After the Quake: Stories [Paperback]

Set at the time of the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake, the mesmerizing stories inAfter the Quakeare as haunting as dreams and as potent as oracles.

An electronics salesman who has been deserted by his wife agrees to deliver an enigmatic package— and is rewarded with a glimpse of his true nature. A man who views himself as the son of God pursues a stranger who may be his human father. A mild-mannered collection agent receives a visit from a giant talking frog who enlists his help in saving Tokyo from destruction. The six stories in this collection come from the deep and mysterious place where the human meets the inhuman—and are further proof that Murakami is one of the most visionary writers at work today.“Ushers the reader into a hallucinatory world where the real and surreal merge and overlap, where dreams and real-life nightmares are impossible to tell apart.” —Michiko Kakutani,The New York Times

“His characters are so persuasive, and the storytelling so spacious. . . . Murakami’s crisp, accomplished stories inAfter the Quakehave great immediacy.” —The Seattle Times

“One of the great Japanese exports.”—Details

“Unexpectedly powerful. . . . Moving.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Both mysterious and somehow quite familiar.” –Alan Cheuse,San Francisco Chronicle

“In these stories . . . Murakami proves himself to be almost as fantastic–and as heroic–as his creations.” –Elle

“Trim, beautiful, diamond sharp, and profoundly layered in . . . mystical symbolism and daily absurdities. Murakami’s evocations of grace and possible redemption are startling, dangerous, and moving.” –O, The Oprah Magazine

“Spare yet richly mysterious and emotionally prismalc)