Rating: 
Summary: strange and dreamy
Review: I had no expectations when I was given this book, just told it was good. It began simply enough, with a man looking for his lost cat and then losing his wife. Murakami's story is simply told in spare prose. He evokes a dreamlike world where the reader is drawn gradually over the line of the possible into the improbable. Throughout the novel he balances between reality and fantasy with such subtlety that it became possible to believe even the fantastic could happen. The characters are strange and seem to know all about the protagonist but, like him, I found myself clueless as to their motivations and thoughts. This was not a problem, merely a curiosity. I gave equal attention to everything I read because I didn't know what was important and what wasn't. One of the most moving experiences in this novel were the scenes in the well. On a vacant lot in his housing development, the main character finds a dry well. He descends a ladder into its depths and discovers a place of fear and then tranquility. It is there that he can pass through the walls to travel. There are many complex stories within the book, all of them intriguing and vying for attention. One of the most important characters in the story is his antithesis. The more evil and powerful he becomes the more the protagonist becomes powerless and "good". There are no answers in this book but many questions are stirred up. You will find yourself thinking about the possibilities. Indeed, I found myself looking forward to the well trips because it was such a marvelous place to think. It became a very comfortable thing to inhabit this novel. I was sorry to see it end, not because there were no ends neatly tied up but because it was such an intriguing, puzzling and challenging place to be. There's nothing like it I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Wild, gripping, a twist in the space we call the mind...
Review: When I was 12, Madeleine L'Engle's fantasy, "A Wrinkle in Time," effected me in a way no other book did - bridging the gap between childhood stories and grown-up novels. Like "A Wrinkle in Time" the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a fantastic tale in which a certain amount of the story occurs in places that are not of this world. We are given to suspect that some of these places might be in the protagonist's mind, or, they might not be. Set in Tokyo, this is the story of a young married man named Toru Okada whose cat and wife both disappear (under different circumstances). The reader follows Toru as he searches for them both (as well as his search for "self"), and in the process encounters oddly "re"named mystics, an endearing if somewhat depressed teenage neighbor girl, an old war veteran with horrible memories from Japan's engagements in Manchuria, and a megalomaniacal brother-in-law (by far the scariest character in anything I've read in a long time). The tale gripped me and was a great read. Murakami does fantastic things with both the physical and psychological details and has a way of drawing in the reader to feel (s)he is in Toru's head.
Rating:
Summary: The Poet of Modern Isolation
Review: The confederacy of dunces gets hung up on Murakami's surrealistic plots and offbeat characters. They say he's a gimmick, a one trick pony. They say he's senseless and vacant and I don't know what else. But they can't say he doesn't have ridiculous talent. And they are completely missing the moral center of all Murakami's art, which is what makes it great: what he is able to make of an innate understanding of an almost unbelievable level isolation and despair. Murakami makes prosaic loneliness and despair look more beautiful and feel more resonant than anyone has in modern literature. How? The important thing is the way Murakami controls and focuses his understanding of loneliness to yield the surrealistic and "wacky" tendencies in his fiction. He does something with more than simply render his understanding, he transforms it into something simple and compelling. That's why general readerships respond to his fictional experiments: they aren't, or don't feel like, experiments. They're grounded in understanding, and are expressions of that understanding. For example: The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, is at bottom, not much of a story. One day Toru's wife leaves him. He doesn't know why (let's be clear: he absolutely, 100 percent did not see this coming). She leaves no forwarding address, and for all intents and purposes cuts off constact completely. Well, Toru is a regular guy, if a little on the introspective side. So what does he do? He doesn't go chasing blindly after her. He doesn't succumb to directionless anger (what would be the point?). He doesn't continue carelessly on with his life. Instead, he sits down [literally, inside of a well...yes that's right, a well, like I said, it makes sense in the book : )] and tries to figure out why it was she left him. This all happens in the first 50 pages. The process of trying to figure out why it was she left him takes the rest of the 600 pages to unravel. All kinds of questions present themselves: did he ever really know her? Does anybody really ever know anybody? Is he doing the right thing or simply going crazy? He meets some strange people, a war veteran, a pair of sisters, a young psychic, and he listens to their stories. Gradually it becomes clear that he has a nemesis: his wife's brother, an economist an TV personality. They will meet later in the book, in a space somewhere between dream and reality that presents itself as a massive luxury hotel. I know, I know, pull the other one. But trust me, you will be convinced that Murakami is so on to something that he's about the come up with The Answer. That's how compelling his fiction is. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is hip, funny, crushingly sad, and wise. It is the epitome of what Murakami has been trying to do in his fictional style.
