book World "He has become the foremost representative of a new style of Japanese writing: hip, cynical, highly stylized, set at the juncture of cyberpunk, postmodernism, and hard-boiled detective fiction. . . . Murakami [is] adept at deadpan wit, outrageous style." -Los Angeles Times Magazine

"Fantastical, mysterious, and funny . . . a fantasy world that might have been penned by Franz Kafka." -Philadelphia Inquirer

"Rich in action, suspense, odd characters and unexpected trifles . . . [a] provocative work." -The Atlantic

"Murakami's gift is for ironic observations that hint at something graver. . . . He is wry, absurd, and desolate." -Los Angeles Times Book Review

"[A] mix of American fun and Japanese dread." -Esquire

"An intertwining DNA model of seemingly contrary elements . . . a combination of Kafka's castle, Borges's library, and the Prisoner's TV village." -Village Voice Literary Supplement

"Off the wall . . . hilariously bizarre . . . splendid . . . a remarkable book . . . Alfred Birnbaum . . . has captured the crazed, surreal feel of Murakami's Japanese." -The Times (London)

"His novels . . . are set on fast-forward: raucous, slangy, irreverent." -Details