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jasonaurynho 's review for:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami
This was my first Murakami, and I went in with high expectations given all the recommendations. The atmospheric writing absolutely delivered, I was completely drawn into the hazy, dreamlike world he creates, and his vivid, rambling descriptions kept me engaged throughout.
But other than that, this book made me feel so dumb lmao
So many plot threads and characters felt like they were building toward something significant, only to not really go anywhere. The wind-up bird itself, Lieutenant Mamiya's war stories, Boris the Man Skinner, the missing cat, the Kano sisters' background, May Kasahara's letters, all of them are genuinely beautifully written as standalone pieces, but I struggled to see how they are connected to the main story or what greater meaning they served.
I kept waiting for that "aha!" moment where everything would click into place, but instead it just ended. Maybe I'm supposed to find meaning in the ambiguity, but the ending felt more underwhelming than profound to me (which I later learned is a hallmark of his).
Another gripe I had was other than May Kasahara, the female characters felt shallowly written. I felt most of their characterization are defined primarily only by their sexuality, with unnecessarily detailed physical descriptions that felt more like Murakami's fixation than meaningful characterization, to the point of becoming genuinely annoying and distracting to read.
Despite this, I still enjoyed the reading experience. Murakami's prose is undeniably captivating, and there's something addictive about his surreal and at moments witty storytelling style. I'm curious enough to try another of his works, hoping maybe I'll "get it" better the second time around.
But other than that, this book made me feel so dumb lmao
So many plot threads and characters felt like they were building toward something significant, only to not really go anywhere. The wind-up bird itself, Lieutenant Mamiya's war stories, Boris the Man Skinner, the missing cat, the Kano sisters' background, May Kasahara's letters, all of them are genuinely beautifully written as standalone pieces, but I struggled to see how they are connected to the main story or what greater meaning they served.
I kept waiting for that "aha!" moment where everything would click into place, but instead it just ended. Maybe I'm supposed to find meaning in the ambiguity, but the ending felt more underwhelming than profound to me (which I later learned is a hallmark of his).
Another gripe I had was other than May Kasahara, the female characters felt shallowly written. I felt most of their characterization are defined primarily only by their sexuality, with unnecessarily detailed physical descriptions that felt more like Murakami's fixation than meaningful characterization, to the point of becoming genuinely annoying and distracting to read.
Spoiler
Some examples, I genuinely got annoyed at how much Murakami repeats about how beautiful Creta Kano's breasts are or how "smooth" and "white" Kumiko's back is.Despite this, I still enjoyed the reading experience. Murakami's prose is undeniably captivating, and there's something addictive about his surreal and at moments witty storytelling style. I'm curious enough to try another of his works, hoping maybe I'll "get it" better the second time around.