So great to find out I, too, am not alone in feeling Murakami is not alone!
His latest book (Commendatore) I think was not so well received by those who claim to know what is good and what is not. I suspect, very secretly, left with way too much silence (instead of the usual cogs griding braincells into pure light) that it is a masterpiece that deserves 6 re-reads....

(I used to know/look forward to your wife('s writing)...whose writing was amongst the very best in a tiny top three I was able to comprise...then I left before you arrived - mainly to spend more time with Murakami-thoughts, but also to discover what Proust is all about (also not as straightforward as the critics tend to over-complicate it); I look forward to more of your work in as much as either of us leave any here...