I finally finished reading this. I tend to take my time with short story collections since there are so many tales and I like to mull over them. Plus, I am also a librarian/school teacher so I do not have much time to read to many “adult” books.

Ever since I picked up “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,” I have been a pretty big fan of Haruki Murakami. I love his prose. I tend to get lost in the stories and sometimes, I feel so drawn into his writings because I can relate to his characters, their feelings of loneliness, the solace they find in music, the way they are all a little quirky and odd but in interesting and creative ways. All these things were represented in this one collection, “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.” He let us into so many lives, it was definitely worth the time it took for me to finish it.

My favorite story was “Chance Traveler.” Murakami writes an introduction, or maybe it was more of disclaimer, as himself before delving into the story. It was really wonderful, about a piano tuner and how he needed to be honest with himself to become “the real” he. There is acknowledgment that it’s difficult and that other people do not understand and get hurt but sometimes that is all you can do to keep from sliding into depression or worse.
The Piano Tuner says, “My life completely changed back then, in a short space of time. It was all I could do to hang on and not get thrown off. I was so scared, so very frightened. At the time I couldn’t explain things to anybody. I felt like I was about to slip off the face of the earth…”
I often wonder how many times have people been in this situation. I know is can be more than once. What was wonderful was that no matter how difficult it is for your self and other people, you need to just strive forward.
This tale all started with a series of coincidences or are they?

Another great story was “Hanalei Bay.” My favorite part is where Sachi, a woman who lost her son, says to an surfer she had befriended in Hawaii, “There are only 3 ways to get along with a girl: one, shut up and listen to what she has to say; two, tell her you like what she’s wearing; and three, treat her to really good food.” Yes, it can be that simple…

I also thought “Tony Takitani,” in how he delves into loneliness is worth mulling over. Plus the name, “Tony Takitani” rolls off the tongue rather nicely.

I enjoy his portrayal of women as well. They admirable, strong, smart, but “not a conventional beauty.” But that doesn’t matter because there is always something in these women : how they speak their mind, how they dress, how they carry themselves ; that stands out and makes you admire them.

My second favorite tale is “A perfect day for kangaroos.” I think the title speaks enough. Some days are perfect days for kangaroos.

Finished it up in less than 3 days. Here’s a list of highlights I did in my review.

1. Birthday Girl – a girl spends a really strange, quirky, unique, unforgettable 20th birthday

2. The Seventh Man – two boys, a typhoon and a big wave, a lifetime of regrets

3. The Rise & Fall of Sharpie Cakes – Sharpie cakes, a Sharpie contest and a Sharpie test on Sharpie Crows

4. Tony Takitani – the story of a man named Tony Takitani

5. The Ice Man – a woman who tries to love an Ice Man. Literally an Ice Man.

6. Chance Traveller – how coincidence or fate or a person may open our eyes.

7. Hanalei Bay – about a woman, who loses her son to a shark in Hawaii .. and discovers herself. I thought the ending should be different, but perhaps that would be a tad cliched.

8. Where I’m Likely To Find It – (my favorite) has loads of dialogue that you really get into the mind of the main character. It was very unique in style .. the way it opens up and lets you in on things as if you are right there. I can’t go into the story because it will spoil the experience completely.

9. The Kidney-Shaped Stone – a man Junpei tests out his father’s theory that for every man there are only 3 women in his whole life that will matter. He starts obsessing after #1 thinking that he must be careful with his limited chances, so that he ends up being a love-em-and-leave-em type. Meets a woman named Kirie and she teaches him a thing or two.

10. A Shinagawa Monkey – (second favorite or tied first) about a woman Mizuki (Ozawa) Ando who always forgets her name and wants to find out why.

Which one were or will be your favorites? :)