Ha! Another one bites the Murakami. I wouldn't blame his style on inscrutable orientalism or other such sweeping notions, since he's well-travelled and - like his characters - thoroughly steeped in Western culture. According to this he has translated F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver and Truman Capote into Japanese, so probably knows what he's doing with a story-as-we-know-it.

His characters seem curiously grounded and mundane to me, which is a good thing when the going gets weird. In fact, I suspect that his main character is basically himself.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is practically Sci-Fi, are recommended by moi.

"Norwegian Wood" is also supposed to be good, but I haven't read it yet.