Haruki Murakami's favorite books

wakarimasita of Flickr [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer famous for his works such as Norwegian Wood and Dance Dance Dance to name a few. His work, sprinkled with the surreal, often deals with the themes of loneliness and alienation and laments the emptiness of our lives caused by a work-obsessed culture. While his writings are based on Japanese characters, they have an universal appeal. While Murakami loved reading, he did not start writing till he was 29 when ,in the middle of a baseball game, he realized he could write. He has also translated a lot of his favorite authors into Japanese.
His reading list is an eclectic collection of Kafka, Dostoevsky, Fitzgerald and Raymond Chandler's works. Hope you enjoy the favorite books of this amazing writer, who also happens to be a jazz lover.

The books, quotes and anecdotes:

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe

"Philip Marlowe is Chandler’s fantasy but he’s real to me." When he was younger, he explains, after a turbulent time as a student, "I just wanted to live like Marlowe."

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The Great Gatsby

"The Great Gatsby is my favorite book. I translated it a couple of years ago. I wanted to translate it when I was in my 20s, but I wasn't ready."

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The Catcher in the Rye

"It’s a dark story, very disturbing. I enjoyed it when I was seventeen, so I decided to translate it. I remembered it as being funny, but it’s dark and strong. I must have been disturbed, when I was young. J.D. Salinger has a big obsession, three times bigger than mine. That’s why I’m here tonight, and he isn’t."

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The Brothers Karamazov (Bantam Classics)

"Most writers get weaker and weaker as they age. But Dostoyevsky didn't. He kept getting bigger and greater. He wrote The Brothers Karamazov in his late 50s. That's a great novel"

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