Philip Gabriel Knihy

Vol. 2: book three translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel

Readers love LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR:***** 'This book has become one of my favourite Japanese literature reads of all time .

" ... A novel of metaphysical reality, it is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom."--Publisher's description

A mesmerising, epic, utterly involving masterpiece from Haruki Murakami 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. It is his most achieved novel; an epic in which form and content are neatly aligned' Independent on Sunday

Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present. 'A story of love in a cool climate, intensely romantic and weepily beautiful...it is startlingly different: a true original' Guardian 'Casablanca remade Japanese style...It is dream-like writing, laden with scenes which have the radiance of a poem' The Times 'This wise and beautiful book is full of hidden truths' New York Times 'This book aches...an eloquent treatise on the vertiginous, irrational powers of love and desire' Independent on Sunday 'A beautiful, atmospheric novel sustained by Murakami's flair for philosophical mediation at its most human' Irish Times

We all live our lives carrying secrets we cannot disclose. 'Beguiling... Murakami is brilliant at folding the humdrum alongside the supernatural; finding the magic that's nested in life's quotidian details' Guardian When a thirty-something portrait painter is abandoned by his wife, he holes up in the mountain home of a famous artist. The days drift by, spent painting, listening to music and drinking whiskey in the evenings. But then he discovers a strange painting in the attic and unintentionally begins a strange journey of self-discovery that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt and a haunted underworld. A stunning work of imagination, Killing Commendatore is a surreal tale of love and loneliness, war and art.

alternate cover can be found hereSumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel.Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Miu how she feels for her? Meanwhile K wonders whether he should confess his own unrequited love for Sumire.Then, a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek island: Sumire has mysteriously vanished...

Dvadsaťštyri majstrovských poviedok z rokov 1979 až 2006 sú mimoriadne skvelou ukážkou autorovho strhujúceho rukopisu a podmanivosti jeho krátkych próz. V príbehoch, ktoré sa odohrávajú v Japonsku, Taliansku, Grécku či na Havaji, opäť provokuje fascinujúcim a nekompromisným stieraním hranice medzi možným a nemožným, presvedčivo zachováva rovnováhu medzi oboma týmito svetmi, plynulo prechádza zo sveta každodennosti do sveta snov, a práve v tom balansovaní na hrane nemilosrdne odhaľ uje temné aj krehké stránky nás všetkých a zraniteľnosť našej duše.

Táto kniha je nezvyčajným súborom esejí o behaní na dlhé trate a zároveň spisovateľovým denníkom každodennej štvormesačnej prípravy na Newyorský maratón. Haruki Murakami behá už dvadsaťpäť rokov, každý deň desať kilometrov. Hovorí tu o fyzickej i psychickej bolesti, o starnutí, aj o tom, na čo myslí, keď behá a púšťa si pritom hudbu. Dnešný svet praje najmä silným osobnostiam a aj v literárnom svete sa uchytia cieľavedomí spisovatelia-manažéri v dobrej kondícii, a taký je aj Murakami.

Tridsaťšesťročný Cukuru Tazaki pracuje v istej tokijskej železničnej firme ako architekt staničných komplexov. Na večierku u svojho nadriadeného ho zoznámia so Sarou Kimotovou, zamestnankyňou cestovnej kancelárie. Stretnutie vyústi do vzťahu, čo spôsobí v Cukuruovom živote radikálnu zmenu. Cukuru sa Sare zdôverí so zážitkom, pre ktorý pred šestnástimi rokmi stratil dôveru v ľudí, a vďaka nej sa zbavuje nechuti komunikovať s okolím a väzenia samoty. Porozpráva jej o päťčlennej partii z gymnázia, v ktorej strávil najkrajšie roky mladosti, až kým ho z nej nečakane a definitívne nevylúčili. Saru udivuje, že Cukuru nepátral po príčine takého radikálneho skutku, hoci mu strata priateľov spôsobila veľkú traumu, a nabáda ho, aby ich navštívil a požiadal o vysvetlenie. Cukuru sa rozhodne prelomiť mlčanie a postaviť sa zoči-voči minulosti.

"A dazzling new collection of short stories--the first major new work of fiction from the beloved, internationally acclaimed, Haruki Murakami since his #1 best-selling Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic"-- Provided by publisher

Tomura is startled by the hypnotic sound of a piano being tuned in his school. It seeps into his soul and transports him to the forests, dark and gleaming, that surround his beloved mountain village. From that moment, he is determined to discover more. Under the tutelage of three master piano-tuners -- one humble, one cheery, one ill-tempered -- Tomura embarks on his training, never straying too far from a single, unfathomable question: do I have what it takes? Set in small-town Japan, this warm and mystical story is for the lucky few who have found their calling -- and for the rest of us who are still searching. It shows that the road to finding one's purpose is a winding path, often filled with treacherous doubts and, for those who persevere, astonishing moments of revelation

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR From the author of Norwegian Wood and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World comes a poignant love story and quest, celebrating books and the libraries that house them. When a young man's girlfriend mysteriously disappears, he is heartbroken and determined to find the imaginary town where he believes she has gone. This lifelong search leads him into middle age and a job at a remote library filled with its own mysteries. He journeys between the real world and a shadowless city where unicorns roam and willow trees grow. There, he discovers his beloved working in a dream library, but she has no memory of their past together. As seasons change and the man grapples with the blurred lines between these two worlds, he must confront what he is willing to sacrifice. This narrative serves as a parable for our times, exploring themes of love, loss, and the transformative power of stories. "Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about?” —Haruki Murakami, from the afterword.

NATIONAL BEST SELLER • A mind-bending new collection of short stories from the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author. • “Some novelists hold a mirror up to the world and some, like Haruki Murakami, use the mirror as a portal to a universe hidden beyond it.” —The Wall Street Journal The eight stories in this new book are all told in the first person by a classic Murakami narrator. From memories of youth, meditations on music, and an ardent love of baseball, to dreamlike scenarios and invented jazz albums, together these stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the exterior world. Occasionally, a narrator may or may not be Murakami himself. Is it memoir or fiction? The reader decides. Philosophical and mysterious, the stories in First Person Singular all touch beautifully on love and solitude, childhood and memory. . . all with a signature Murakami twist.