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harrispasek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
aiksas's review against another edition
5.0
The first 500 pages are slow and lengthy and so murakami, and the next hundred are divine and a perfect pull
girasoleille's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
chuu_nyaz's review against another edition
3.0
2.5*
okay let me voice my thoughts on this book now.
what i think of when i think about what this book made me feel is confusion, entertainment, interest, weirded-out-ness and slight boredom at times. this book is a lot. it felt a bit messy and what i noticed at the end was that there was little to no tying up any of the multitudes of strings of plot.
there were so many subplots and although i enjoyed a lot of them (malta and creta kano were my least fav, cinnamon and nutmeg my faves, with may kasahara an honorable mention just because i adore her character, her connection to the mc however, anything but), especially the historical ramblings in between (shoutout lieutenant mamiya in manchuria fr) which i found myself searching up myself, i felt like in the end the connections were flimsy at best. characters were connected in ways that felt like they should be more meaningful than they ended up being in the resolution which may be on me but i felt slightly disappointed at that. a bit unfulfilling. like whys it called windup bird chronicle and that dumb bird does not get explained girl fuck u /lh /hj. the book felt like many little stories that somehow fit together but not really, like when someone tells u a story and a person you know makes a cameo or easter eggs in disney shows. as solo stories they banged though.
i think that was part of the point of the book, as a lot of parts, especially towards the end where i got slightly creeped out /pos, were wrapped in dreamlike haziness. you could often not be sure what was real or not. the main point /was/ to get kumiko back from the beginning so any diversions were just collateral on okadas way there and it was fun to see such a fucking LOSER do all that to get his wife back lol.
in classic murakami fashion 16 yo may kasaharas relationship w middle aged okada was tinged with lowkey creepiness such as cheek licking (??????i dont even..) and hand holding (eyebrow raise). as a girl she was so cute and real tho and her and cinnamon were def my favs. the settings were also pretty cool ranging from barely any distance from okadas house to back in history to the 2nd sino-japanese war, which were executed really well. i do think it was pretty entertaining although again, some parts felt a bit boring towards the second book. despite that the plot points and narrated events were extremeley well done and ofc his prose is awesome. im always amazed at how plain the mcs in murakamis books are in their thoughts and actions but how well the reader (at least me) is able to experience the story through their eyes. granted i've only read two books by him for now but. ya.
i think this is a book that really needs to be reread to grasp the point and broader picture and i think i could enjoy it more a second time around. the fact that it took me so long to read it (lost motivation v often cuz as said before sometimes it dragged, the subplots were pretty long and when one u were not particularly interested in was in the focus there was not much else) also deducted from the experience. i may just need to develope a prefrontal cortex like my mvp may kasahara and come back to this again lol.
okay let me voice my thoughts on this book now.
what i think of when i think about what this book made me feel is confusion, entertainment, interest, weirded-out-ness and slight boredom at times. this book is a lot. it felt a bit messy and what i noticed at the end was that there was little to no tying up any of the multitudes of strings of plot.
there were so many subplots and although i enjoyed a lot of them (malta and creta kano were my least fav, cinnamon and nutmeg my faves, with may kasahara an honorable mention just because i adore her character, her connection to the mc however, anything but), especially the historical ramblings in between (shoutout lieutenant mamiya in manchuria fr) which i found myself searching up myself, i felt like in the end the connections were flimsy at best. characters were connected in ways that felt like they should be more meaningful than they ended up being in the resolution which may be on me but i felt slightly disappointed at that. a bit unfulfilling. like whys it called windup bird chronicle and that dumb bird does not get explained girl fuck u /lh /hj. the book felt like many little stories that somehow fit together but not really, like when someone tells u a story and a person you know makes a cameo or easter eggs in disney shows. as solo stories they banged though.
i think that was part of the point of the book, as a lot of parts, especially towards the end where i got slightly creeped out /pos, were wrapped in dreamlike haziness. you could often not be sure what was real or not. the main point /was/ to get kumiko back from the beginning so any diversions were just collateral on okadas way there and it was fun to see such a fucking LOSER do all that to get his wife back lol.
in classic murakami fashion 16 yo may kasaharas relationship w middle aged okada was tinged with lowkey creepiness such as cheek licking (??????i dont even..) and hand holding (eyebrow raise). as a girl she was so cute and real tho and her and cinnamon were def my favs. the settings were also pretty cool ranging from barely any distance from okadas house to back in history to the 2nd sino-japanese war, which were executed really well. i do think it was pretty entertaining although again, some parts felt a bit boring towards the second book. despite that the plot points and narrated events were extremeley well done and ofc his prose is awesome. im always amazed at how plain the mcs in murakamis books are in their thoughts and actions but how well the reader (at least me) is able to experience the story through their eyes. granted i've only read two books by him for now but. ya.
i think this is a book that really needs to be reread to grasp the point and broader picture and i think i could enjoy it more a second time around. the fact that it took me so long to read it (lost motivation v often cuz as said before sometimes it dragged, the subplots were pretty long and when one u were not particularly interested in was in the focus there was not much else) also deducted from the experience. i may just need to develope a prefrontal cortex like my mvp may kasahara and come back to this again lol.
spenkevich's review against another edition
5.0
This is LOST done by the Japanese. This book will blow your face off, or skin it off if you are as unlucky as certain characters, and you will love it for it. Murakami delivers a page turner of a novel that starts innocently with a man looking for his cat after getting sex-ed up on the phone while boiling some spaghetti and quickly drops you down a crazy well of crazed politicians, dream women, dream worlds, WWII horror stories and rich secret corporations. I can't believe this isn't an anime by now.
