I was overwhelmed the moment I finished the book. It was absolutely beautiful. 
 First of all, this was my first book of Murakami, and I think It was a great start. Looking forward to reading more of his books. 
 The writing was something else, makes you calm from the inside. There are some writings that hit you, and there are some that sooth you, and this writing was like the 2nd one. Each and every word went inside of me , and immediately I felt like, I knew this, even before reading this word. A new kind of self-exploration, you can say. 
 While reading this, I told one of my friends that, I can relate to almost every character in this book. Toru, Naoko, Midori, Reiko, Hatsumi and even Nagasawa, each and every character. I understood what they were doing and why they were doing it, (view spoiler)[ (except why Reiko and Toru had sex at last -_- ) (hide spoiler)] Every character was perfect and imperfect at the same time. (view spoiler)[ Naoko was my most favorite. Yes, I cried for her. When she hung herself in a deep wood, I remembered what she said about Norwegian Wood, 
 "That song can make me feel so sad," said Naoko. "I don't know, I guess I imagine myself wandering in a deep wood. I'm all alone and it's cold and dark, and nobody comes to save me. That's why Reiko never plays it unless I request it." (hide spoiler)] 
 I have seen many people having an issue with the fact that every female character was "weak, dependent and whiny" whereas every male character was the opposite. Well, I didn't see a problem with that. Not every story needs strong independent female characters. To me, the female characters were strong in their own ways. I had some issues with some of those parts too, but in real life no-one is perfect, so why here? 
 I am giving it a 4 out of 5 stars, but still it will be one of my favorite books of all time.