村上龍 Ryu Murakami

Ryu Murakami is a Japanese writer and movie director. His writing style is really impressive, it really makes an impact on you. He talks about really harsh topics (extreme sexual violence, drugs, chaos...) and makes you feel unconfortable many times. But the way he writes it is what makes a difference. He can find beauty even in the deepest of human misery. That's remarkable.

I am writing about him, because I just finished reading "Almost transparent blue", his first novel. This novel won the Akutagawa prize, the most prestigious prize in Japan for new writers. He wrote this book when he was just 23 and the result is shocking.

So far, I have read three of his novels and I have liked all of them. My ranking for his novels so far is as follows (in case you want to give it a try!): 1. Coin Locker Babies; 2. Almost Transparent Blue; 3. In the Miso Soup.