The long Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Murakami

If you know me, you know how much I love Haruki Murakami’s work. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle did not disappoint. Like most of Murakami’s work, the story revolves around a simple character. Toru Okada, to whom the tale about takes us through his journey, and Murakami does a fantastic job at taking us through it through his excellent storytelling. Murakami uses the nonsense in the world, including individuals, governments, or even the nonsense nations may create, to create a story that confuses the reader in the best way possible. Murakami explores themes of isolation, loss and being lost of an individual and Japans history, the world left of World War II. This almost-boring character who seems to have no purpose except finding his cat and later on his wife is turned into a detective raising questions for the readers but which he is not as interested himself.

Toru Okada is a lost, passive main character. He doesn’t have massive motives in the story except maybe his wife. Toru’s lack of interest in the world might get repetitive at points as he spends most of the time raising more questions instead of answering the others. Murakami has created a mystery story where the detective is not interested in answering the reader's questions. This leaves us with unanswered questions at the end of the story that some readers might find annoying.

Murakami does carry the story to the point of repetitiveness. When Noboru spends time at the bottom of the well, I felt like those chapters were just used to further this story. Furthermore, when talking about the war, it might have felt too long even though it was exciting and helpful to the report; two or even three entire chapters of Lieutenant Mamiya’s story might be too much.

However, I do have to say that having some Japanese history was one of my favourite parts as when connected with the actual story it brought further my interest. This might be a consequence of the previous knowledge I had of Japan’s history and hence I found it easy to understand.

As mention before this story explores difficult themes of loss and identity. Toru doesn’t seem to need or want an identity, he does not look for answers and meaning of the bizarre occurrences that surround him. He rather conforms with everything. The rest of the characters are different however, they all look for their own identity and meaning of what to do and where to go. A great example of this is May Kasahara, the teenager who feels responsible for her boyfriend’s death. Even though she has lost her place in the world she still tries to look for a new place to go and be herself, a new identity she can actually understand. She goes to one of the most bizarre places, a wig factory, she is herself in isolation as she starts to answer her own identity questions.

Toru does not have a personal identity. Murakami explores his lack of identity by not answering the weirdest and bizarre questions being risen. He also explores as mentioned before Japan’s history and even comments on the wrongdoings of his own country questioning the reasons for these terrible happenings. The nonsense that surrounds us humans made by us individually, the governments we have and even our countries are used in the story to create this mesmerising mystery novel. But, Murakami creates even more nonsense with my favourite type of magical realism where he creates substories that make no sense but are never questioned.

What drives me more to Murakami’s worlds is his magical realism as he is one of the best writers to use dark themes that can be relatable to many people. But makes them more non-humanised by using magic and bizarre happenings and his superb writing to make them more relatable and hence more entertaining. He builds narrative tension for the reader to continue to read and thus, under the surface, to explore those dark themes which might be hard to talk about usually.

In summary, this might not have been my favourite Murakami book but, looking back on what I have learned and explored in this story, I am very grateful to have read it and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Murakami or someone who enjoys Japan’s history in World War II.

First Person Singular, another confusing mesmerising book by Murakami.

When I heard that Haruki Murakami was coming out with a new book I was quick to buy it and as soon as it came, to read it. His 22nd book is a collection of 8 first-person singular tales which mostly take a Murakami similar style. Most of the stories are full of colour and have a nostalgic-like feeling that all Murakami have to have on me. They mostly talk about music, sex, and other mundane things. It is an interesting read and if you enjoy Murakami book you will for sure enjoy this one..

The first story is Cream which might be one of my favourites. It is bizarre and strange, but it discusses a complex idea that makes you question yourself throughout. Not everything makes sense and not everything has a reason to it. The narrator finds himself in a weird and inexplicable situation that never seems to get solved. This tale was addictive as you find yourself looking for answers that never exist.

The second story is On a Stone Pillow which takes us through another story that talks about an inexplicable feeling. What I most enjoy about this one is the tanka poetry used. I loved that it was well written and not only for the story itself. I enjoyed the feelings that our narrator was feeling when reading those poems as it is how I feel when I read the poetry. It was very raw and I really enjoyed that.

Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova was also an excellent story. It was bizarre and unforgettable. I sometimes think about the possibility slitty of this happening to me. This one has to be one of my favourite ones too as I still think about it.

With the Beatles, feels like a Sally Rooney novel and I love that. It is a simple heartbreaking story that includes Murakami’s love for music. Murakami has been using his love for music in many of his novels but the description of the girl holding the record really touched my heart. That might have been my favourite descriptions by him in all stories and books.

The fifth story brings back the strange and bizarre Murakami style. A talking monkey with a strange talent. This was a magical and bizarre story that was equally entertaining. This, has to be one of the best out of the 8 as it really shows Murakami through the words.

The sixth story is Carnaval which has the best opening to anything ever. It’s snappy and funny. The rest of the story is quite mundane but thanks to that opening the whole story deserves a read.

Then comes the seventh story. It’s actually not a story but a small glimpse into Murakami’s love for baseball and poetry of that love. I can say that this has to be my least favourite. It’s not entertaining and if I am completely honest, I hated the poetry itself.

The final story is the best ending for a short story collecting. It was fun to read, and it was also the best magical of the 8th. The ending leaves us Wirth our mouths open hoping to have an explanation or a sequel to the fantastic conclusion.

