Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman ** 1/2

I think I understand, she said. Though not exactly. ("Tony Takitani")

I've read three Murakami novels (The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, After Dark, and Kafka on the Shore). Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a story collection whose virtues and vices are similar to those in the longer works. Murakami has a unique blend of mundane details, such as outlet malls with the Gap, Toys R Us, and the Body Shop, with uncanny situations, like a woman with a kidney-shaped stone that moves off of her desk whenever she leaves the office. His characters often feel like something unusual is happening even when all appearances are normal. Several of the stories are told second-hand, with the narrator hearing a narrative from another character.

As is typical with a story collection, there were stories I really liked (the title story, "The Mirror," "Firefly," "Chance Traveler"), stories that didn't work for me at all ("A 'Poor Aunt' Story," "Crabs"), and those with intriguing elements that lost me partway through (the majority). That's the joy and frustration of reading Murakami: he's got something unusual on his mind, but it can be difficult to stay on his wavelength.