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I finished reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle while at the dacha on Sunday. I could hardly put the book down, plowing through its six hundred pages in a little less than a week. Murakami?s style proved to be just as addictive as was promised by a review on the book?s back cover; yesterday I had to make a trip to the bookstore to find more.

I ended up grabbing Sputnik Sweetheart (how could I resist a title like that while studying for a year in Russia?), Dance Dance Dance, and The Elephant Vanishes (which is actually a book of short stories). I?ve decided to spend more of my daily two hour metro transit reading, and less of it listening to music (at least until I run out of Murakami, Nabokov, or money. . . ), so I figured I might as well stock up while I have the opportunity.

The weather in Moscow has been pretty crummy the last few days, and it?s not supposed to change in the near future. The cold rain and strong wind make doing anything outdoors unenjoyable, so after classes I stayed inside and read Sputnik Sweetheart.

Altogether it was a great book, but I have to admit that I liked WBC a lot more. Sputnik Sweetheart is the story of a strange unrequited love triangle between an elementary school teacher (identified only as ?K?), the aspiring young novelist (Sumire) who he has secretly loved since college, and a mysterious woman named Miu with whom Sumire becomes infatuated. .

Even though I?ve only read three of his novels, I?d have to say that Haruki Murakami has become one of my top ten favorite authors. I?m not sure why he?s not as popular in the United States as he is in Russia, but I?d highly recommend picking up Wind-Up Bird Chronicle if you happen to find it. To me he?s kind of like Viktor Pelevin, but Newsday calls him ?a Japanese Philip K. Dick with a sense of humor?. Either way, it?s well worth the read.