A review by syubeebee
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

a wonderful first read for 2023

it’s my fav murakami novel i read yet,  it’s easier to get into, while for norwegian wood it took me around 200 pages to find what was the ‘purpose’ of the book  

i like the alternating pov, i had fun trying to figure out how they relate to each other, like there was a part of mystery! i was very excited to be right about <the town being the protagonist’s subconscious>

i like that the guy seems almost magically hypnotised by the wall, usually in failed utopic world there’s some kind of manipulation from w government but here it’s really just the wall that gives this powerful energy, changes from books like the handmaid tales for ex 

i like how he writes in a very poetic, lyrical, and flowy way, like i loved the symbolism with the beasts and the self, the way they die and are conditioned, and also how the seemingly unimportant details come back and actually gives substance to the book, also the imagery related to them is very pretty, i loved the scene with the sun and the one with the first winter morning 

the imagery is very pretty in general, nice metaphors and use of senses to express the gloominess of the town and how it becomes less dead as it gets closer to the wall (wall which is particularly intriguing), interesting how more emphasis is given to the mind/town rather than the outside, shows how the protagonist is blasé but his mind yearns for more (made me think of edgar allan poe a little)

also love how those details hint at murakami’s actual personality (ie jazz and baseball refs) bc u can learn a lot about an author that way, also enjoyed all the literary refs (altho i dislike conrad’s writing)

the characters are also well developed, as usual with murakami, each has depth and exist for a reason, no empty shell!! i’m particularly interested in the gatekeeper he is sus… the way he writes protagonists is also often similar, they are taciturne and have this almost melancholic tone, i like it bc they seem to word their thoughts similarly to how i do it 

sometimes it can appear that his books are uselessly lengthy but with murakami no word is being wasted they all have a purpose, my favorite quote is : « bowing to their vision, i too know a sadness »

also, im glad the protagonist isn’t that horny by murakami standards 

the end was, well…. interesting, major plot twist at the last minute <he didn’t want to go anymore>

ngl i was pretty confused, would be def worth rereading :0 

i feel like it’s not over, i want answers!!!!!!