In one of his most popular novels, the protagonist's best friend commits suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide from his motorcycle, while the girl he loves develops mental problems and hangs herself.  
The title of one of his novels refers to the nickname given to Miu after she mentions that she is reading Jack Kerouac.  Another title refers both to an illness that affects Siberian farmers and a song by Nat King Cole that has always fascinated Hajime (hah-gee-may).  In one of his most popular novels, the protagonist's best friend commits suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide from his motorcycle, while the girl he loves develops mental problems and hangs herself.  In addition to Sputnik Sweetheart and South of the Border, West of the Sun, this man's novels include one in which Toru Watanabe is prompted to reflect on his youth by hearing the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood."  FTP, name this author of After the Quake and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, one of Japan's most inventive contemporary novelists.
The title of one of his novels refers to the nickname given to Miu after she mentions that she is reading Jack Kerouac.  
Haruki Murakami