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A review by jstilts
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
A strange slow Japanese magical realism tale of obsession and loneliness (with shades of David Lynch's "Twin Peaks"). The slow meandering style takes some getting used to - but if you give it the time you may find it utterly absorbing as I did. I'm not sure I'm keen on the ending, but that may be because I didn't want it to end.
The plot, which I won't spoil, is very much open to interpretation - how much of it is real, and what "real" even means is all up for grabs. One word of advice - in magical realism books it's easy to take any given opinion as fact on how the world you're reading about works, but that's not the case here: trust your gut instead and it will make a lot more sense.
The plot, which I won't spoil, is very much open to interpretation - how much of it is real, and what "real" even means is all up for grabs. One word of advice - in magical realism books it's easy to take any given opinion as fact on how the world you're reading about works, but that's not the case here: trust your gut instead and it will make a lot more sense.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Grief