The author chose to give more attention to the short stories because they were more obscure in Western countries and do not have as many translations.
[1] The third chapter discusses how Murakami uses language in his works to connect to different regions worldwide.
[2] Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit of Free University of Berlin stated that the author "deserves credit" for writing about a new concept related to Murakami.
[6] Tachibana stated that the author's arguments could have been improved if they had more emphasis on the novels, although she did appreciate the content on the short stories.
[6] Timothy J. van Compernolle of Amherst College described the work overall as "thoughtful", and the chapter on his role between Japan and the United States as "richly documented".