The Elephant Vanishes

Fifteen tales encompass the story of a man obsessed with the disappearance of an elephant from a local zoo and that of a young mother whose sleeplessness provides her with a foretaste of death.

"These are beautifully written stories, often funny, always moving." -"Chicago Tribune" "Eerie, unsettling. . . . [A] wonderful combination of the bizarre and the mundane." -"Village Voice Literary Supplement" "Charming, humorous and frequently puzzling . . . The Elephant Vanishes [is] fun to read." -"The New York Times" "These stories show us Japan as it's experienced from the inside. . . . [They] take place in parallel worlds not so much remote from ordinary life as hidden within its surfaces. . . . Even in the slipperiest of Mr. Murakami's stories, pinpoints of detail flash out . . . warm with life, hopelessly-and wonderfully-unstable." -"The New York Times Book Review" "A stunning writer at work in an era of international literature." -"Newsday" "Enchanting...intriguing...all of these tales have a wonderfully surreal quality and a hip, witty tone. Mr. Murakami has pulled off a tricky feat, writing stories about people who are bored but never boring. He left me lying awake at night, hungry for more." -"Wall Street Journal" "The Elephant Vanishes, through [its] bold originality and charming surrealism, should win the author new readers in this country." -"Detroit Free Press"

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