Sixty-nine Paperback – 7 Feb. 2006

Unlike Murakami's chilling psychological thrillers, this is a lighthearted semi-autobiographical account of a 17-year-old Murakami growing up in 1969 Sasebo, Japan. It's a coming of age story about getting one up over the Greasers and the Kendo team, rocking the school, and, of course, getting the girl.First published in 1987, the '60s culture references come think and fast, and can be confusing to readers who weren't there at the time. It's like a Japanese version of Greece."If everyone could feel as I felt at that moment, dressed in my preppy sweater and McGreagor coat and about to set out on a little journey with my Bambi-eyed girlfriend on Christmas Eve, all the conflicts in the world would vanish. Mellow smiles would rule the earth."The 2004 film adaption by Sang-il Lee seems impossible to find. A Japanese coming of age film I fully recommend [warning: it has no plot and is very arty] is: All About Liliy Chiu Chiu  All About Lily Chou-Chou [DVD] [2002 ]

It is brilliantly narrated and not once do you feel the book belongs to an older era.

A very nice story about teenage in 69 Japan

Ryu Murakami brings to live the rebellious spirit of the late 1960s as his narrator, influenced by the spirit of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and others stages protests at his high school and then organises a rock festival. Motivated by adolescent lust, the novel is hugely entertaining and seems to capture the spirit of an age. It is fascinating as an account of Japanese obsession with foreign music and how this music created rifts between different generations. Murakami is sympathetic to all his characters and the novel is entertaining and amusing.

This is a very funny novel, the protagonist is a wise guy who recounts his experiences at school. I enjoyed the wackyness, the sharp style, realism and inter-relationship of the characters.Above all this is a novel simply to be enjoyed - I read it over the Bank Holiday Weekend and it went by very quickly. I hope Ryu comes out with something like this in the future, as it seems to have been a one-off.