Thanks to a tip years ago, I got put on to Murakami and really enjoyed his work. I was told that this is where it all started.

Wow. Tales of the surreal, told with humor and an almost palatable "what the HELL is going on here?" vibe, really comes alive. He does so much with so little; his talent for describing and setting the scene is great, and his characters kind of go through it with something akin to blind faith but more than a hamster's inkling that something bigger is going on here.