If you're familiar with Murakami, it's par for the course and considered one of his pivotal novels. If you're not: surrealist, dreamlike modern fiction often centering around ideas of masculinity, post-war fallout, and urban ennui. Incredibly strange and beautiful stuff.
I've read more in 2014 than I have in the past five or so years, but Wind Up Bird Chronicle is the one that has stuck with me the most. Even if it didn't exactly change my morning routine or lead me on the path to riches, I wake up most mornings and its taste is still in my mouth.
(A comparison, if you're familiar with it: Earthbound, less in terms of tone and more in terms of setting. Shigesato Itoi, the writer of Earthbound, actually published a bunch of short stories with Murakami and they've been translated into English: http://letsmeetinadream.blogspot.com/)
If you haven't read it yet I'd recommend Kafka on the Shore by Murakami. I have read The Wind Up Bird Chronicles twice but I still think Kafka on the shore is my favorite Murakami work.
FWIW, I wouldn't really say that any book in 2014 changed my life, but... if I had to name my favorite book of 2014 there's a good chance that I'd pick After Dark by Murakami. It was my first Murakami and I thought it was very good.
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruku Murakami:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Wind-Up-Bird-Chronicle-Novel/dp/06...
If you're familiar with Murakami, it's par for the course and considered one of his pivotal novels. If you're not: surrealist, dreamlike modern fiction often centering around ideas of masculinity, post-war fallout, and urban ennui. Incredibly strange and beautiful stuff.
I've read more in 2014 than I have in the past five or so years, but Wind Up Bird Chronicle is the one that has stuck with me the most. Even if it didn't exactly change my morning routine or lead me on the path to riches, I wake up most mornings and its taste is still in my mouth.
(A comparison, if you're familiar with it: Earthbound, less in terms of tone and more in terms of setting. Shigesato Itoi, the writer of Earthbound, actually published a bunch of short stories with Murakami and they've been translated into English: http://letsmeetinadream.blogspot.com/)