The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A special artist edition of Murakami’s epic masterpiece
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-10 06:51:52
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Haruki Murakami
- ISBN：1784878006
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Summary
A special hardback edition of Murakami's epic， magical masterpiece， The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle， now with a new introduction from the author
Toru Okada's cat has disappeared。
His wife is growing more distant every day。
Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving。
As this compelling story unfolds， the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life， spent cooking， reading， listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table， are turned inside out， and he embarks on a bizarre journey， guided （however obscurely） by a succession of characters， each with a tale to tell。
'Visionary。。。a bold and generous book' New York Times
'Mesmerising， surreal， this really is the work of a true original' The Times
Toru Okada's cat has disappeared。
His wife is growing more distant every day。
Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving。
As this compelling story unfolds， the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life， spent cooking， reading， listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table， are turned inside out， and he embarks on a bizarre journey， guided （however obscurely） by a succession of characters， each with a tale to tell。
'Visionary。。。a bold and generous book' New York Times
'Mesmerising， surreal， this really is the work of a true original' The Times
Reviews
Christopher Pitts
，
This remains my favorite Murakami book of all time。 I first read it in 2000， and just reread it earlier this year。 I don't always get the same frisson of delight when returning to a book， but I was completely absorbed in this world all over again。 The scenes set in Manchukuo and Mongolia were particularly interesting。 This remains my favorite Murakami book of all time。 I first read it in 2000， and just reread it earlier this year。 I don't always get the same frisson of delight when returning to a book， but I was completely absorbed in this world all over again。 The scenes set in Manchukuo and Mongolia were particularly interesting。 。。。more
Ethan Schulze
，
So having finished this book I appreciate it as a piece of art， and it wasn’t a total drag to read or anything， but its not something I would casually recommend to read。 It’s like 150-200 pages longer than it really needs to be， and it’s got some really gross and misogynistic stuff that likes to pop up throughout the novel。 Obviously it was written at a different time in a different culture， but a lot of that stuff is just super unnecessary and only contributes to the overly long page count。With So having finished this book I appreciate it as a piece of art， and it wasn’t a total drag to read or anything， but its not something I would casually recommend to read。 It’s like 150-200 pages longer than it really needs to be， and it’s got some really gross and misogynistic stuff that likes to pop up throughout the novel。 Obviously it was written at a different time in a different culture， but a lot of that stuff is just super unnecessary and only contributes to the overly long page count。With that being said: I liked the book other than all of that！ Definitely a fun surrealist mystery thing going on here with some very memorable characters and chapters。 If this seems like a book you want to read， you’ll probably dig it， if it doesn’t you probably wont。 。。。more
Fay
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 lots of unanswered question。 like what happened to the boy who saw the 2 men burrying the heart？
Hector Hosking
，
it’s was really really good but the edition i had combined all three books into 1 and i think they would have been best with a break in between each book as when i was reading the third i had the sense that murikami was kinda longing it so maybe read each book separately。 the description was amazing as always and the surreal/supernatural was made to seem completely ordinary。 i think one of the reasons this book is so good is because it seamlessly blends the weird with the average day to day life it’s was really really good but the edition i had combined all three books into 1 and i think they would have been best with a break in between each book as when i was reading the third i had the sense that murikami was kinda longing it so maybe read each book separately。 the description was amazing as always and the surreal/supernatural was made to seem completely ordinary。 i think one of the reasons this book is so good is because it seamlessly blends the weird with the average day to day life of the normal person。 。。。more
