More than four years have passed since the Japanese publication of the last Komturov's Death novel. Haruki Murakami now comes out with a new collection of short stories, which he already identifies with the title: First Person Singular. For a long time it was typical for the author to write in the first person. He began to use the third person narrative only in his late works. Not only with this element, but also with style and themes, it is now returning to its roots. And it also balances. Here we have eight texts that we can deliciously enjoy. Murakami writes about student life in the 1960s, talks about his love for jazz or his admiration for the Beatles; after all, the writer already named two older short stories after their songs: Drive My Car and Yesterday. In the stories, random and mysterious encounters come to the fore, the author lets his imagination run wild: according to him, the famous jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker did not die in 1955, but lived to the 60s. In the funny story Confessions of a Monkey from Shinagawa, the narrator on his travels comes to a small inn where he encounters a talking monkey who likes the music of Anton Bruckner and who willingly washes his back. Haruki Murakami also takes stock in the short story collection. He says that with increasing years it is not strange that one gets old himself. What's more surprising is how terribly people of his generation have aged, especially women... Don't expect a message, an explanation or a resolution, not even a surprising plot point. Short stories have another ability - they stay in your head for a long time. You may never get rid of them.