The arrival of a new novel by Haruki Murakami tends to be greeted by his fans with cult-like devotion. Since the publication of Norwegian Wood in 1987, Murakami has held a unique place in the contemporary literary canon: a Japanese writer steeped in American literature, and arguably the most successful contemporary Japanese novelist in translation, he’s attracted a loyal army of readers during the course of his 30-year career. There is, then, a great deal of excitement surrounding the publication of his first two novels – Hear the Wind Sing (1979) and Pinball, 1973 (1980) – widely available in English translation for the first time.

What’s interesting about the publication of these novellas is that, according to reports, Murakami himself is not a fan of them and has been opposed to having them translated into English. In his new introduction, the author claims that they “played an important role in what I have accomplished. They are totally irreplaceable, much like friends from long ago”. However, he also writes that he considers A Wild Sheep Chase (1982) “to be the true beginning of my career as a novelist”. It’s always fascinating to read early works by established literary figures, especially when the author seems reluctant for you to do so.

In fact, Murakami has possibly done himself a disservice with his previous comments. Not only is there much to enjoy in both books, but there is also evidence of the themes and conceits that will infuse his later novels.

Both titles follow the life of an unnamed protagonist and his friend, the Rat. In the first, Hear the Wind Sing, the protagonist is home on his summer break from university, spending his days drinking beer and smoking with the Rat at their local hangout, J’s bar. He reminisces about the three women he’s slept with thus far in his life and embarks on an ill-fated affair with a fourth; in a classic Murakami quirk, this latest lover only has nine fingers.

In Pinball, 1973, the protagonist has established a translation company with a friend, and is having an affair with a set of twins who have moved themselves into his apartment. He becomes obsessed with tracking down a particular pinball machine he played during his college years. The Rat, meanwhile, is still frequenting J’s bar, depressed and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In this second tale, the two friends never meet.

What establishes these two novellas as quintessential Murakami are not just the themes of isolation and loneliness that will characterise many of his later works, nor their colloquial style that positions them firmly in the familiar territory of classic American coming-of-age novels. It’s that both stories hint at the unique, postmodern blend of the real and the surreal, the quotidian and the allegorical for which Murakami would later become famous.

In Pinball, 1973, the protagonist’s quest to locate the enigmatic Spaceship pinball machine that “captivated people’s minds, like opium” leads him on a bizarre midnight journey to a warehouse in a field. It takes a skilful writer to create poignancy in the moment a character is reacquainted with a pinball machine, but Murakami invests it with all the emotion of a love scene: “We fell silent again. What we shared was no more than a fragment of a time long dead. Yet memories remained, warm memories that remained with me like light from the past. And I would carry those lights in the brief interval before death grabbed me and tossed me back into the crucible of nothingness.”

Murakami fans will no doubt delight in this new publication. For newcomers, these early works are an excellent introduction to a writer who has since become one of the most influential novelists of his generation.

Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball is published by Harvill Secker (£16.99). Click here to buy it for £12.99