I have never read a Japanese author - fiction. I finished "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakai last week and it was riveting to say the least. Initially it was quite difficult to keep a track of the Japanese names ,places etc but after I got into the flow the journey was quite exhilarating. A good description of the book can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafka_on_the_Shore

What I found interesting was probably the cocktail mix of Magic realism (human talking to cats) - some unexplained phenomenon like UFO and fishes falling from the sky. All this sound's quite bizzare....but some how it all fall into place in the 500 pages journey. Although I was slightly disappointed by the last 100 pages. I thought the end dragged a bit.

Anyways I am looking forward to reading at least 2 more of his books - The wind up bird chronicle & Norwegian Wood - both of the supposed to be cult books from the author - Haruki Murakami.