Haruki Murakami is widely regarded as the most influential Japanese writer of his generation. His unique gift for expressing the perplexity of today's world is evidenced in the opening chapter of his first novel, Norwegian Wood; "Lieutenant Mamiya's Long Story, Parts I and II" from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; "Shizuko Akashi" from "Underground"; and the short stories "Barn Burning," "Honeypie," and, for the first time in book form, "Iceman. "