Hear the Wind Sing

Haruki Murakami's first book doesn't disappoint one bit. He has always been an incredibly talented writer. His stories are engaging and provoke deep thought. The major themes throughout all of his works are alienation, loneliness, isolation, and existentialism, all of which, for some reason, seem very relevant to the modern day.

Specifically regarding Hear the Wind Sing, the book is an enjoyable, thought-provoking, and quick read. The plot may be difficult to follow at times, but Murakami's language makes up for that (by far!). I absolutely love Dostoevsky, but Murakami comes very close to matching him (it happens that Murakami also looks up to Dostoevsky).

One more note: Murakami is very fluent in English (he translated books like Catcher in the Rye into Japanese in his younger years), and he has had a very significant part in the translation of all of his works. Accordingly, you can expect the language of his stories to be incredibly vivid and engaging.