I have to say that this was not the best Murakami book I have read, but it was still entertaining. The few stories I really enjoyed I will recommend but, the rest I cannot say they are worth the read.

The Hypnotic Prophesy by Murakami - Kafka on the Shore

Days after finishing this book, my mind is still filled with questions. Kafka on the shore had me on the edge of my seat for most of my reading time. It has been an interesting read that has been stuck in my head for a few days now. I had so many questions that went unanswered that I had to get up and pace around my room, looking for the answers in my head and writing it down on a piece of paper. This enigmatic novel is for sure one of the best books I have ever read, and sharing it could be my greatest delight.

Kafka, the 15-year-old, runs away from his father’s prophesy: he will have to kill his father and sleep with both his mother and sister. This prophecy takes him through a journey of self-discovery and understanding of himself and consequently his soul, something he does not realise once he sets off. For me, Kafka is filled with guilt and fear, even if he wants to see himself as the “toughest 15-year-old”. We learn so much about this boy throughout the whole story that we don’t realise that we start to think about him without having to read the book. I started realising his thought and I started seeing what he saw. We get to know his insecurities and strengths, which usually takes me more time to grasp when reading other books. Kafka ends up in Takamatsu’s library, where his adventure starts. This book is filled with self-discovery and understanding of what it means to be alone. Kafka tried to see himself as independent but ends up boring close bonds with Oshima, Miss Saeki and Sakura.

At the same time, another story of a man that had been affected by an accident during the Second World War in the same town where Kafka is originally from unfolds, parallel to Kafka. He loses his ability to read and write and is considered now ‘dumb’. Nakata now has the ability to talk to cats as a reward for losing the other abilities. He is a cat catcher in the town and lives in a sub-city. His luck changes the moment he meets Jonnie Walker who forces him to murder him. He then feels guided by a strange force that takes him in the direction of a so-called entrance stone. The narration of this part of the story is different to kafka’s as this is seen through third-person omniscient narration. Nakata lacks the strong human emotions that the other characters possess, although he is not entirely humanless. This makes the scenes greatly appreciated, as his eyes lack a sense of fear and hatred or love and esteem. One of the best examples on this is the scene of Jonnie Walker and the terrible murder of the three cats, which were a repulsive and horrible moment in the story that had me stopping and rereading those illustrative awful crimes.

While we join both characters through their journeys, we meet other names, such as Sakura, a young girl that Kafka meets on the bus. We also meet Oshima, who is a transgender gay man that works at the library. This man is where I felt the reality was centred. I mean by this, even though Oshima focused his life on metaphors, he is the only one I would not connect with magic. He understands all that Kafka explains, but his life is more based on what he reads and believes; this stroked me, as the rest of the story is found more in magical and extraordinary things. We also meet Miss Saeki, the broken librarian who only wears blue. On the other side of the spectrum, Nakata also meets Hoshino, an enjoyable and compelling truck driver that brings words to Nakata’s thoughts.

This story takes many twists and turns that cannot be described unless you read the unsettling words Murakami writes. It is considered magical realism as a realistic narrative and neutralist techniques combined with magical and surreal dream-like elements. This technique can also be seen in other famous novels like A Hundred Years of Solitude and Midnight’s Children. This makes the story more compelling, as there is the right amount of magical description used. There is not too much on soul passing or time travelling and does not give too much importance to the surreal events such as fish or leeches rain. This is one of my favourite use of narrative, as it brings mesmerising elements to a mundane world.

We can see the real Haruki Murakami in the words that he writes. As in many of his novels, cats take an essential role in the plot of this book. We also can see the love he had for art, literature and especially music, and Western culture. This love for the arts is blended with magical descriptions of the emotions that the characters feel when meeting different art forms. One of my favourite parts is Hoshino’s first contact with classical music, which does not take much into the plot but shows how Hoshino is developing and evolving into a new person. This is, of course, the retelling of the Oedipus myth of the self-fulfilling prophecy but with the words and views of the literary Japanese genius Murakami. Like Murakami, in much of Kafka’s works, he blends unsettling and terrifying magical elements with realism to portray isolated characters dealing with modern life's absurdity.

There are three themes explored in this novel. The mind and the body in the story is also described as metaphysical due to the change in tenses and perspectives. There is only a thin gap between the unconsciousness and the actions our physical body takes part in. There is also a great deal of talk about the soul, something that brings us closer to Japanese culture and believes it is more concerned with Japan's Buddhist ideas.

Kafka's explicit use of fate and prophecy shows us how chance and beliefs can affect our lives. He is driven by his obsession with unproven prophesies his father has put upon him. However, he does not realise how this is affecting his own life and his relationships with other people as he makes his life mission to improve the prophecy. This shows the relationship between the concuss self and the unconscious that follows what life takes you or whether your beliefs take you.

There are three themes explored in this novel. The mind and the body in the story is also described as metaphysical due to the change in tenses and perspectives. There is only a thin gap between the unconsciousness and the actions our physical body takes part in. There is also a great deal of talk about the soul, something that brings us closer to Japanese culture and believes it is more concerned with Japan's Buddhist ideas.

Kafka's explicit use of fate and prophecy shows us how chance and beliefs can affect our lives. He is driven by his obsession with unproven prophesies his father has put upon him. However, he does not realise how this is affecting his own life and his relationships with other people as he makes his life mission to improve the prophecy. This shows the relationship between the concuss self and the unconscious that follows what life takes you or whether your beliefs take you.