While this book is quite plot heavy, it does delight with its subtleties and interesting shifts in form and perspective so fear not literature seekers! And it does come together at the end quite well, which is reassuring when you are halfway through and wondering "how the hell is this going to wrap up?!". It may not directly give you all your answers, but there is enough to uncover with a bit of thought and the parts left unanswered, well, they are left that way for a reason. This book is for those with a creative imagination and it tests you to push that to the limits.
This is one wild ride and you should not miss it. If you are the sort to be put off by quirky asian stereotypes, this book may not be for you. It has all the standards, weird sex (mutating women with cat tails?) and an over-sexualized teenage girl hanging out with a mid-30's male which nobody finds creepy, but try to get past that if so because this book is a pure delight.
While this book is quite plot heavy, it does delight with its subtleties and interesting shifts in form and perspective so fear not literature seekers! And it does come together at the end quite well, which is reassuring when you are halfway through and wondering "how the hell is this going to wrap up?!". It may not directly give you all your answers, but there is enough to uncover with a bit of thought and the parts left unanswered, well, they are left that way for a reason. This book is for those with a creative imagination and it tests you to push that to the limits.
This is one wild ride and you should not miss it. If you are the sort to be put off by quirky asian stereotypes, this book may not be for you. It has all the standards, weird sex (mutating women with cat tails?) and an over-sexualized teenage girl hanging out with a mid-30's male which nobody finds creepy, but try to get past that if so because this book is a pure delight.
marsius's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderfully surreal, borderline psychedelic read. At the same time, it's often incredibly vague, rambling, and monumentally frustrating.
First, the good. Murakami is an incredibly gifted storyteller, particularly with emotion. As the reader, as Toru felt an emotion, I felt it right along with him. I felt his insane sense of betrayal as well as his seeming need to put his life and marriage back together despite that betrayal. The prose is also wonderful. If the shoegaze genre of music were translated to writing, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle would squarely fit inside with it's gauzy prize helping your mind slip in and out of reality along with our protagonist. It really is beautiful.
At the same time, wow is it convoluted and vague. This isn't simply a case of an author not laying everything out in a bit of exposition for the reader. Rather, major plot elements with deep connection to our protagonist's actions and thoughts occur without any real reflection on them by our protagonist. It's inexplicable to me that man who so deeply thinks of the significance of the state of a yard has no thoughts on the mind bending things he experiences. In addition, whereas that gauzy prose is wonderful to read, it also serves to cover up that a number of elements seem to be brought into the book only to be left to wither without further thought or are given significance for chapters and chapters after their actual apparent use has long since ended—one wonders why Murakami would write and why we should read threads of characters no longer accomplishing anything for our protagonist or even themselves.
Never the less, I did really enjoy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I'm not sure it's a must read, but those who love it really to seem to *love* it, and I may simply be missing something there. As is, for me this was an enjoyable read. Even as I was frustrated at many points, the quality of the prose and the strength of Murakami's storytelling is more than enough reason to recommend the book.
First, the good. Murakami is an incredibly gifted storyteller, particularly with emotion. As the reader, as Toru felt an emotion, I felt it right along with him. I felt his insane sense of betrayal as well as his seeming need to put his life and marriage back together despite that betrayal. The prose is also wonderful. If the shoegaze genre of music were translated to writing, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle would squarely fit inside with it's gauzy prize helping your mind slip in and out of reality along with our protagonist. It really is beautiful.
At the same time, wow is it convoluted and vague. This isn't simply a case of an author not laying everything out in a bit of exposition for the reader. Rather, major plot elements with deep connection to our protagonist's actions and thoughts occur without any real reflection on them by our protagonist. It's inexplicable to me that man who so deeply thinks of the significance of the state of a yard has no thoughts on the mind bending things he experiences. In addition, whereas that gauzy prose is wonderful to read, it also serves to cover up that a number of elements seem to be brought into the book only to be left to wither without further thought or are given significance for chapters and chapters after their actual apparent use has long since ended—one wonders why Murakami would write and why we should read threads of characters no longer accomplishing anything for our protagonist or even themselves.
Never the less, I did really enjoy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I'm not sure it's a must read, but those who love it really to seem to *love* it, and I may simply be missing something there. As is, for me this was an enjoyable read. Even as I was frustrated at many points, the quality of the prose and the strength of Murakami's storytelling is more than enough reason to recommend the book.
utopian_wanderer's review against another edition
5.0
My first review because the novel is truly worth my time... and yours.
A strange and delightful read, and curiously, my new favorite novel—a novel I'll have to reread. Thought-provoking, winding, and mysterious, Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was thoroughly enjoyable. The novel was challenging in places but worth the effort. It explores themes like the meaning of life, the influence of others on our paths, trauma, and the web of events that connect us in ways that often make you or I exclaim, "Wow, small world!"
This is my first Murakami novel, and it certainly won't be my last.
A strange and delightful read, and curiously, my new favorite novel—a novel I'll have to reread. Thought-provoking, winding, and mysterious, Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was thoroughly enjoyable. The novel was challenging in places but worth the effort. It explores themes like the meaning of life, the influence of others on our paths, trauma, and the web of events that connect us in ways that often make you or I exclaim, "Wow, small world!"
This is my first Murakami novel, and it certainly won't be my last.
hank_vega's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kleo707's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0