The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Even though I struggled to grasp the book’s ultimate goal, I was absolutely captivated by Murakami’s tale. But I’ve been sitting with a different question lately: does a story have to have a purpose? Now I’m not so sure. Toru’s detachment was a balm to the chaos unfolding around him, and I enjoyed it very much.Īfter finishing this story I asked myself, “What was the purpose?” It’s been many weeks, and I still don’t have an answer. I would hover over a scene horrified by one of Lieutenant Mamiya’s stories, yet Toru would sit quietly, letting the horror wash over and through him like it was nothing. It was surreal, like an out-of-body reading experience. No matter what level of wild Murakami reached in character interactions, Toru nodded along and moved forward. Toru is leveled and approaches each interaction with a gentle acceptance. I have never read about someone who is so unfazed by the fantastical, disturbing, and heartbreaking situations unfolding around him. It was a wild, weird ride, and I’m a little disoriented but absolutely in awe of his writing. There was no chance I could have anticipated the story’s direction. The journey he takes Toru through is somehow both rooted in reality and in the abstract.

His writing is descriptive and all-consuming demanding your full attention. Toru must rely on the cast of characters to guide him through a chronicle of an average man in not-so-average situations so that he can find Kumiko and bring her home. His daily life is turned upside down by increasingly odd interactions and soon Toru discovers that Kumiko has also gone missing. As he begins to look around the neighborhood, strange individuals begin to infiltrate the story. Since he’s unemployed and has so much time on his hands, Toru’s wife, Kumiko, urges him to locate their pet. However, if I’ve learned anything after finally picking up this book, it’s that no one can ever be ready for Murakami, so stop procrastinating and just do it. The book sat on my shelf for months because I never felt ready enough to open it up. I decided my first introduction to Haruki Murakami would be The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami