I'd say the Wind Up Bird Chronicles is a lot closer to the Hard Boiled Wonderland.
1Q84, while it has an excellent rendition of a cult member, is a simpler story, and has a tendency to repeat itself quite a bit. I don't know if this was because it was originally printed as two books or not, that might just be a UK thing.
The Wind up Bird Chronicles starts on this relatively intriguing but normal sounding premise (a mans wife doesn't come home one day, and he finds a receipt for a dry cleaners in her pocket) and then just starts to go nuts, but with each fantastical step being laid on in a coherent enough fashion to take you along with it. Of course, all of this is just opinion.
I'd also recommend his book of short stories - I think it's "The Elephant Vanishes". They are some with really excellent premises.
In terms of other authors, maybe try Borge and A Universal History of Infamy. I think it has a similar level of fantastical whimsy and excellent language
Thanks for the recommendations, I'm a huge fan of Borges. However, 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicles' didn't fascinated me and it was somewhat a chore to finish it.
I have not found anything better then Borges. Actually, it's kind of annoying because somehow reading Borges appears to have become synonymous with pretentiousness, at least to my friends, and my earnest appeals to others to read his magnificent fiction have been poorly received. But he really is so damn good!
I don't know if it really qualifies as magic realism but Gunter Grass is a very good writer that gives this weird fascinating vibe. 'The Tin Drum' and 'The Flounder' are very interesting books, highly recommend.
1Q84, while it has an excellent rendition of a cult member, is a simpler story, and has a tendency to repeat itself quite a bit. I don't know if this was because it was originally printed as two books or not, that might just be a UK thing.
The Wind up Bird Chronicles starts on this relatively intriguing but normal sounding premise (a mans wife doesn't come home one day, and he finds a receipt for a dry cleaners in her pocket) and then just starts to go nuts, but with each fantastical step being laid on in a coherent enough fashion to take you along with it. Of course, all of this is just opinion.
I'd also recommend his book of short stories - I think it's "The Elephant Vanishes". They are some with really excellent premises.
In terms of other authors, maybe try Borge and A Universal History of Infamy. I think it has a similar level of fantastical whimsy and excellent language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Universal_History_of_Infamy