Birthday Stories: Selected and Introduced by Haruki Murakami - Books (Haruki Murakami, Paperback)

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Customer Reviews of Birthday Stories: Selected and Introduced by Haruki Murakami

Linlinterrupted
China
16th October 2006

Smooth kind of Bitter...
its perfectly painful to read... like some perfectly bitter dry red wine... or perfectly stronge smooth coffee... just perfect for my taste... not yours maybe but perfect for me...

19th September 2004

Gripping stories add up to a great read
I really enjoyed these - the theme of birthdays is a good idea and each contributor adds a different layer to the cake. All were worth sampling, but particular favourites (apart from Murakami's own of course!) were Canin's "Angel of Mercy, Angel of Wrath", a wonderful tale about an old woman and a bird - or several!, Carver's vintage "The Bath" and Keegan's "Close to the Water's Edge", a story about what you don't tell those you love and how you deal with it.

All good stuff, and all highly recommended.

Simonf
Sheffield, UK
1st July 2004

Jackanory with Murakami
This is what all anthologies should be like.
Although there's only one story by Murakami, all the stories feel a little bit Murakami. There's a substantial introduction to the anthology as a whole, along with a short introduction to each author by Murakami. This made it feel like the stories were being read to you by Murakami. I'll certainly be hunting down books by the authors introduced to me by this book.

One of the best Birthday presents I've had!

Lyna
Scotland, UK
7th February 2004

Is this the fall of Murakami?
In his previous works, Murakami has something to delivery for everyone and anyone: Humour, Pain, Horror, Surrealism, Culture, etc.
'Birthday Stories' is the one book I have managed to put down without effort. The contributory stories are the main disappointment of the book, because they are not Murakami: in style, tone, and effect. I read his work to discover the world beyond my horizons - not Ireland or America, which I know so well. This book does not offer his Murakami's renowned escapism.

I kept thinking: he must have been legally bound to release a new book and did the easiest thing - collected the work of other writers!

mo79uk
London, UK
24th January 2004

Only one slice from Murakami
2004 seems to be a bit of lean year for Murakami's text hungry English fans.
Sure, there's 2 new books out simultaneously (the other being Vintage Murakami, which appears to be a 'greatest chapters' collection), but both of them only contain one new short story each.

A considerable amount of time has passed since his last full English collection (After The Quake), and last novel (Sputnik Sweetheart - which along with his other books have been cruelly repackaged in very-unapt Mills & Boon type jackets), but I guess the wait for another substantial body shall have to continue. Still, Haruki is someone worth waiting for. I can't believe I'm a fan of five years now!

The good news thoigh, is that Birthday Stories is a great collection. Preceded by an introduction for the English specific audience, 12 stories, presumably to cover 12 months are presented here. One of them is Murakami's own, while the other 11 will be more than welcomed by Murakami's fans, if not more so than Murakami himself, as they all share a common thread.

As you'd expect, these stories aren't twee fairly tales. In true Murakami tradition, an ordinarity blooms into the entertaining. Highlights are down to personal taste, but I highly rate the selections from William Trevor, David Foster Wallace and Ethan Canin.

Murakami's own Birthday Girl reads familiarly. It's almost like a concentrated self-pastiche. The brief emphasis on a strange room, and an earlobe, remind of Dance, Dance, Dance and A Wild Sheep Chase. Murakami's words seems to have been overshadowed his own selections, but all in all, all 12 stories compliment eachother to create a fine body.

It is an enjoyable book which will definetly satisfy Murakami's eager fans, and even make non-fans burrow through any of the back catalogues of authors featured here. Recommended!

Now, when's that next novel coming out, hmm?