Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - 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.

Content Warnings

shhsleepytime's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

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anemosise's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

originally rated a 3.75 directly after reading, bumped up to 4.25 after sitting on it more. i loved trying to connect a lot of murakami's dots while reading, and ended up being more satisfied than I was after initially putting it down. love his writing style, even though it was incredibly slow, i was still engaged! wish he wrote about the women characters more normally lol

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

Content Warnings

risemini's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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cheuksin's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

3.5

First time reading a Murakami book , when people said his writing was overly horny they really weren’t joking
Malta Kano was wearing a trench coat. The lapels were closed tight across the front, but from the subtle fragrance of a woman’s naked flesh I could tell she was wearing nothing underneath.
It never really explained why toru okada doesn’t speak to his family
The sexualisation of the 16 year old May Kasahara is uncomfortable
At least it didn’t have a Cliff hanger
“She told me that the baby’s name was Corsica and that half the baby’s father was me, while the other half was Lieutenant Mamiya.” Isn’t lieutenant mamiya an elderly man, also when the fuck did they even meet like did I miss something?

Content Warnings

dakotahreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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