After much hesitation, Haruki Murakami has heeded the requests of his readers and agreed to publish these early works, which have never appeared outside Japan, alongside "A Wild Sheep Chase" to form the "Rat Trilogy." For the first time in 35 years, this collection is now fully available in German. A small sensation, not just for die-hard Murakami fans. "Hear the Wind Sing" follows a 21-year-old student spending the summer of 1970 in his small hometown. He passes the time with his best friend "Rat," a girl with four fingers on her left hand, and a bartender. In "Pinball, 1973," the young man lives in Tokyo three years later, while "Rat" is still waiting at "J.'s Bar" for life to begin. A melancholic, atmospherically rich novel that also contains perhaps the best pinball scenes in literary history.