Book Series Guide

Ryū Murakami

Author guide

Ryū Murakami Books in Order

Ryū Murakami (born 1952) debuted with Almost Transparent Blue, which won the Gunzō New Writers’ Prize and the Akutagawa Prize in 1976. His major novels include Coin Locker Babies, 69, Love and Fantasy of Fascism, Five Minutes from Now, In the Miso Soup, Parasites, Exodus from the Country of Hope, From the Fatherland, with Love, and A Singing Whale. He has also published extensive essayistic, economic, cultural, interview, memoir, and illustrated work, and has directed films including Almost Transparent Blue and Tokyo Decadence.

literary fictionpsychological fictionsocial fictionspeculative fictiondystopian fictionerotic fictioncrime fictionshort storiesessaysnonfictionmemoirinterviewspicture books

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of Almost Transparent Blue

Almost Transparent Blue

The award-winning debut and the clearest entry point to Murakami’s early literary style.

Cover of Coin Locker Babies

Coin Locker Babies

A major early novel and one of his defining works.

Cover of 69

69

His accessible, autobiographical coming-of-age novel.

Cover of In the Miso Soup

In the Miso Soup

A concise, internationally recognized psychological thriller.

Five Minutes from Now

A strong entry point to his speculative and political fiction.

13-Year-Old Hello Work

A representative introduction to his social and economic nonfiction.

Read in order

Books by series

novel-series · complete

Five Minutes from Now

A speculative-fiction sequence set in an alternate or transformed Japan.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Five Minutes from Now

    Book 1 · novel · 1994

    Amazon ↗
  2. 2
    Hyūga Virus: Five Minutes from Now II

    Book 2 · novel · 1996

    Amazon ↗

essay-series · complete

Every Man Is a Consumable

Ryū Murakami’s long-running essay and social-commentary series.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Every Man Is a Consumable, Vol. 1

    Book 1 · essay-collection · 1987

    Amazon ↗
  2. 2
    Every Man Is a Consumable, Vol. 2

    Book 2 · essay-collection · 1990

    Amazon ↗
  3. 3
    Every Man Is a Consumable, Vol. 3

    Book 3 · essay-collection · 1992

    Amazon ↗
  4. 4
    Every Man Is a Consumable, Vol. 4

    Book 4 · essay-collection · 1995

    Amazon ↗
  5. 5
    Do Not Do Today What You Can Do Tomorrow, Vol. 5

    Book 5 · essay-collection · 1998

    Amazon ↗
  6. 6
    Widespread False Hope, Vol. 6

    Book 6 · essay-collection · 2001

    Amazon ↗
  7. 7
    People Left Behind, Vol. 7

    Book 7 · essay-collection · 2003

    Amazon ↗
  8. 8
    Havana Mode, Vol. 8

    Book 8 · essay-collection · 2005

    Amazon ↗
  9. 9
    Hope Is Right There, Vol. 9

    Book 9 · essay-collection · 2007

    Amazon ↗
  10. 10
    Government and Rebellion, Vol. 10

    Book 10 · essay-collection · 2009

    Amazon ↗
  11. 11
    Every Man Is a Consumable: Final Volume

    Book 11 · essay-collection · 2018

    Amazon ↗

essay-series · complete

Physical Intensity

A five-volume series of essays and commentary on sport, bodies, and contemporary culture.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    Physical Intensity, Vol. 1

    Book 1 · essay-collection · 1998

    Amazon ↗
  2. 2
    Physical Intensity, Vol. 2

    Book 2 · essay-collection · 1999

    Amazon ↗
  3. 3
    Physical Intensity, Vol. 3

    Book 3 · essay-collection · 2000

    Amazon ↗
  4. 4
    Physical Intensity, Vol. 4

    Book 4 · essay-collection · 2001

    Amazon ↗
  5. 5
    Physical Intensity, Vol. 5

    Book 5 · essay-collection · 2002

    Amazon ↗

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (48)
  1. Cover of Almost Transparent Blue
    Almost Transparent Blue

