This is the novel, first published in Japan in 1987, which made Murakami famous, much to his dismay. It was first published in English outside Japan in the 2-volume red and green editions in 2000 by Harvill Press, but is now available in a single volume edition. The 2 volume version echoed the original Japanese edition.
I read this at the time, and decided to re-read it after having seen him at the Auckland Writers Festival earlier this year. It's a very sad novel about a young student and his relationship with two very different young women. It explores issues around suicide and its effect on those left behind, sex and its effect on the participants, depression, relationships, loyalty, all set against a background of civil unrest. As usual in a Murakami novel, the lead character is indecisive, ambivalent, socially awkward.
It's perhaps not Murakami's best novel, but I enjoyed it again. It's worth reading if only for that curious effect the reader experiences only when reading Murakami. I recommend it, even if you haven't read him before, this might be a good place to start.