On its surface, “The Elephant Vanishes” by renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami offers a simple mystery story of a missing elephant. However, like many of Murakami’s stories, there is an element of surrealism to this tale, which includes bizarre twists and strange details. The first English version of “The Elephant Vanishes” appeared in a 1991 issue of The New Yorker, translated by Jay Rubin. This tale shares its title with the 1993 short story collection The Elephant Vanishes, the first of Murakami’s short story collections to be published in English.

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