    novella · 1976

    Amazon ↗
  2. War Begins Across the Sea

    novel · 1977

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  3. Cover of Coin Locker Babies
    Coin Locker Babies

    novel · 1980

    Amazon ↗
  4. Don’t Worry, My Friend

    novel · 1983

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  5. Tennis Boy Melancholy

    novel · 1985

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  6. Cover of 69
    69

    novel · 1987

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  7. Love and Fantasy of Fascism

    novel · 1987

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  8. Cover of Raffles Hotel
    Raffles Hotel

    novel · 1989

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  9. Cock Sucker Blues

    novel · 1991

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  10. Superconductor Night Club

    novel · 1991

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  11. Ibiza

    novel · 1992

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  12. Nagasaki Holland Village

    novel · 1992

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  13. Cover of Ecstasy
    Ecstasy

    novel · 1993

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  14. The Dwarfs of Fiji

    novel · 1993

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  15. 368Y Par4: The Second Shot

    novel · 1993

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  16. The Coast of Music

    novel · 1993

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  17. Cover of Piercing
    Piercing

    novella · 1994

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  18. Cover of Kyoko
    Kyoko

    novel · 1995

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  19. Cover of Melancholia
    Melancholia

    novel · 1996

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  20. Cover of Love & Pop
    Love & Pop

    novel · 1996

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  21. First Night, Second Night, Last Night

    novel · 1996

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  22. Cover of Audition
    Audition

    novel · 1997

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  23. Strange Days

    novel · 1997

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  24. Cover of In the Miso Soup
    In the Miso Soup

    novel · 1997

    Amazon ↗
  25. Line

    novel · 1998

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  26. Cover of Parasites
    Parasites

    novel · 2000

    Amazon ↗
  27. Exodus from the Country of Hope

    novel · 2000

    Amazon ↗
  28. Cover of Thanatos
    Thanatos

    novel · 2001

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  29. The Mask Club

    novel · 2001

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  30. The Last Family

    novel · 2001

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  31. The Devil’s Pass, the Angel’s Goal

    novel · 2001

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  32. 2days 4girls: How to Have Sex with Four Women in Two Days

    novel · 2002

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  33. Cover of From the Fatherland, with Love
    From the Fatherland, with Love

    novel · 2005

    Amazon ↗
  34. A Singing Whale

    novel · 2010

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  35. My Heart Is with You

    novel · 2011

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  36. Old Terrorist

    novel · 2015

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  37. I Studied Economics So as Not to Be Deceived

    nonfiction · 2002

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  38. From Macro: Japan’s Economy to Micro: Yourself

    nonfiction · 2002

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  39. The Lie Called the Collapse of Education

    nonfiction · 2001

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  40. Confrontation and Independence

    nonfiction · 2001

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  41. Contracting World, Closed Japan

    nonfiction · 2001

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  42. Yen Depreciation + Inflation: Dawn or Nightmare?

    nonfiction · 2002

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  43. The Death and Rebirth of the Company Person

    nonfiction · 2003

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  44. Enlightenment Announcement

    nonfiction · 2003

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  45. The Definition and Conditions of Success in Life

    nonfiction · 2004

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  46. 13-Year-Old Hello Work

    nonfiction · 2003

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  47. Beautiful Time: Winter Fireworks

    novella · 2007

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Nonfiction (1)
  1. Tennis Boy Around the World

    memoir · 1987

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Short fiction (15)
  1. Hello Life from Fifty-Five

    short-story-collection · 2012

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  2. MISSING: Things Lost

    short-story-collection · 2020

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  3. Sad Tropics

    short-story-collection · 1984

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  4. POST: A Room with Pop Art

    short-story-collection · 1986

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  5. Run! Takahashi

    short-story-collection · 1986

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  6. New York City Marathon

    short-story-collection · 1986

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  7. Topaz

    short-story-collection · 1988

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  8. Ryū Murakami Cooking Fiction

    short-story-collection · 1988

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  9. Love Is Always Unknown

    short-story-collection · 1991

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  10. Ryū Murakami Film Fiction