Mariam Chechelashvili
，
gadavifiqre taso
Vusala
，
As usual， one of his weird， crazy interesting fictional story 😄 It's a thick book， but i read it quickly as you got into the stories， in the beginning trying to understand the story ，in afterwards to know what it leads to。。。。。i know for sure i can really enjoy Haruki Murakami's books， it gives you a different curiosity and hunger for reading a book 📖Another usual important thing about his books which is same happens here， his stories makes me laugh 😂 As usual， one of his weird， crazy interesting fictional story 😄 It's a thick book， but i read it quickly as you got into the stories， in the beginning trying to understand the story ，in afterwards to know what it leads to。。。。。i know for sure i can really enjoy Haruki Murakami's books， it gives you a different curiosity and hunger for reading a book 📖Another usual important thing about his books which is same happens here， his stories makes me laugh 😂 。。。more
Alina
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The stuff this man writes is insane but I love every single bit of it。 This is so bizarre but yet it has a deeply philosophical sensation to it。 Although all the events in the book seems so random and detached， Murakami never misses: all things are tied up to each other in one way or another。 I like the repeating theme of the physical vs mental self that is shown through pretty much all the characters， and I really enjoyed the book’s take on isolation and thought！ I loved how the motif of water The stuff this man writes is insane but I love every single bit of it。 This is so bizarre but yet it has a deeply philosophical sensation to it。 Although all the events in the book seems so random and detached， Murakami never misses: all things are tied up to each other in one way or another。 I like the repeating theme of the physical vs mental self that is shown through pretty much all the characters， and I really enjoyed the book’s take on isolation and thought！ I loved how the motif of water was present all through and it contributed to the overall meaning of the story。 Nevertheless， I am left with more questions than I started with， and I am fully okay with that。 Also I fully believe the person Toru hit with a bat in the darkness was Noboru Wataya’s mental self。 By hitting him with the bat， Toru killed Noboru Wataya’s mental self， which causes his physical self to collapse in the real world。 This was so fun to read I can’t wait to look at all the interpretations available for this complex story！ 。。。more
Cynthia
，
Dreamlike and surreal。 The perfect book to indulge in when travelling。 The pace of the book and how it focuses on feeling and emotion rather than rationality and what is realistic contributed a whimsical ride through the world that Murakami creatively weaves。 Important questions for thought: do we ever really know anyone’s true essence？ What is our essence and meaning for life？ What are our relationships with others and what do they mean？ How can we over come the pain we witness and feel from ot Dreamlike and surreal。 The perfect book to indulge in when travelling。 The pace of the book and how it focuses on feeling and emotion rather than rationality and what is realistic contributed a whimsical ride through the world that Murakami creatively weaves。 Important questions for thought: do we ever really know anyone’s true essence？ What is our essence and meaning for life？ What are our relationships with others and what do they mean？ How can we over come the pain we witness and feel from others？ Is life dictated by fate？ Is our outcome unshakable？Marvellous read！ 。。。more
Lu
，
