Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel (Vintage International) Paperback – Deckle Edge, 1 September 1998

The book is narrated by Toru Okada, a jobless dude, who lives with his wife. He likes spaghetti and lemon drops. He gets bizarre calls at home. One day, their cat disappears, so Toru goes out to look for it. What follows is a series of strange characters and stranger incidents, in the past and in the present, that turn Toru's life upside down. After the disappearance of the cat, it becomes quite difficult to describe what this book is about, and I think that's an appropriate metaphor for our lackluster protagonist's life, because it's hard to figure out why certain things happened. Did his descent into darkness begin with the disappearance of the cat? Was it because of a secret his wife had been hiding? Or did it have its roots in the WWII? These are questions I cannot answer, and I believe that Murakami never wanted the reader to answer them.The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is loaded with engaging philosophies of life, death and identity. The boundary between reality and meta-reality is permeable and malleable. At the core, this book seems to be an exploration of fate. Toru moves from passivity to activity as he struggles to engage with destiny or bend fate to his own needs. There are so many aspects to the story that move the characters outside of their own willpower, and it was fun to watch the struggle. The writing is lively, the dialogue is crisp, and the characters are mesmerising.

🍋When Life gives you lemons, can you really make Lemonade?.A Japanese Cryptographer from the army was once sent to Western Manchuria. He travelled with three others, one being a disguised senior officer and two other juniors. The senior on reaching the location acquired an important scroll that was believed to save Japan. One fateful night on their return, they were captured by Mongols and two other soldiers from Soviet. By the time Cryptographer woke up from his sleep, one of his teammates vanished into thin air, another was already dead, he senior was being skinned like a goat and he laid as a mass of flesh.When the enemy realised these did not process the important documents, they let go of the soldier. They spared his life by throwing him in an old well. It was a desert, nobody would possibly find him there, he was supposed to die a slow death of hunger and thirst..What changed him, was the well. Despite the plunging darkness and unaware of earthly time, he stayed there at the bottom of the earth assuming there would possibly be a saviour..What was so special about the depths and crawling darkness?.50 years later, now a high school teacher, he happens to meet a Youngster in his 30, Mr Toru Okada. Mr Okada is in search of his existence. He quit his job in a law firm, his only goals are to search his missing cat, Noburu Wataya, whom he has named after his brother in law. Get his wife's laundry, cook and clean..Death of an acquaintance brings both together. They exchange life stories thus unfolds a series of unknown and weirdest events..This is my first #MurakamiThe title makes sense after a few pages. One day when nothing goes right, Okada finds himself in his neighbour's empty well looking for what the soldier believed. The term must be "Hope".Wind up bird is what Mr Okada believes winds the spring of nature and keeps earthmoving, he calls himself "wind up the bird". That summarised the painting, "bird in the well"..Stories from Japanese history and a weird bewitched plot in #Tokyo Suburbs. Men and women from different walks of life, exchanging stories. The story is a chronology of two years divided into three parts..Apart from wonderful translation, weirdest plot twists, amazing story, I noticed it was quite repetitive. Stories kept repeating page by page. 600 pages worth of Wonderful ride into fantasy, nightmares, psychological games and a confused man.This sort of disappointed me and I was determined to finish it..like a compulsion rather read with interest. Yet This should not keep you away from the fact the story is engaging and exciting.

The book is enjoyable, its for both, fans of Murakami and the ones new to the murakami genre.

Go slow, else you might scare the bird away.It sits on a perch and sees the decadent world.It tries flying away from the reach of sobriety, into a world of fantasy.Go slow, else you might scare the bird away.

I ordered this book and received it on time……The book had some faint scars on it but they were not noticeable…..The cover was aesthetic…..The content was good and the author’s imagination is above the mark!!

A recurring thought I had while reading this book was, “the gentleman doth digress too much.”The Wind-up bird chronicle is both intriguing and frustrating. The moment I finished this book, I messaged my friend who I buddy read this book with - “so many words, so little revealed!” Despite filling up 600 pages, Murakami does not tie up loose ends, hence the frustration, and yet, the writing is gorgeous.Books like these provide the perfect grounds to go down the Reddit hole. There are many theories and interpretations specific to Japanese culture that I enjoyed immersing myself into, which also made me appreciate the book a little more. However, one star has been deducted for terribly written women characters - particularly this weird tic he has of undressing nearly every woman character in the readers’ imaginations.Interestingly, Reddit user Amoxi has compared Murakami’s writing style to Jazz music - “jazz is all about harmony and improvisation (going with the flow). And although jazz musicians may deviate from the main melody, they always return.” I think that is a pretty apt description. Do the Murakami fans in the house agree?

Still not finished so can't say but it's the original one comes perfectly 👌

Yes, its a bit of a read but you have to stick with this book as the book progresses it comes together as a wonderful tail of mystery meeting mundane livelihood of a man. Its like trying to form a shape off an amorphous misty cloud. It's so satiating to watch the entirety of the novel coming together as a cohesive piece of literature at the end, if you are a fan Japanese authors in general you will enjoy the slow paced yet dynamically vacillating plot of this novel!!!!!!!

sehr einfach geschrieben und auch mit nicht so guten englisch Kenntnissen gut zu verstehen

If you've read this, you know that it's easily Murakami's best work, and a classic of magical realism. Distinctively Japanese and idiosyncratically Murakami, it is also very accessible to Western readers, given Murakami's 20th Century Western pop culture preoccupations. The mysterious tone is what sticks with you long after, but the potboiler suspense keeps the plot propulsive and readable.It must be said that the paper and binding quality on this new 2022 edition isn't the best, but it is perfectly sufficient quality for this price range, especially given how long its been since a hardcover version of the title was in print. Highly recommended!

Murakami jak zwykle świetny, to się rozumie samo przez się. Jednak druk tej książki jest o wiele mniejszy, niż np. 1Q84 tego samego wydawcy. Na początku małe literki bardzo mi przeszkadzały, miałam wrażenie, że umniejszają wartość tej świetnej książki. Potem się nawet przyzwyczaiłam, ale i tak uważam, ze tak nie powinno się publikować książek. Chyba, że na okładce da się ostrzeżenie, że literki miniaturowe. Nie rozumiem, dlaczego tak wydano tę powieść, nie ma ona nawet połowy liczby stron, co trzy tomy 1Q84, wydane w jednym tomie i normalnej wielkości czcionką.

murakami continually blows my mind !! such an incredible experience and internal journey of a book.physically a nice copy too i like the durable cover and paper👅

Maravilloso Murakami, nunca defrauda. Es el quinto libro que me leo de él y siempre logra engancharme y fascinarme.El libro llegó rápido y en perfecto estado.Lo volvería a comprar, me parece un regalo perfecto.