Rating: 
Summary: Weird events - fine. No reason for them - not fine.
Review: I should start by saying that I usually like bizarre fiction. Well, "Wind-up Bird Chronicle" is certainly that. A "regular Joe" for the main character, surrounded by the weird and inexplicable - psychic sisters named after islands, a healer and her mute son (named after spices), a well with no water in it, and an alternative reality set in a hotel. The beginning of the book sucks you in, written in a crisp, modern style, with no high-brow literary waffle. Very quickly you realise that something strange is happening to our "normal" protagonist, Toru Okada. The events don't seem to be connected in any way, but they are portrayed as clues, and you are batting for Toru to figure them out. The random, bizarre happenings make you excited, curious, desperate to read on. So then you read on. And on. More strange characters and events get introduced. There are large forays into the Japanese occupation of Manchuria before WWII and gruesome stories of violence there. But still, you think (or rather hope, by now) that this will all be explained. Somehow. But alas, it isn't. And you begin to suspect that many of the things you thought were significant "clues", were actually just there to increase the "weird and quirky" factor. At the end, several important people and occurances had just disappeared out of the novel (Malto and Creta Kano?), or were left hanging without explanation or resolve. I don't want the meaning of everything spelled out to me, I'm happy to use my imagination to figure some things out. But this book didn't even leave me with a skeleton on which to build my thoughts at the end. Only one of the themes (good vs. evil - how original) was resolved to my satisfaction. Read Murakami's book for an introduction to his style, read it if the words "Japanese" and "bizarre" in combination sound good. But don't expect to finish it feeling contented.
Rating:
Summary: Love-hate relationship
Review: I love this book. I hate this book. That would be the best way to describe how I feel about it. I don't think it's possible to explain exactly why I feel this way without revealing certain things about the book, so please be advised that this review contains some SPOILERS. This is the second Murakami book I've read (first one being "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and...", which I loved). Without a doubt, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a real page-turner, but unfortunately, this page-turning doesn't really lead anywhere, which is why this is such a disappointment. Questions remain unanswered, characters vanish into thin air, things happen without as much as a hint at explanation. Don't get me wrong: I don't expect every question to be answered completely. Sometimes using your imagination works best. I can accept that there is no explanation to things like what "tendency" it was exactly that made Kumiko disappear, what powers Noboru Wataya had, how he used them, or even how Toru got the mark... The general idea is there, and that's enough. It is not described what "work" Nutmeg and Cinnamon do, but we can use our imagination. It is not explained what "netherworld" Toru traveled to from the well, but we can use our imagination. Something to do with subconscious, human nature, the nature of reality and the consequences of our actions. OK, I can live with that. But in the end, simply TOO MUCH is left to our imagination. I couldn't help but feel that I was reading about the same people that I read about in Hard-Boiled Wonderland. I suppose I have to read more to say for sure, but at this point I feel that Murakami's characters are very one-dimensional, and they act and speak in strange, irrational ways most of the times. Perhaps part of it is my having a Western mindset, but something tells me that's not it. Toru Okada is described as "everyman", but tell me, what "everyman" normally climbs down an old well to sit in the dark for hours on end? What sixteen-year-old virgins normally lick thirty-year-old men on the cheek without much explanation or reason? What husband usually remains absolutely emotionless after finding out that his wife of six years has misteriously disappeared? Easterner or Westerner, I don't buy this as usual human behavior. And, given that this is a first-person narrative, it's especially odd that the narrator rarely reveals any emotions. Is it done of purpose to keep up guessing, or is it the problem of Murakami's writing's style? Brace yourself, the questions are only beginning. How did Toru get the mark and why? Who was the singer with the baseball bat, and why did he attack Toru? How did the cat manage