Naa ihr lieben，Ich habe den Aufziehvogel in 4 Tagen gelesen und ich muss sagen ich war sehr begeistert。Der Erzählstil erscheint teilweise etwas konfus und doch wieder schlicht in den Worten。 Natürlich kennen wir das von Haruki Murakami， sofern ihr schon andere Bücher von ihm gelesen habt。 ;）Das Buch ist sehr surreal und tendiert teilweise zum Thriller， wodurch es gut lesbar wurde。 Mich hat an dem Buch insbesonders der wechselnde Schreibstil begeistert。 Es ist irgendwie wie ein sehr skurriles Mär Naa ihr lieben，Ich habe den Aufziehvogel in 4 Tagen gelesen und ich muss sagen ich war sehr begeistert。Der Erzählstil erscheint teilweise etwas konfus und doch wieder schlicht in den Worten。 Natürlich kennen wir das von Haruki Murakami， sofern ihr schon andere Bücher von ihm gelesen habt。 ;）Das Buch ist sehr surreal und tendiert teilweise zum Thriller， wodurch es gut lesbar wurde。 Mich hat an dem Buch insbesonders der wechselnde Schreibstil begeistert。 Es ist irgendwie wie ein sehr skurriles Märchen - aber definitiv kein Kindermärchen。 Die Chroniken des Aufziehvogels ist ein schwerer Murakami der dem Leser einiges abverlangt。 Meiner Meinung sehr lesenswert， aber nur mit der entsprechenden Konzentration。 Es ist definitiv kein leichter Roman zum abschalten。 。。。more
Nathaniel
，
Nope
Dut Hersh
，
Despite how long it took me to finish （there are some sloggy parts but mostly I'm just bad）， I really enjoyed this book。 Dreamlike is an understatement; it's frustratingly opaque at times。 But it oozes a gentle， welcoming atmosphere， the story opening up like a blooming flower to lay bare the big questions at its heart。 Our eyes-and-ears narrator， Toru Okada， is perhaps the most passive protagonist I've ever read， but that is intentional。 His unemployed， drifting， domestic existence is intriguin Despite how long it took me to finish （there are some sloggy parts but mostly I'm just bad）， I really enjoyed this book。 Dreamlike is an understatement; it's frustratingly opaque at times。 But it oozes a gentle， welcoming atmosphere， the story opening up like a blooming flower to lay bare the big questions at its heart。 Our eyes-and-ears narrator， Toru Okada， is perhaps the most passive protagonist I've ever read， but that is intentional。 His unemployed， drifting， domestic existence is intriguing。 It feels subversive， Kafka-esque， very Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener。 It's almost an assertive passiveness， an action in itself。 Okada is a conduit for the stories and emotions of the characters he encounters as stumblingly looks for first his missing cat and then his vanished wife。 When viewed from a distance， the whole novel looks like a session with the psychics that crowd the book: the slow unearthing of buried memories， the violent secret histories of Japan's presence in Manchuria during WWII， the unclogging of metaphysical mental blockages。 The book somehow feels both simple and incredibly complex simultaneously。 Murakami has a gift for creating indelible images， from Malta Kano's red hat， to May Kasahara lounging on a lawn chair， the darkness in the well， to the wind-up bird itself。 It's these images that will sit with me， even though I don't have a nice tidy bow to put on everything。 。。。more
Margherita Bigoni
，
"L'uccello che girava le viti del mondo" di Murakami Haruki。Sono stati 15 giorni di immersione totale in questo splendido libro。 L'atmosfera creata da Murakami è così intrigante e seducente， ha il sapore di casa。 Ogni volta che leggo un suo libro， mi sento cadere in un'altra dimensione， ed è una sensazione piacevole。Non c'è nulla che io possa dire su questo libro meraviglioso。 Se volete farvi un regalo， compratelo！ Ne vale la pena。"La realtà poteva essere non vera e la verità poteva non essere r "L'uccello che girava le viti del mondo" di Murakami Haruki。Sono stati 15 giorni di immersione totale in questo splendido libro。 L'atmosfera creata da Murakami è così intrigante e seducente， ha il sapore di casa。 Ogni volta che leggo un suo libro， mi sento cadere in un'altra dimensione， ed è una sensazione piacevole。Non c'è nulla che io possa dire su questo libro meraviglioso。 Se volete farvi un regalo， compratelo！ Ne vale la pena。"La realtà poteva essere non vera e la verità poteva non essere reale"。La realtà in questo caso si immerge in un sogno onirico， e ne risale un capolavoro magnificamente intricato come questo romanzo。 。。。more
Eda
，
As a huge Murakami fan， I didn't enjoy this book as much as others。 Overall， it felt like a simpler/draft version of Kafka on Shore。 3。75/5 As a huge Murakami fan， I didn't enjoy this book as much as others。 Overall， it felt like a simpler/draft version of Kafka on Shore。 3。75/5 。。。more
yasmine
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So I'm currently reading my fourth murakami book， the wind up bird Chronicle， and i chose this one because wits the one racha was reading while I was reading Norwegian wood。 Its about this guy looking for his and his wife's cat， and stuff happens surrounding this dilemma。 In retrospect， this one isnt hitting as hard as his other ones I've read， and the lead character is kind of annoying in the way hes written， like hes boring and plain and faultless and I just cant connect to him。 He also does t So I'm currently reading my fourth murakami book， the wind up bird Chronicle， and i chose this one because wits the one racha was reading while I was reading Norwegian wood。 Its about this guy looking for his and his wife's cat， and stuff happens surrounding this dilemma。 In retrospect， this one isnt hitting as hard as his other ones I've read， and the lead character is kind of annoying in the way hes written， like hes boring and plain and faultless and I just cant connect to him。 He also does this thing where he has to list out everything he does and it makes him sound like and obsessive germaphobe robot。 Maybe he has ocd spoiler alert。 But then again I'm not even half way yet， and now that murakami spark is starting to show。 He just described the brother on law of this catless lead （no pussy？） And oh my goddd where does he get these words from。 He spent like five pages on this guy and now I feel like I know him like that back of my hand， like I've known him my whole life。 He gives a short biography and then describes his character and it's written so terrifically I had to read it twice。 This characters "lacks consistency and an established worldview，" and he also says "if he had to be consistent about something it was being consistent at lacking consistency" boy did I ejaculate to that line。 Theres way more， and it goes on in the description of this guys parents。 I wish this guy would describe himself eventually because it's in the first person and his character is very bland compared to the others he talks about。 Maybe it's like this on purpose？ A commentary on different povs and perception of self vs others？ That rat murakami does it again。 Anyhow， I like this book very much regardless of its lack in that murakami touch I'm obsessed with in his other works， also， as it is when reading translated works， it should be taken with a grain of salt。 Translating literature is definitely the hardest types of translation， and the translator is basically an author when translating books， and this one is honestly doing an excellent job but it seems that special unexplainable something that should also be translated keeps slipping from his grasp。 I dont know how to explain it any clearer， but I think the difference is apparent when you read this book and other murakami novels。- read in issoumar- Mr。 Okada， Kumiko， Noboru Wataya， the cat， malta kano， creta kano， nutmeg， cinnamon， lieutenant mamiya， the man called yamamoto， boris the manskinner， the veternarian with the blue mark on his cheek， the meticulous waiter for room 806， guitarist at the Sapporo jazz bar， May Kashahara-the clumsy zoo massacrethe skinning of the man called YamamotoLieutenant Mamiya's contribution to the manchuria/manchukuo historythe japanese kwantung army historyscouting intelligence/ supply research for fighting against the harsh soviet winters （sheep wool in manchukuo report by noboru wataya's uncle）malta kano's spiritual water journey in MaltaCreta Kano's defilement by Noboru Wataya + story of life of pain and suicide attemptMr。 Okada's sexual dreamsMay kashahara's letters from the wig manufacturing factoryNutmeg the sugar mommyNutmeg's history as a luxurious fashion designercinnamon's muteness after the heart burial incidentthe hanging housenoboru wataya's characterization and position as a celebrated economic/political commentator （epitome of fine scholarly prose and intellectualism）kumiko's sensual sex epiphany + christian diot eau de toilette and dress getting zipped up her smooth， small white backThe wind-up bird chronicle #9 on cinnamon's computerMr。 Okada's days at the bottom of the wellMay and Mr。 Okada's survey of men with a thinning hair issue at shinjuku subway stationKumiko and her floating jellyfish- 。。。more
Gabriel Fockler
，
Very psychedelic。 Some of the parts of this book with the dissolution of their marriage and struggling to really know another person really cut me deeply。
Iris Chiang
