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A review by jefferz
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
There are those who believe Murakami is a genius and artist vs those who think he is a hack. After reading two of his novels I align with the latter. While I liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle more than 1Q84, that's a very low bar to pass and Wind-Up has the advantages of being 300 pages shorter and possessing a more focused collection of plot threads vs 1Q84's introduced and completely dropped elements.
My biggest criticism of this novel and Murakami's works in general is the excessive amount of detail and word legnth that's added for no particular reason. The amount of tedious daily activities and movement by that main character adds nothing to the experience, story or characters included which is exacerbated by how repetive and monotonous they're written. Worse is how sporadic
characters are added in to immediately segue into seemingly unrelated stories with no rhyme and reason. Yes there are connections between each story introduced but the execution is so lackluster, you're just left questioning why it was done this way and what was the point of it all? The plot is thin at best non-existent at worst and the characters are wooden do not inspire any level of interest.
The main character Toru Okada is self-described (repeatedly at every possible opportunity to remind the reader) as being apaethtic, forgettable and lacking of honor or drive which serves as a convenient and appropriate summary of the the entire novel itself. I found myself more interested and invested in the main "villains" (who are protrayed as the absolute embodiment of evil) than I did with Toru Okada who I felt half deserved the suffering he experienced. That's a sign that something went really wrong.
My biggest criticism of this novel and Murakami's works in general is the excessive amount of detail and word legnth that's added for no particular reason. The amount of tedious daily activities and movement by that main character adds nothing to the experience, story or characters included which is exacerbated by how repetive and monotonous they're written. Worse is how sporadic
characters are added in to immediately segue into seemingly unrelated stories with no rhyme and reason. Yes there are connections between each story introduced but the execution is so lackluster, you're just left questioning why it was done this way and what was the point of it all? The plot is thin at best non-existent at worst and the characters are wooden do not inspire any level of interest.
The main character Toru Okada is self-described (repeatedly at every possible opportunity to remind the reader) as being apaethtic, forgettable and lacking of honor or drive which serves as a convenient and appropriate summary of the the entire novel itself. I found myself more interested and invested in the main "villains" (who are protrayed as the absolute embodiment of evil) than I did with Toru Okada who I felt half deserved the suffering he experienced. That's a sign that something went really wrong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Kidnapping