If you like magical realism, you might enjoy One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a metaphoric interpretation of Columbian history based upon the lives of many generations of one family.
I loved it (it took a few attempts to finish it though).
I think Marquez's work is more realistic (and not always evident when he strays into the magical); Murakami sometimes crosses straight into fantasy. If that makes sense at all.