，
omg i literally teared up at the end and nothing sad even happened。 it was just such a good book and i didn't even realize how good it was until it was almost over。 there were definitely some points where there was so much happening that i had no idea how it would all connect together， but at the end it did。 the creativity and originality of this story is unmatched。 so good。 omg i literally teared up at the end and nothing sad even happened。 it was just such a good book and i didn't even realize how good it was until it was almost over。 there were definitely some points where there was so much happening that i had no idea how it would all connect together， but at the end it did。 the creativity and originality of this story is unmatched。 so good。 。。。more
Rachel Stevenson
，
A wild bird chase， or: a shaggy cat story。
Najih
，
Terdiri dari tiga bab yang masing-masing sangat panjang。 Pengenalan karakter dibawakan sangat detail beserta fenomena yang memiliki kesinambungan dengan kejadian dalam cerita。 Dalam beberapa bagian terasa sangat melelahkan dan perlu waktu yang luang untuk menerimanya。 Alur cerita yang terbagi dalam bagian-bagian di setiap bab terletak beracak dan akan menemui titik terang pada muara cerita "selamat tinggal"。 Terdiri dari tiga bab yang masing-masing sangat panjang。 Pengenalan karakter dibawakan sangat detail beserta fenomena yang memiliki kesinambungan dengan kejadian dalam cerita。 Dalam beberapa bagian terasa sangat melelahkan dan perlu waktu yang luang untuk menerimanya。 Alur cerita yang terbagi dalam bagian-bagian di setiap bab terletak beracak dan akan menemui titik terang pada muara cerita "selamat tinggal"。 。。。more
Persephone
，
सपनाका छरिएका केही टुक्राहरु जस्को आफैमा पनि सग्लो अर्थ छन् ती सपना लाई puzzle जसरी जोडेर एक बनाउन तपाईंलाई कति समय लाग्ला？ मलाइ ठ्याक्कै ११ दिन लाग्यो। आफ्नो व्यस्त दिनचर्या बाट केही समय सुटुक्क चोरेर रहरै रहर बिच यी सपनाहरु जोडि हेरियो।Murakami को लेखनी को प्रशंसक त म सधैँ नै हो अझ यो पुस्तकलाइ उनले Magical Realism र Post Modernsim को जादु ले धपक्कै सजाएका छन् । यो कथा Toru Okada को हो， जो भर्खरै आफुले गर्दै आएको जागिर छोडेर बसेका छान् मतलब उनी फुर्सद मा छन् केही समयलाइ।उनको बिरालो हराइरहेको छ सपनाका छरिएका केही टुक्राहरु जस्को आफैमा पनि सग्लो अर्थ छन् ती सपना लाई puzzle जसरी जोडेर एक बनाउन तपाईंलाई कति समय लाग्ला？ मलाइ ठ्याक्कै ११ दिन लाग्यो। आफ्नो व्यस्त दिनचर्या बाट केही समय सुटुक्क चोरेर रहरै रहर बिच यी सपनाहरु जोडि हेरियो।Murakami को लेखनी को प्रशंसक त म सधैँ नै हो अझ यो पुस्तकलाइ उनले Magical Realism र Post Modernsim को जादु ले धपक्कै सजाएका छन् । यो कथा Toru Okada को हो， जो भर्खरै आफुले गर्दै आएको जागिर छोडेर बसेका छान् मतलब उनी फुर्सद मा छन् केही समयलाइ।उनको बिरालो हराइरहेको छ र उनकि श्रीमती kumiko आफ्नो श्रीमान लाई फुर्सद को समय बिरालो खोजीदिन आग्रह गर्छिन्। यहाँ बाट सुरु हुन्छ Toru Okada को खोज को यात्रा। यो समय उनी बिरालो खोज्ने बहाना मा आफैलाई भेट्दै गर्छन र भेट्छन् उत्तिकै चाखलाग्दा पात्र हरु जसका लामा छोटा कथा हरु आफैमा उत्तिकै रोमाञ्चक छन्। कथा कहाँ जाँदै छ वा बिच बिच मा आउने नयाँ पुराना पात्र का अध्याय को औचित्य के हो भन्ने बुझ्न् अलिकति मेहेनत चाहिँ गर्नै पर्छ र यो पुस्तक को सबै भन्दा रमाइलो पक्ष पनि यसलाई देख्दै छु। Murakami ले केही पनि कम या ज्यादा लेखेको जस्तो मलाइ लागेन। ६०६ पृष्ठ को यो पुस्तक मा त्यति नै वाक्य हरु छन् जति यसलाइ चाहिन्छ। समग्रमा Murakami को लेखनी सङ्ग अभ्यस्त हुनुहुन्छ भने सहजै यो पुस्तक बिच मा छोड्नु हुदैन नै， पहिलो पुस्तक नै यहि पढ्न लाग्नु भएको हो भने बिस्तारै समय लगाएत पढ्न सुझाउछु， भद्दा किताब अनि साना अक्षर र घुमाउरा अर्थ हिन कथा जस्तो सोचेर बिच मै नछोड्नु होला ल！ 。。。more
Glen Berger
，
My third Murakami in the last 4 months （after Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood）， and it'll be a while before another one because the seams are beginning to show。 His writing is strangely compelling， even when he includes prosaic details that most editors would cut， and even though you won't find many sentences you'll want to copy into a journal for their crystalline wisdom， and even though his go-tos from book to book are gone-to a bit too predictably。 I'm still deeply grateful for having f My third Murakami in the last 4 months （after Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood）， and it'll be a while before another one because the seams are beginning to show。 His writing is strangely compelling， even when he includes prosaic details that most editors would cut， and even though you won't find many sentences you'll want to copy into a journal for their crystalline wisdom， and even though his go-tos from book to book are gone-to a bit too predictably。 