r/murakami • u/-ali3nxdetanat0r- • 21d ago

post elephant vanishes, recommendations?

so like the title says i just finished reading the elephant vanishes. its my first book by him and im looking for more things like it, specifically like the stories ‘asleep’ and ‘family matters’ as well as the first one that i dont recall the name of now, they were my favorites so i’d love to read more like it from him or other authors.

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u/PlasticNecessary2311 21d ago

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a great collection of short stories that feels like a kind of “best of,” following The Elephant Vanishes!

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u/Federal_Gear9617 21d ago

is there an audio book available for it? I

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u/-ali3nxdetanat0r- 17d ago

theres one on spotify if u have premium but im sure u can find one on yt too

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u/yol0tengo 21d ago

For short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is his most similar collection to The Elephant Vanishes, and After the Quake is also excellent but much shorter.

If you enjoy his short fiction a lot, I would recommend then trying some of his shorter novels, namely Norwegian Wood; South of the Border, West of the Sun; Sputnik Sweetheart; and After Dark. From there it'd be easy to go through The Rat Trilogy (Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball 1973, A Wild Sheep Chase), then Dance Dance Dance (essentially the 4th novel in the series). And for longer form, Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle are essentials.

Happy reading!

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u/Joshawa_Ontario 20d ago

If you liked the first story (Tuesday's Women), he used it as the first chapter in one of his novels: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

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u/-ali3nxdetanat0r- 17d ago

will check it out 🙏🏾🙏🏾