Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Damn. Damn, damn, damn. This is a phenomenal work of literature that I’m confident has the complexity and density to be looked back upon as a masterpiece. It is truly unlike very many books of its time: Murakami is a master of motif and theme, ensuring that his characters just barely think they know each other, and ensuring that each of those characters is completely imperceptible from one another. Only we, the reader, can bridge that divide. His unique brand of magical realism meshes with vivid settings and diverse characters that create this world that feels so real, in more ways than one.

This is a book about desires and the subconscious with a little bit of Imperial Japanese history thrown in as a wonderful way to ground the novel and really bring it home. It’s confusing at first but grows increasingly clear the more and more we learn about the plot. Toru Okada is not the most interesting protagonist in the world, but that’s the point: the things that happen to him are so extraordinary and strange that by the end of the novel, he’s grown so much and yet he’s almost exactly the same. He just… makes more sense.

Maybe we’re the ordinary ones and this book is pulling us away from what we think we know. That’s how I see it, anyway.

Definitely reading more Haruki Murakami.

Content Warnings

bella613's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This isn't my favorite of Murakami's novels. It features his classic young protagonist who loses both job and wife, and proceeds to do nothing much but make very strange friends (acquaintances?) who either tell him their life stories or come onto him very strongly. Somehow Murakami uses this same structure often and still makes completely new stories.

I love Murakami's writing style. He's both straightforward, and roundabout. Descriptively realistic and still wildly fantastical. But this novel didn't do as much for me as his others. I'm not exactly sure what it was (or wasn't) because the main character was definitely more likeable to me than the lead of Norwegian Wood. I liked the side stories, especially the war time ones, even if it was uncomfortable at times to read. I think the overall feeling of this book just vibed with me a little less.

Also- just a little warning if you haven't read it yet. It's not horror but there are rather graphic descriptions of gore and violence and it feels pretty horrific at times. All of Murakami's stuff is definitely adult rated but this one is a more specific-to-horror type feeling.
If you don't like dark reading this one isn't for you.

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vedaviolin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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phantomeyer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book read like a fever dream. However, the replacement of seemingly central characters half way through, as well as a few other loose ends left me feeling like the story was incomplete. If I’m going to press on through what is at times a bit of a slow hard slog, I want a bit more payoff. Will try another Murakami one day, but probably not one 600 pages long.

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amelody's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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jodielo's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Some addictive parts and a good writing style however it was a bit too gruesome and war focused in parts which made me feel turned off from the story. The ending didn't make complete sense to me either.

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dsalazar's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Really great read. There were parts where I did disconnect but that’s because it got a little too much into history or felt drawn out. Another minor hang up I had was with the sheer amount of information being thrown at you, at a very fast pace, in an intricate way. I get this was the intention and it may just be that it requires a second read. It kind of reminds me of Oppenheimer (2023) in that regard where it was fast paced and lots of details and Names are thrown out and the timeline isn’t chronological so a second or third watch helps with solidifying some details.

This is all minor because overall I enjoyed the depth the characters had. This is my first Murakami book and it was exactly what I expected in terms of magical realism and explaining a mystery just enough that you want to know more but also would rather not know at the same time. So many unsettling scenes that were page turners. He captures complex emotions so well I had to put the book down during some of the more (literally) torturous chapters.

100% recommend

Content Warnings

glorytowers05's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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