Reviews

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

towercity's review against another edition

5.0

yo i used to have a bad review here so let me replace it with this: the book is cool

mobyskine's review against another edition

4.0

A mysterious phone call, a potful of boiling spaghetti, unemployed and probably getting bald, where the heck is the missing cat and there's something about Kumiko nowadays.

"Hello, Mr Wind-Up Bird!" I fell in love with May Kasahara. She's cool but annoying, weird character but she's a dear. I love all her letters-- where did it all go, i wonder.

Toru Okada's adventure-- the one that you can't possibly think of. With bizarre characters, red vinyl hat, a dream visit, Room 208, a lieutenant from a war, a 'shady' politician, a very long letters and pocketful of mystery. Oh. And my favorite. Nutmeg and Cinnamon. (Cinnamon especially!)

I really enjoyed the 'ride'. Though somehow I feel bad for Toru-- he's a mess, at some point. Between reality and and the other world and all those human he met. The time when he was stuck inside the well calling out for May-- suspense and thrilling. An odd thrill.

Like the ending too. It feels like all been sort out though very vague but thanks for the adventure, Mr Wind-Up Bird!

imfhd's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jakerd8's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

ybenhayun's review against another edition

4.0

I honestly could not tell you what this book was about. It was great tho.

rachelselene's review against another edition

dnf @ 60%. it’s been almost a year. it’s time i accepted it: i am not going to finish this.

meghturnsthepage's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

selenajournal's review against another edition

2.0

Is it possible, finally, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another?

We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close are we able to come to that person's essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone? -pg 24

Would I ever see the rest? Or would I grow old and die withotu ever really knowing her? If that was all that lay in store for me, then what was the point of this married life I was leading? What was the point of my life at all if I was spending it in bed with an unknown companion?

This was what I thought about that night and what I went on thinking about long afterward from time to time. Only much later did it occur to me that I had found my way into the core of the problem. -pg 31

Unfortunately, certain events mad it impossible for me to do so. These things can happen, Mr. Okada. As you know, we live in a violent and chaotic world. And within this world, there are places that are still more violent, still more chaotic. -pg 42

I could disappear from the face of the earth, and the world would go on moving withou tthe slightest twinge. Things were tremendously complicated, to be sure, but one thing was clear: no one needed me. -pg 250

moonc777's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Everything was a dream. This book surpassed my expectations. The only reason this isn’t a 5 star is because I wanted more of it towards the ending. It wasn’t too rushed if that’s what you’re thinking, it’s just that I wish I knew more of what happened next. Like some characters

Creta and Malta Kano, and the baby? Is it actually his? What does half him and half Liutenant Mamiya being the father mean? Also the boy who went mute after seeing people digging the hole and burying something? A heart in his dream? Why is the wind up bird only heard by certain people? And what type of people? I want to knowww !!

, even though it’s not a major thing for me and maybe Murakami kept it like this to maintain that whimsical dreamy feel of them, since they are

characters that would disappear like that,

, I guess I was greedy for more of them.
Overall, a really good reading experience with this book. Definitely one of my favourites rn

rizbee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

first murakami book. frankly do not see what all the hype about this one is about. i found it excruciatingly difficult to get through and needlessly long. it was a shame because there were small aspects of the story i was really intrigued by (like “cinnamon” and the voice connection). however, we spent the majority of the book doing nothing and just describing/having weird thoughts about women. i don’t see what the point of this was and am overall unimpressed lol. there was some good writing so it ups the score but the content was not for me.