Thoughts on 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami

It was a big leap to go from reading Murakami's very short stories to reading this 600 page chronicle involving many different storylines and characters. Did you enjoy this wild ride? What meaning did you derive from it?

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[MilesWilliams]

That passage where Lieutenant Mamiya is talking about lost chances hit me like a ton of bricks. I just put the book down and sat there for about 10 minutes thinking about it. I finished this book last night. It's wonderful.

[runner]

Having read many Murakami books. To me, they are both interesting and thought provoking - philosophical. He manages to capture the issues that confront a lot of people, but in a surreal environment. He is so masterful that I don’t imagine that any scene is without meaning.

[mariandudak]

Thanks for this review. It's one of the best youtube reviews I have ever seen. I've read a few Murakami novels so far and while watching this review I ordered The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Plus, I really like the cat motifs on the bookshelves and the blouse.

[thenakedsingularity]

I love this book. I went out and read everything by him after this one.

[HL-hrox]

Thought provoking review! Thanks so much for capturing some themes and reading the passages that exemplify them. Very helpful, as I sometimes (er, often) get so wrapped up in a story that I can’t see a full forest while I’m left standing among the trees.
I’ve read it as well & agree that the conclusion of the book is not really a full conclusion. So much is left open to interpretation and best-guessing.
The lack of a “satisfying” conclusion coupled with his writing style & themes all make me think of art, or paintings, specifically. Some artists, maybe surrealist artists as an example, will provide themes but will not feed you any concrete explanation- they’re left open to interpretation.
I kind of relate Murakami’s stories (although I’ve only read two + a collection of short stories, so this idea may be ignorant to others who’ve read more of his work) as each book being a series of paintings that express certain themes. None of the paintings are extremely clearly identifiable scenes (as in a Renoir for example), but they’re thought provoking, allow you to feel, identify, be almost sickened, feel exalted, lonely, etc. (maybe like a Dali).
As you take your time wandering through a large room with all these different paintings on the wall, you can tell that while you may *feel in your bones* that they are all related, they don’t give answers, necessarily, but instead create questions. Idk, just a thought.

[othereric]

I remember being so disappointed the first time I read the ending. In retrospect, I love the ending because it was the first time I read something that didn't bother to tie up all the loose ends. Some people have suggested it's pure laziness on Murakami's part, but some stories can't be resolved completely, and I think, in this particular case, tying up loose ends would have worked against it. Despite of the lack of closure, the book hits on a number of interesting themes (as you've pointed out in the video). In my opinion that's a more interesting way of telling a story than following established conventions of climax/resolution and tying everything up. So for me, I enjoyed the ride, and didn't mind the lack of closure. As for the meaning - I'm sure there's some definitive meaning that Murakami had in mind, but I also think that since the books deals in abstractions - it's all up for interpretation, and different meanings can be found depending on where you're at in your life when you read it. The book has made me feel different things at different times, but I'm not sure if I could ever explain them.

[SarahMuchuti]

I just found your chanel while I was searching for some the catcher in the rye reviews (I have read it last year tho but the story keeps coming back to my mind so I usually search about it hahah) and I absolutely love your book reviews, and now I stumbled across this video where you talk about this amazing book, which I just finished today :) I agree with everything you said in the video☺ Probably the next murakami I'm gonna read is After dark

[bookwizard]

Bruh we are such similar people. I connected with everything you said. You’re easily one of my favorite channels. I’m about to start Kafka on the Shore after taking a break from Murakami but this’ll definitely be next after. I always hear about this one but didn’t know anything about it. Thanks for doing what you do

[darrickfranz]

Hey great video. I haven't read this one but it sounds right up my alley so I'll probably go pick it up sometime soon. I've read Norwegian Wood, your video on it having sparked my interest to do so, and his short story Barn Burning. Great writer no doubt. I'd like to read a novel of yours once you get around to publishing. I'm interested in doing that myself. If you haven't already, I'd also recommend reading No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. Have a good night.

[nomind]

the publisher had Rubin make cuts to the book, something like 20% of the book was cut for the English publication even though Rubin had translated all of it. At the time they didn't think the English market wanted that long of a book by Murakami. Now they know better with IQ84, but it's still so frustrating that they still haven't released a uncut version. I have heard it suggested Murakami likes the cuts and thinks it flows better with less repetition, but I usually enjoy the repetition in his books and it just kind of sucks not to have access to the original fully. 😩

[kentomurayama]

The story line is just a tip of iceberg
Japanese version comes in 3 books
I rather dig into his metaphors that are laughable by those who “read the room” universally
In Japan we say “read the air”
Raymond Carver‘s Cathedral is one of his influences. My favorite is Chef’s House
I like your honest review. Hope translation and connotations of places and names made sense in English

[lakeshagadson]

i love the books you read but i think it be good if you have your fans to show you some of their work that they do in reading or writting a book.

[musashi]

I hate translated books that ABRIDGE content that waters-down cultural differences. Much is missing from the original Japanese version. 📚