to survive for over a year of missing, and why did it come back after all? What was Leutenant Mamiya's role in all this? What were Malta and Creta Kano's roles in all this? Why did Kumiko change all of a sudden after six years of marriage? What happened to Cinnamon as a child that made him stop speaking, and what was the significance of that bizarre "What happened in the night" chapter? Why wasn't Toru getting May Kasahara's letters? Who wrote the Chronicles stored in Cinnamon's computer and why? Why was Nutmeg's husband murdered in such a vilent and bizarre way? Who was the anonymous woman that kept calling Toru throughout the book? Who were the "holow man" and the whistling waiter? The questions are endless. There's a saying about fiction, "If there's a gun sitting in the corner, by the end of the story it must fire". In this case, that isn't true. We keep on hearing about things that seem to bear some great significance - like Malta Kano's red hat, or the tune from The Thieving Magpie. But in the end we realize that those things are there just because it sounds cool. That is the biggest problem I have with the book. There are lots of things in it that could be edited out without having any impact on the book as a whole. The war stories are very well written, I'll give Murakami that. But take Boris the Manskinner, for example - WHY was it even there? What's the point? Take out "Creta Kano's long story", take out May Kasahara's letters, take out Cinnamon's incident when he was a child... None of those things had any point or explained anything. I'm not saying they shouldn't be there - no, I understand that the events of WWII, for instance, are tied in to our time. What I don't understand is why did Murakami had to present so many complelling characters only to have them disappear without a trace as the story unfolded. A lot of people say that Murakami is a genius and if you didn't "get" his books then you're simply not smart enough. As an artist, I see this attitude a lot in art as well. Here's the truth: *people often say they "got it" even when they haven't, for fear of appearing stupid.* Perhaps I really am not smart enough to "get it". But the truth is, this book made me feel like the story was written one chapter at a time - i.e., that Murakami in fact did not have the foggiest where it was going, and how it would end. I take my hat off for Murakami's ambitiousness, imagination and vivid writing style. But to me it remains questionable whether he is truly a genius trying to convey some vastly significant message with his books (which, consequently, only a genius can truly understand, and I don't claim to be one). More often I get this very strong feeling that he is merely a very CLEVER writer who is very skilled at making a bunch of nonsense sound important and significant. Either way, I won't deny that what he does is entertaining. So I'll definitely be reading more of him.
Rating:
Summary: The Poet of Modern Isolation
Review: Murakami makes prosaic loneliness and despair look more beautiful and feel more resonant than anyone has in modern literature. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, is at bottom, not much of a story. One day Toru's wife leaves him. He doesn't know why. She leaves no forwarding address, and for all intents and purposes cuts off contact completely. Well, Toru is a regular guy, if a little on the introspective side. So what does he do? He doesn't go chasing blindly after her. He doesn't succumb to directionless anger (what would be the point?). He doesn't continue carelessly on with his life. Instead, he sits down [literally, inside of a well...yes that's right, a well, like I said, it makes sense in the book : )] and tries to figure out why it was she left him. This all happens in the first 50 pages. The process of trying to figure out why it was she left him takes the rest of the 600 pages to unravel. All kinds of questions present themselves: did he ever really know her? Does anybody really ever know anybody? Is he doing the right thing or simply going crazy? He meets some strange people, a war veteran, a pair of sisters, a young psychic, and he listens to their stories. Gradually it becomes clear that he has a nemesis: his wife's brother, an economist an TV personality. They will meet later in the book, in a space somewhere between dream and reality that presents itself as a massive luxury hotel. I know, I know, pull the other one. But trust me, you will be convinced that Murakami is so on to something that he's about the come up with The Answer. That's how compelling his fiction is. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is hip, funny, crushingly sad, and wise.
