The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami REVIEW

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[@joeterra9494]

Read this book years ago back in college. Have never forgotten the chapters when Honda describes his experiences in the war. Some of the best writing murakami ever did.

[@evanb4189]

Fyi, the part where they shoot all the animals in the zoo is a true story. Berlin had wild animals running the streets from Allied bombings, so the Japanese ordered all animals killed in big-city zoos.

[@shinyenergyball]

Great review Bookchemist as always❤ I haven’t read this one in many years but I will never forget Boris the Manskinner for as long as live and perhaps the most gruesomely visceral horror scene I’ve ever read in a novel.

[@Momo_0_o]

Excellent timing! Just finished this book today. Had been slowing getting through it since December and feel accomplished having finally finished.

[@allesvergaengliche]

This was one of the last books of his that I’ve read, but might be my favorite. Kafka on the Shore might be the most similar among his works, so I’ll look forward to hearing what you have to say about it. Thanks for the review.

[@brianbirish]

I loved Mays character in the book. This is my second favorite Murakami. My favorite is 1Q84. I read the single volume brick of a book, 1157 pages. It also comes in 3 volume set.

[@timkjazz]

Favorite Murakami, along with A Wild Sheep Chase, loved this book when I read it a couple years ago.

[@FlLixZ]

I just finished this book today, also my first murakami and discovered your channel a few days ago! Guess it was the flow

[@Sachie465]

A friend and fan of Murakami's once told me that The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is his typical story; a passive man meets eccentric women and gets caught up in a strange world. The ambiguous ending is, I think, part of a tradition in Japanese literature. P.S. I loved Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

[@constancecampbell4610]

Thank you for discussing this book. I am an uber-fan of Murakami despite not loving everything I’ve read. This one was very satisfying, but I don’t remember why now. I will reread soon. Kafka on the Shore was my first and I adored it. My favorite is probably Hard-boiled Wonderland. 👍 By the way, does reading Murakami make anyone else hungry?

[@docchicken245]

It might make someone hungry since he always talks about food. In my case It has definitely made me want to taste japanese cuisine 😂

[@MuteCircle]

My personal favourites are The Wild Sheep Chase and Hard Boiled Wonderland (Kafka on the Shore too, partly for the Radiohead reference!) But I read Wind Up Bird Chronicle at pretty much the perfect time in my life to do so, and really altered my perspective on my sort of aimless and confused 20s. His short stories are worth checking out, some of his strongest work is in there.

[@ss-gr8lt]

Wild coincidence, cuz im reading this book rn. Here to drop a like and will be back to watch the review once I finish lol

[@Matik353]

I read most of it like 3 years ago but couldn't finish it. I loved Kafka on the shore so I thought this would be a similar experience and it mostly was, however I feel this one it is too over the place without having any connection or "sense", to the point that what happens on the book loses it's relevance for me. I like "randomness" when it has a purpose, not necessarily in the rational sense, but maybe in an unconscious, poetic way, for lack of a better word. Here it seems just weird for the sake of it, in contrast to other works like david lynch's for example, or kafka on the shore. There were chapters and passages I liked a lot though, so I hope I can give it another try anytime soon. Your review made me want to do it too, thank you for discussing it!

[@thunderwood]

For whatever reason this book has stuck around in my head for the past 10+ years. I read it at a time when I was kind of in flux like the main character and it really resonated with me. I was very excited to watch this video and may try reading it again!

[@garyg1705]

what was the text size like in this version? i have a different cover and the text is so small i thought, 'not straining my eyes on that!' wouldve needed a magnifying glass.

[@TheBookchemist]

The font size in this one was fine, but I know your pain - I hate it when publishers do that!!

[@derricklafayette7922]

It was my first novel by him and although some passages were really intriguing, by the second half I had no idea what the hell anything meant lol. Kinda frustrating

[@danielg.w5733]

It is kind of a thing in Japanese fiction. Some people attribute it to the "four act" structure they use which generally demands that a twist of some sort happens around the 3rd act. in practice it is the same as the three act structure with the 2nd act split up in to the action/rising action and the twist/more action.

[@ambers_take]

Hi book chemist. I didn’t once see the symbolism of twos. mind blown. What could it mean? My favorite part of this book was the part of empathy, when a man in a bar touched a flame and the spectators squirmed with the thought of pain. Then to realize his hand was safe. BUT in that instance the entire room empathized. Kind of made me think that we are capable of being radically present for one another. But it also made me sad because it took physical harm identifiable to oneself to empathize. Anyway, murakami is great, so is your channel.

[@TheBookchemist]

Thank you!!

[@tedmands]

I highly recommend both “Kafka on the Shore” or “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” for Murakami in a similar vein to “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”

[@rodjaraskolnikov3283]

I read this book a number of years ago, and I, too, found it difficult to wrangle, with all the particulars of the plot scanning as essentially random, never cohering into anything resembling a statement or thesis, and my frustrations with this fact led me to abandon Murakami for years, writing him off as a hack writer of one great novel - Norwegian Wood. I've since given both novels some thought, particularly in relation to each other, and I've developed a possible reading of both novels as being about prosaically bad men being confronted with genuine, profound evil - interpersonal in the form of Naoko and the brother-in-law; historical in the form of the Japanese crimes in Manchuria - and that the incoherent fantastical elements represent a kind of self-obfuscation, bringing the realization of evil into even sharper relief. I'm not sure if it's enough to save The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but Norwegian Wood remains a masterpiece, and a favorite novel of mine.

[@vanishing_girl]

the fact that this is an abdridged translation is so frustrating, I can't believe a more accurate translation isn't out yet

[@dM-ij1we]

My favourite book by him. It’s a book you have to just go with and feel.

[@nl3064]

I have the Jay Rubin translation, with the colorful pink cover. Apparently, 2 and a half chapters were cut out of this version, as they were deemed totally redundant and did zero to advance the plot. If anything, I feel more of the book should've been trimmed, as there are so many repetitive parts. It may be unfair to the author's original text, but since it's a translation, you're not really getting the actual text anyway, so what's it matter.

[@TheBookchemist]

I kind of agree with you - after finishing the book I also thought that a few other passages could have been taken out without much damaging the text!

[@vidyasagar3624]

Really well articulated thoughts about the book. I think you should check of Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. The experimentation with form really shines in the book.

[@TheBookchemist]

I didn't know it - I've noted it down!

[@kristinasonrisa6692]

This was the first Murakami I read and still remains my favorite after reading more of his work. The moment in which one of the characters is illuminated in the well in Manchuria stayed with me for many years. Also the way he highlights the presence of this big internal world inside an apparently average person makes me more curious as to what might be happening in the lives of strangers, and makes everyday life seem more fun. Currently working my way through 1Q84🦖🦖