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A review by kundan
Birthday Stories: Selected and Introduced by Haruki Murakami by Haruki Murakami
5.0
The book is an anthology of stories selected and introduced by the well-known novelist Murakami. There are in total thirteen stories all revolving around the theme of birthdays.
Murakami introduces the book by describing his birthday anecdote. He woke up early on a birthday and was in the kitchen of his Tokyo home listening to the radio and preparing breakfast. The newsreader was announcing a list of public events scheduled for the day. The last in the list of public events was the names of famous people whose birthday fell on the day. And among them he was startled to hear his name. In the author's own words, for every person their birthday will come around once a year and it will be an important day for them.
My favourite story in the collection is Birthday Girl contributed by Murakami himself. It is the story of a girl who is asked to make a wish on her twentieth birthday. The story has an open ending and its interpretation is up to the readers to debate.
Murakami introduces the book by describing his birthday anecdote. He woke up early on a birthday and was in the kitchen of his Tokyo home listening to the radio and preparing breakfast. The newsreader was announcing a list of public events scheduled for the day. The last in the list of public events was the names of famous people whose birthday fell on the day. And among them he was startled to hear his name. In the author's own words, for every person their birthday will come around once a year and it will be an important day for them.
My favourite story in the collection is Birthday Girl contributed by Murakami himself. It is the story of a girl who is asked to make a wish on her twentieth birthday. The story has an open ending and its interpretation is up to the readers to debate.