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microbiowriter 's review for:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami
FIRST OF ALL: If you picked up this book thinking you were in for a Japanese Neverwhere, boy have I got news for you. Here it is. This book is nothing like what you're expecting, so forget that right now.
As for the rest, I slept on it and this is the conclusion I came to.
This book is like a vivid daydream — either so gripping that you forsake reality for it or so tedious that you have to already be bored to get into it. Really, I was invested in any character who was not named Toru Okada. He was a difficult main character to get behind.
It was unexpectedly violent. Yes, I expected a little, but the clarity of the descriptions and the unrelenting brutality of the violent scenes were overwhelming. I cringed and had to put the book down for a few parts (especially around page 520; HOLY SHIT).
On the other hand, I also had to put the book down because I was so bored. There's a reason it took me several months to finish this one.
At the heart of the book, I feel like Murakami is trying to say something, but the whole point of him message is that everything gets convoluted anyway. We don't truly talk to each other — we just tell stories in the hopes that our real meaning gets across.
My final review: 10/10 for style, minus 5 points for overthinking.
I have a theory that helps me accept the ending more. It wasn't a let down, it was just ... empty. It didn't feel like a real ending, which I guess is okay.
I feel like I would understand the book more if I read it again, but I don't want to right now. I don't know if I ever will want to. And I guess that's okay.
As for the rest, I slept on it and this is the conclusion I came to.
This book is like a vivid daydream — either so gripping that you forsake reality for it or so tedious that you have to already be bored to get into it. Really, I was invested in any character who was not named Toru Okada. He was a difficult main character to get behind.
Spoiler
Honestly, when he was having his "final battle," I didn't feel like anything was at stake. It just was. If he lived or died, I really didn't care.It was unexpectedly violent. Yes, I expected a little, but the clarity of the descriptions and the unrelenting brutality of the violent scenes were overwhelming. I cringed and had to put the book down for a few parts (especially around page 520; HOLY SHIT).
On the other hand, I also had to put the book down because I was so bored. There's a reason it took me several months to finish this one.
At the heart of the book, I feel like Murakami is trying to say something, but the whole point of him message is that everything gets convoluted anyway. We don't truly talk to each other — we just tell stories in the hopes that our real meaning gets across.
My final review: 10/10 for style, minus 5 points for overthinking.
I have a theory that helps me accept the ending more. It wasn't a let down, it was just ... empty. It didn't feel like a real ending, which I guess is okay.
Spoiler
My theory is that Toru is not the one telling the story. Cinnamon is the author. After the revelation that May's letters went missing, I started thinking about how much the narrative relied on these intertwining stories. I'm pretty convinced the unreadable parts of the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in the book are Cinnamon's own perceptions of the stories around them. They may be true or they may be untrue, they're just stories in the end.I feel like I would understand the book more if I read it again, but I don't want to right now. I don't know if I ever will want to. And I guess that's okay.