I'm still deeply grateful for having found him。 Nevertheless。。。。。。。working on outlines is hard。 It's taxes the brain。 But when the pieces of a book fit together， the whole becomes more than the parts， and the authors that do that work have my undying respect。 And Murakami for Wind-Up Bird？ Didn't do it。 It reads very much like he's making it up as he's going along。 Including a long section where the protagonist is spinning his wheels， not knowing what to do， and it feels too much like the author just adding words to the word-count until he too figures out what to do。 So， okay， the whole isn't greater than the sum of the parts， the parts are greater than the whole。 But there aRe a lot of undeniably compelling parts， and it's absolutely worth a read if you've already got a murakami itch that needs scratching。 。。。more
kate
，
fucking FINALLY this book actually took years off my life。 i found some parts of it super interesting - i。e the whole well thing， may （<3） the end dream sequence but overall it didn't hit the mark like murakami usually does for me。 i literally cannot really truly say what happened。 but some good books are just like that。 fucking FINALLY this book actually took years off my life。 i found some parts of it super interesting - i。e the whole well thing， may （<3） the end dream sequence but overall it didn't hit the mark like murakami usually does for me。 i literally cannot really truly say what happened。 but some good books are just like that。 。。。more
Eli
，
i cannot keep repeating this enough but i absolutely hate the way murakami writes women。 the women in his novels are frequently objectified， sexualised， idealised and static。 in this book， i particularly hated the way he characterised may kasahara。 you can tell that murakami is clearly sexualising this young girl。 the way her appearances and letters are structured are pretty gross and i wont get into it。 as with any other murakami novel， the writing style is very stale， repetitive and lackluster i cannot keep repeating this enough but i absolutely hate the way murakami writes women。 the women in his novels are frequently objectified， sexualised， idealised and static。 in this book， i particularly hated the way he characterised may kasahara。 you can tell that murakami is clearly sexualising this young girl。 the way her appearances and letters are structured are pretty gross and i wont get into it。 as with any other murakami novel， the writing style is very stale， repetitive and lackluster。 all his male protagonists feel like the same person copied and pasted into each story。 it's not hard to think that these characters are just murakami's self-inserts。haruki murakami is probably the most overrated writers of our time。 i honestly don't understand how he is praised for his works when what he writes is just so typical。 and im aware the compliments towards him is based on how "accessible" his works are， but they are just so overdramatic and cliché that i do not find any value in it。 i would have rated this 1/5 stars but i remember enjoying this story when i first read it at 14 or 15 - back when i was not exposed to good writing and just admired anything。 。。。more
Marian Nanney
，
Holy crap， what a wild ride！For a long time I had no idea what I was reading - a bit like the book version of a David Lynch film - but it all comes together very powerfully at the end， and in a manner reminiscent of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice。 Highly recommended！
raissa
，
fiquei de boca abrida
Lisa
，
Just not my cup of tea。
Aimee
，
I didn’t like it。 I didn’t really like any of the characters; the book created more questions than answers; it was extremely， vividly gruesome at times， and I felt assaulted by that。 If he was trying to structure this like the Canterbury Tales， I guess it was a success。 But it was a slog。 It took me almost THREE MONTHS to finally finish。 I kept going， thinking “it’s going to get better，” but for me， it never did。 That might be the last Murakami I read for a while。
Jette
，
4。5 actually
JanGlen
，
This was a DNF for me。 I was enjoying it but at around p100 I decided that at that particular time I would struggle to get through another 400 pages。 Maybe I’ll return to it later。
Rachel Milwee
，
The audiobooks version of May’s voice was WOW SO BAD
Châm
，