Rating:
Summary: The fun is in the details
Review: What I like about this book is all the wonderful details. I like the description of the apartment, the jelly fish, how Toru likes to iron his shirts. Somehow, it seems like a very cozy world despite the fact that so many crazy things are happening. I like to read this book when the world I'm living in seems out of control. It just seems like a nice little neighborhood and most of the characters seem benevolent. I found the description of Lt. Mamiya in the well profoundly moving. Once again I think its because of Murakami's ability to describe things so well. I loved the description of the sun filling the well.
Rating:
Summary: a music metaphor...
Review: I loved reading this book, the places it took me were all pleasantly entertaining (although I unfortunately read the 'skinning' part while eating sushi, not recommended!!!). After finishing, I was initially annoyed that there wasn't much resolve, which many reviews are pointing out, but now in retrospect I believe that to have been caused by expecting a pop song when what I was getting was jazz improv. I'm glad all novels aren't written this way as I only like jazz occasionally, but when I'm diggin' jazz, I'm really diggin' jazz!!!
Rating:
Summary: drama with spaghetti
Review: Other reviewers have summarized the plot very well, so I will leave that out, and keep my comments short. This book reads like a No drama: full of ritualized, stylized drama hidden behind masks. In the end, you never really get inside the characters' lives; a successful novel draws you in, whether you want in or not. Partly, this is characteristic of Japan, circles within circles, barriers within barriers, but partly, I think the author is striving too hard for effect.
Rating:
Summary: Help!
Review: I really liked the book but it's so frustrating with all the loose ends. It's like a David Lynch movie, and I feel like I wasn't equipped with the proper skills to thoroughly interpet the symbolism and meaning of the book. Someone perfectly summed up all the dissatisfing points that I would like more clarification on: "Despite the fact that I enjoyed reading this novel very much and think very highly of it, I do feel somewhat unsatisfied with a number of plot elements in the intertwining stories that I think were not properly explained. 1.) Regarding the nature of Noboru Wataya's dark power, which Kumiko and her sister were also tangled up with: It seems to me Noboru Wataya is a sort of black magician who has learned to harness this innate ability, and yet it is hinted at that the entire Wataya bloodline is somehow affected by this evil power. This evil entity is central to the plotline (It was in some way responsible for Kumiko's horrifying streak of extramarital [affairs] which in turn triggered her disappearance), yet the phenomenon surrounding it is kept extremely vague. This mysterious something was almost certainly behind Noboru Wataya's defilement of both Kumiko's sister and Creta Kano, but as for the purpose for these defilements we are kept in the dark. When Toru finally does battle with this evil entity, it still is kept extremely vague and we never get to see it. I found myself wishing Toru would ignore Kumiko's requests and turn the flashlight on it, just for curiosity's sake. 2.) Regarding the story of the young boy who I assume is Cinnamon who hears the wind up bird and then proceeds to witness two shady looking characters burying a certain something on his property. Judging from his descriptions of these two shady characters - one tall and one short - I can only guess that they are indeed Noboru Wataya and Ushikawa. In the dream sequence the boy experiences after watching the real life events, the buried object is a human heart, which leads me to question #3... 3.) Regarding Nutmeg's Husband and Cinnamon's Father, who died in a certain hotel room under very bizarre circumstances. Nutmeg confirms that the assailants removed several of his organs and smeared his blood on the walls, etc. Again, I can only guess that Noboru Wataya, Ushikawa, and the evil being are involved here too. But there is never an explanation as to the connection between Cinnamon's father having his heart removed in a type of ritual killing, and Cinnamon Witnessing two men burying something which in the dream state is revealed to be a live beating human heart, shortly afterwards resulting in the loss of Cinnamon's voice. 4.) Regarding the dark hotel. I find myself wishing this place was explained a bit more. Who is the No Face man, or the "hollow man" as he refers to himself, and why does he decide to ally himself with Toru? Who is the whistling waiter? What is the significance of room 208? The dark hotel is obviously the domain of the dark entity with which Noboru Wataya is aligned. I can speculate that this is some type of spiritual prison maintained for Kumiko by Noboru Wataya, but I find myself wishing that the reason for this place's existence were more clearly defined. " Does anyone have insight into these points? I would really like to read someone's in depth analysis of this book because I'm curious and frusterated as hell!
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