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1Q84 Sampler
A FREE SAMPLER OF HARUKI MURAKAMI'S NEW MASTERPIECEThis sampler contains the first two chapters of Haruki Murakami's magnum opus, 1Q84, introducing the reader to the hero and heroine of the story, Tengo and Aomame.The full ebook of Books One and Two will be available in one volume on 18th October 2011, followed by the ebook of Book Three on 25th October.The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*An eclectic, eccentric and altogether brain-bending collection of short stories.Here are animated crows, a criminal monkey, an ice man, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we wish for. Whether during a chance reunion in Italy, a romantic exile in Greece, a holiday in Hawaii or in the grip of everyday life, Murakami's characters confront loss, or sexuality, or the glow of a firefly, or the impossible distance between those who ought to be closest of all.'An intimate pleasure' The Times
1Q84: Books 1 and 2
*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*Read this imaginative masterpiece from the internationally bestselling author of Norwegian WoodThe year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.Meanwhile, Tengo wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.'It is a work of maddening brilliance and gripping originality, deceptively casual in style, but vibrating with wit, intellect and ambition' The Times
1Q84
The year is 1Q84. This is the real world, there is no doubt about that. But in this world, there are two moons in the sky.In this world, the fates of two people, Tengo and Aomame, are closely intertwined. They are each, in their own way, doing something very dangerous. And in this world, there seems no way to save them both.Something extraordinary is starting.*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*'1Q84 has a range and sophistication that surpasses anything else in his oeuvre.' Independent on Sunday‘Murakami's magnum opus’ Japan Times‘Vibrating with wit, intellect and ambition’ The Times
The Elephant Vanishes
*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*A dizzying short story collection that displays Murakami's genius for uncovering the surreal in the everyday, the extraordinary within the ordinary*Featuring the story ‘Barn Burning’, the inspiration behind the Palme d’Or nominated film Burning*When a man's favourite elephant vanishes, the balance of his whole life is subtly upset. A couple's midnight hunger pangs drive them to hold up a McDonald's. A woman finds she is irresistible to a small green monster that burrows through her front garden. An insomniac wife wakes up in a twilight world of semi-consciousness in which anything seems possible - even death.In every one of these stories Murakami makes a determined assault on the normal.
Norwegian Wood
*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*'A masterly novel' New York Times'Such is the exquisite, gossamer construction of Murakami's writing that everything he chooses to describe trembles with symbolic possibility' GuardianRead the haunting love story that turned Murakami into a literary superstar.When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.'Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around' Time Out'Poignant, romantic and hopeless, it beautifully encapsulates the heartbreak and loss of faith' Sunday Times'This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows' Independent on Sunday
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional'The must-read gift for every runner: a compelling meditation on the power of running and a fascinating insight into the life of this internationally bestselling writer.In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing.Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston.By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, this is a must-read for fans of this masterful yet private writer as well as for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.*Murakami's new book Novelist as a Vocation is available now*'There can never have been a book quite like this memoir of running and writing before. In its self-contained way, it's nothing less than an inspiration' Evening Standard'Hugely enjoyable...You don't have to have run a marathon to be captivated' Sunday Telegraph'Comical, charming and philosophical...an excellent memoir' GQ
Novelist as a Vocation
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • An insightful look into the mind of a master storyteller—and a unique look at the craft of writing from the beloved and best-selling author of 1Q84, Norwegian Wood, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. "Murakami is like a magician who explains what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers" —New York Times Book ReviewA MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: Esquire, Vulture, LitHub, New York ObserverAspiring writers and readers who have long wondered where the mysterious novelist gets his ideas and what inspires his strangely surreal worlds will be fascinated by this engaging book from the internationally best-selling author. Haruki Murakami now shares with readers his thoughts on the role of the novel in our society; his own origins as a writer; and his musings on the sparks of creativity that inspire other writers, artists, and musicians.Here are the personal details of a life devoted to craft: the initial moment at a Yakult Swallows baseball game, when he suddenly knew he could write a novel; the importance of memory, what he calls a writer’s “mental chest of drawers”; the necessity of loneliness, patience, and his daily running routine; the seminal role a carrier pigeon played in his career and more. "What I want to say is that in a certain sense, while the novelist is creating a novel, he is simultaneously being created by the novel as well." —Haruki Murakami
Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Manga) Volume 5
With the harpy queen defeated, Makoto Takatsuki and his long-lost friend Aya Sasaki attempt to leave Labyrinthos. However, they stumble across another classmate in desperate need of aid—Ryousuke Sakurai, the Hero of Light, who’s facing off against a pair of blight dragons! By channeling the powerful mana of the water elementals, Makoto is able to flush out the dragons, clearing the way for the Hero of Light to shine. Afterward, Makoto just wants to celebrate his victories, but his skills with elemental magic have attracted the attention of the most powerful mage on the continent, the White Grandsage. What’s worse, she knows that he’s the apostle of a wicked deity! Will this reveal change the dynamic of Makoto’s friendships? And what will he make of the shocking truth he learns about Noah?
Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Manga) Volume 2
After being summoned to another world with his classmates, Makoto Takatsuki starts a new game and a life of adventure. But as an apprentice mage with weak skills, he's playing on hard mode! At the start of his journey, he becomes the sole believer of Noah, a cute goddess who's actually a wicked deity. She’s trapped in an ultra-difficult dungeon, and Makoto has vowed to clear it and rescue her.But first, he has to become stronger. In between bouts of intense training, he befriends the elven fire mage, Lucy. Her magic is overpowered, but she’s unfortunately a bit butterfingered when aiming. Together, they tackle all sorts of quests―including one that brings them face-to-face with a fearsome griffin! During this harrowing fight, Noah commands Makoto to escape and leave his new party member behind, but..."Goddess, I won't abandon my partner."Will the eccentric fighting style of our cheatless hero allow him to grasp victory from the beak of defeat?
Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Manga) Volume 1
Makoto Takatsuki is a normal high school student and a hardcore RPG player. However, “normal” goes out the window when his whole class is involved in a bus crash and whisked away to another world! Powerful gods rule this strange new land of magic and monsters, and every newcomer is blessed with strong stats and unique skills. Well, not quite. Makoto’s stats turn out to be pathetic, and his skills are super weak compared to his classmates’...he’s even stuck as an apprentice mage. Worse still, he’s given only ten years to live! Luckily, Makoto soon meets a minor goddess named Noah, who appears in Makoto’s dreams and asks him to become her first believer. With the help of Noah's blessings and a divine weapon, Makoto seeks to become strong enough to rescue his goddess from the dungeon where she’s been trapped. By training hard and using his weak skills in unorthodox ways, Makoto proves that, even when playing on hardcore difficulty, an RPG player always makes it to the end!
Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (Manga) Volume 4
While venturing through Labyrinthos, Makoto Takatsuki and his party are attacked by a dragon and sent tumbling into the dungeon’s inner depths. But just when all hope of escape seems lost, Makoto miraculously reunites with his former classmate Aya Sasaki—who’s reincarnated as a lamia! Aya recounts her harrowing rebirth and the tragedy that befell her lamia family at the hands of the harpies. She’s sworn vengeance upon the whole harpy flock, including their loathsome calamity class queen. And as an RPG and boss battle aficionado, Makoto is all too happy to lend an old friend a hand Now he’ll have to rally his party and prepare an infallible counterstrike, but the harpy queen may have an unforeseen and devastating ability in her arsenal... Hardcore mode is about to get even harder! Can Makoto optimize his party’s skills to beat this deadly boss?