猫を棄てる 父親について語るとき

I got into Murakami's work for two reasons: one, because he is famous (even outside of Japan), and two, because his prose is somewhat simple and approachable for beginners to Japanese literature.

Having read and/or tried to read many of his works, I've developed something of a love-hate relationship with his fiction. I love magical realism, but hate Murakami's depiction of female characters; and I've hated his works that seem like an entire book of just rambling. (Ahem, Norwegian Wood...)

猫を棄てる 父親について語るとき is a memoir where Murakami talks about his childhood, and about memories that have shaped him. And not only did I find his descriptions of a childhood in post-war Japan interesting, but this book also filled in gaps in my understanding of Murakami's fiction. 猫を棄てる shows you the man behind the many, varied, and sometimes absurd novels. After reading it, I feel like I can now see the bits and pieces of himself that he has scattered across all his fiction - as Murakami tends to insert himself and his own thoughts into most of his fiction.

Especially given how short it is (just over 100 pages), I would recommend this to anyone interested in Murakami as a genre.