The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
Toru Okada is, for all intents and purposes, an ordinary man. Happily married with his own house and recently finished with a low-level job in a law firm, his uneventful life consists of comfortable routine. When the cat goes missing, his wife Kumiko begins to become quiet and unhappy and he begins to receive bizarre and suggestive phone calls from a strange woman who seems to know him very well. From this point on, Okada embarks on a strange journey of self-discovery and encounters a curious cast of characters who guide him to a destination of which he has no knowledge.
Divided into three parts (covering the time from June, 1984 to December 1985), The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is the most ambitious and probably the finest piece of work that Murakami has written so far. Brimming over with wry humour, metaphysical musings and a brilliantly imaginative story, everyday life in Japan clashes with stories from the Second World War to give a tale that connects the people and events it portrays in a variety of interesting ways. Behind the apparent simplicity of Okada’s life lies a web of linked fates, supernatural goings-on and secrecy: even if Jay Rubin’s eloquent and poetic translation from the Japanese doesn’t hold your attention the experience of the meticulous plot unfolding certainly will.
Anyone who is familiar with Murakami’s writing will probably not initially find anything unusual in the style of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle: the characters are thoughtfully designed and the story is cleverly put together but the hero is typical of the protagonists he creates and there are recurring symbolic themes. Nevertheless it is still a joy to see the separate threads entwine and the story can’t be called run-of the-mill. His ability to make the ordinary feel extraordinary (and vice-versa!) has never been better demonstrated and everything else that makes his writing so special has never been presented on such an epic scale.
Because of the sheer number of characters and events, this is arguably his longest book to date. Drawing from the little-known conflict in Manchuria between Japan and Russia in the Second World War, the level of research he conducted to bring this very different landscape to life is evident; so too are the levels of meaning that lie beneath the surface of what is happening. As the simple but eternally likeable Okada conducts his search for answers, the reader is dragged right into the thick of it with as much awareness of the surrounding events as he is. Don’t be fooled into thinking there are plot holes though: there ARE answers, even if you have to make an effort to search for them. Needless to say, this makes the story all the more rewarding.
In Summary
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is, to put it simply, Murakami on top form. The story, characters, and quality of prose are of the highest standard he has yet produced and the way in which settings and feelings are vividly captured makes for compelling reading. Some might be put off by the surreal situations and longer storyline but they would be denying themselves the chance to experience a truly great writer at his best.
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