The biggest compliment I can give a short story collection is: I never knew what was coming next. Murakami is a chameleon. His ability to transition between gendered POVs, varying styles (traditional prose, epistolary, combination), mastery of punctuation (frequently used to provide interiority or heighten tension), and subtle, subversive, surprising plots are something to behold.
Unlike Keret or Blasim where the surreal was the standard, Murakami only ventures into the surreal for short periods, breaking up the stretches of stories that are, more likely, held in a universe bound by rules like our own. The result is a collection that never feels weighted, one whose stories and style never outstay their welcome.
All the stories featured have a certain discomfort associated. The reader always has a sense that something is wrong, even if they cannot pinpoint it right away. Part of this comes from the aforementioned expertise in creating tension, something that the reader can recognize from the first story (not knowing who is calling the phone, counting the minutes of the conversation). However, the other part comes from Murakmi's ability to craft specific details that demonstrate what it means to *show* your reader what is happening. Perhaps one of the most impeccable skills demonstrated in this collection is how Murakami is able to describe sound. It's unusual to find an author who can take something audible and translate it into a physical accompaniment, which I find he does remarkably.
I will absolutely have to revisit this collection and take detailed notes on how Murakami is able to provide both substance and detail in such harmony. This is a collection I simply cannot get enough of.
