Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World 世界の終りとハードボイルド・ワンダーランド (Sekai no owari to hādo-boirudo wandārando)
First published in Japanese in 1985. Winner of the prestigious Tanizaki Prize.
Translated into English by Alfred Brinbaum in 1991.
Book Description:
In this novel, Murakami digs deep into the concept of two worlds, one being a hardboiled wonderland and the other being the end of the world. The town represents the inner mind and the 35-year-old protagonist must choose his own individual autonomy over the enemy trying to control him. He has only one and a half days before his consciousness leaves the present world and inhabits the world of his subconscious. As a subplot, the narrator falls in love with a librarian (of course! Murakami loves libraries). There is also an interesting adaptation of the mythical Japanese kappa, who appear in this story as “INKlings” (an acronym for Infra-Nocturnal Kappa) who live in the sewers.