    short-story-collection · 1995

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  11. Swan

    short-story-collection · 1997

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  12. The Truth of One Glass of Wine

    short-story-collection · 1998

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  13. Far Away, Close to Me

    short-story-collection · 2003

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  14. At the Airport

    short-story-collection · 2003

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  15. The Privileged Lover: Ryū Murakami’s Cuisine and Erotic Fiction

    short-story-collection · 2007

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Essays and speeches (22)
  1. American Dream

    essay-collection · 1985

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  2. Big Event

    essay-collection · 1989

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  3. All Ryū Murakami Essays, 1976–1981

    essay-collection · 1991

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  4. All Ryū Murakami Essays, 1982–1986

    essay-collection · 1991

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  5. All Ryū Murakami Essays, 1987–1991

    essay-collection · 1991

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  6. Dragon Words, Flying Words

    essay-collection · 1992

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  7. For You Who Do Not Want to Exist as an Ordinary Girl

    essay-collection · 1993

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  8. Tokyo Story after You Are Gone

    essay-collection · 1996

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  9. Murder in a Lonely Country

    essay-collection · 1998

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  10. From the Lonely Country to Far-Off World Soccer

    essay-collection · 1999

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  11. The Love Anyone Can Do

    essay-collection · 2000

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  12. Useless Woman

    essay-collection · 2001

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  13. Love Disparity

    essay-collection · 2002

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  14. Sex Is Better Than Suicide

    essay-collection · 2003

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  15. Am I Spoiling Myself? 27-Year-Old Office Worker

    essay-collection · 2006

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  16. Ryū Murakami’s Literary Essays

    essay-collection · 2006

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  17. Unexpectedly, a Shopping Lover

    essay-collection · 2007

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  18. Still I Want to Love, Be Happy, and Have Money Too

    essay-collection · 2008

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  19. Encouragement of No Hobby

    essay-collection · 2009

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  20. Runaway Middle-Aged Men, Desireless Young People

    essay-collection · 2010

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  21. Debris Is Buried under the Cherry Tree

    essay-collection · 2012

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  22. Midday Images, Midnight Words

    photo-essay · 1979

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Children's books (7)
  1. Friends: Larirururero

    picture-book · 1989

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  2. Lovely Jennifer

    picture-book · 1996

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  3. What Could Have Been Bought with That Money: A Bubble Fantasy

    picture-book · 1999

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  4. Straight Story

    picture-book · 2000

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  5. Grandfather Goes to the Mountain to Make Money

    picture-book · 2001

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  6. The Postman

    picture-book · 2003

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  7. Shield

    picture-book · 2006

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Plays (1)
  1. Scenario: Raffles Hotel

    screenplay · 1989

    Amazon ↗
Collaborations (6)
  1. Monica: A Musician’s Dream, a Novelist’s Story

    coauthored-book · 1996

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  2. Walk, Don’t Run: Ryū Murakami vs. Haruki Murakami

    coauthored-book · 1981

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  3. EV.Café: Ultra-Darwinism

    coauthored-book · 1985

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  4. God Is in the Details

    coauthored-book · 1994

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  5. From Supernatural Power to Ability

    coauthored-book · 1995

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  6. Dialogue on the Individual

    coauthored-book · 2006

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Other (9)
  1. Friends, Let’s Meet Again

    letters · 1992

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  2. Ryu’s Club: Friends, Not Companions

    interview-collection · 1997

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  3. After the Age of Dreaming: Ryū Murakami vs. 51 High-School Girls

    interview-collection · 1998

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  4. The Internet as Melancholy Hope

    interview-collection · 1998

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  5. The Unbearable Salsa of Being

    interview-collection · 1999

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  6. The Front Line

    interview-collection · 1999

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  7. Style and Passing Accuracy

    letters · 2002

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  8. Cambrian Palace: Ryū Murakami × Business Leaders

    interview-collection · 2007

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  9. Cambrian Palace: Ryū Murakami × Business Leaders II

    interview-collection · 2008

    Amazon ↗