Book Review: The Wind-up bird chronicles - Haruki Murakami

Well now this is one book i have never read before. It puts everything that you have ever read to shame. But at this point i should warn you that you will enjoy this book in its true sense if you are ready to just shut-up and read, ask no questions, flow with the descriptions and plainly visualise each and every word written on those pages (that wont be difficult given murakamis ability to put visualisations in words)

I was suggested this book by a friend and he just told me one thing... the characters of this book will stick with you... i second that now. The characters are so well etched that if asked a question i can tell you how the protagonist would look at it and also the various other characters. However dont be fooled by it. The story will baffle you as it will move ahead. According to me there is no 'unfolding' of the story that we generally come across in other books. this book is a drifter and you drift with it.

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author and his original works are in Japanese. The Wind-up bird Chronicles is the story of a man named Toru Okada who has recently quit his job and is staying at home trying to figure out what to do next. He stays with his wife Kumiko. This story starts off as a search for their lost cat and ends up as the search for Kumiko.

His search leads to him meeting a variety of characters - an unknown women who calls him up for phone sex, a next door neighbour 16 year old May Kasahara. Mays questions makes him look deeper an deeper within himself. A psychic Malta Kano and her sister Creta Kano. His brother in law Noboru Wataya. A fortune teller Mr Honda. A world War II soldier Mamiya.
Eerie Nutmeg and Cinnamon.

Through out the book Murakami has covered the realities of World War II and infused it so very well in the story. Toru Okada's search can be a metaphor for a lot many things at a time.

This is one book that is bound to surprise you by the time you finish it, not because of the way the end has been written but because of the way it has been able to take you on this journey with Toru Okada.

Rating: 4/5

1 - nice read 2 - good 3 - very good 4 - simply outstanding 5 - Go down on my knees and bow down in awe


Coming up next: The perfect Man - Naeem Murr and The Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (both Indian Writings)