Summary and Reviews of First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami

Media Reviews

BookPage As one of the standard-bearers of contemporary magical realism, Murakami has traveled deep into the hearts and minds of both his characters and his readers. In First Person Singular, he offers eight new stories, all told in first person—hence the title—as perhaps memoir, perhaps fiction. For example, “The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection” finds a baseball-loving writer named Haruki Murakami musing on his favorite team and the ties that bind us together. Murakami is always blurring lines, and here it’s left up to the reader to decide what’s real. By distorting reality, the author creates a special closeness to his audience, and he acknowledges this relationship with intelligence and grace.

Oprah Daily The versatile and prolific Murakami collects eight first-person stories that affirm his obsessions—American pop music and magical realism, baseball and sex—yet break new literary ground. From a messy hookup to an imaginary Charlie Parker album to a monkey masseur, the Japanese maestro taps the weirdness of the everyday, exposing conflicts that simmer within us all.

Washington Post Murakami, ever droll, has put together eight stories told through the first-person singular perspective. But while it’s a conceit, in the hands of Murakami, it’s also the means to inspiring ends, thanks to its memorable voices — including a talking monkey who walks into a spa.

Los Angeles Times Each story is like the greenery filler in a grocery store bouquet: stiff and charmless, background fodder, indistinct organic matter. They’re like copies of copies of copies of Murakami’s older work; all the specificity and vivacity is blurred out. The women are rubbed down into featureless nubs, the men deflated caricatures — popped balloons. The only appeal left to make to the reader is the brand name on the cover.

Booklist (starred review) Whether in his epic-scale novels or in his shorter works, much of Murakami's appeal has always come from the beguiling way in which his characters react to wildly fantastical events in the most matter-of-fact manner, ever ready to accept how the twists and turns of everyday life can blend into more audacious alternate realities...Masterful.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A new collection of stories from the master of the strange, enigmatic twist of plot...An essential addition to any Murakami fan's library.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) Murakami's engrossing collection offers a crash course in his singular style and vision...These shimmering stories are testament to Murakami's talent and enduring creativity.

Reader Reviews

Books with similar themes

• Short Stories
  
• Asia
  
• East Asia (except China)
  
• Contemporary
  
• Asian Authors
  
• Magical Realism