Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman was the first book by Haruki Murakami that I have ever read and I was not disappointed. I had been meaning to read his work for quite some time, but IQ84 seemed like too big a book to take on without being accustomed to Murakami's style. The book itself is a collection of twenty four short stories, all of which left me questioning the very essence of reality. The writing is very raw and real, but reading Murakami is like taking a stroll down a path you thought you knew, only to find yourself staring into the mouth of a cave that seemed to emerge from the ground overnight. You cling to your flashlight and you keep walking, step by step, until you start questioning the very ground underneath your feet.