It took me close to three years to finish it. I would get distracted, put it down, and pick it up again much later, months later. The surrealness of the story reminds me a lot of other Japanese media that I never really fully understand. I chalked it up to the usual "the Japanese are truly mad" maxim, but after finishing the book, I suppose my opinion changed a little.

The book is almost exclusively inspired by Western stories, music, and tropes. It has shades of Alice in Wonderland, cyberpunk, casual sexual themes, jazz and rock and roll. What makes the book look so foreign to me is that those stories are getting retold all mish-mashed together in a dream-like state with a dash of Japanese tropes.

In the end I enjoyed it, but I don't think I really understood it, and I don't think I can explain why I enjoyed it. Can anyone explain it to me?

I haven't read that particular one, but probably have it in a bookshelf somewhere. My wife is a big Murakami fan and I've read almost all of them. I will make that the next one on my fiction reading list, thanks!

I particularly enjoyed A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance, whereas my wife loves Kafka on the Shore (which I didn't like). Funny that...

NewYorker also has a bunch of enjoyable shorts available: http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/haruki-murakami

That's my favorite for sure, Wild Sheep Chase and short stories would be my next reccomendation.

That's also my favorite