The works of Haruki Murakami
 

I read a short story of Haruki Murakami's and I enjoyed it. It was about the 100% perfect woman for a particular man. So I picked up Norwegian Wood, and so far I don't like it. While I like Murakami's prose and simplistic style, the plot itself doesn't seem to have any depth, even though certain aspects of the storyline call for it. It feels pointless. Are all of his works like this? Just light reading?

no, his works are weird. i read dance, dance, dance and it is out there, a good book, but out there. remember, he is japanese, some things are honestly "lost in translation," so that may be a factor. he also wrote a story about the ricin attack in the tokyo subway, pretty interesting...

I love Murakami's works. "On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning" is a popular short story, and is also my personal favorite. Norweigan Wood is definitely a slightly different style than his other works, so you shouldn't worry that all his stuff is like that. I recommend trying out Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next. I haven't read Dance Dance Dance, so I can't say anything about it, but I've heard it's good as well.

I'm not a big fan of Murakami, but I did find his perfect woman story quite intriguing and well written.