The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

I've gone Murakami... and my head's still spinning. 

What a weird fucking book. Based on Sweeney's recommendation, I traveled down this rabbit hole completely clueless on what I was going to experience. Beforehand, Sween had sent me this Murakami bingo card as a joke eluding what I was in for:

As you can see, there are tiles pertaining to an unexpected phone call, parallel worlds, weird sex... and cats (Japan loves there cats). That really sums up the tone and feel to this particular Murkami novel. It's out there (at times, really out there) and yet does a great job at pulling on those heart strings and being relatively down to Earth. As I'm thinking back on the book, I suppose this is my first major praise of Murakami's work here. Never have I experienced something so transcendental all the while keeping its feet firmly grounded. But for those completely unaware of this novel, let me give a quick rundown of its story.

We basically have one dude (actually, it would be best if you though of a Japanese version of The Dude from The Big Lebowski) who is living a fairly normal, simple life with his wife in Japan. This guy is unemployed (by choice) and spends most of his time just sort of putzing around. First thing, the couple's pet cat goes missing. Soon after that, the guy's wife goes missing. And not long after that he learns that she has left him explaining that she has cheated on him and has irreversibly changed as a person - never can she return to him. This guy (his name is Toru, by-the-way -  not sure why I didn't explain that beforehand?) will not accept this and is nonchalantly determined to bring her back. Only he has no clue how...

Now, this may seem like a no-brainer on what this whole book is about: a man winning back his girl. Simply, yes... that is what the book is about in someway; however, there's a very long, convoluted road to get there. And along that road the novel drifts in-and-out of being a fantasy/sci-fi story to a historical fiction to a serious drama piece. This is of no fault to the writer or the story. The book isn't struggling to find its voice. It's voice is just really fucking out there. 

So, while Toru is on this journey to bring his love back, he encounters many strange people in many strange venues. All of these people imparting important lessons on him. Toru (and you as the reader) slowly soak up this information that by the end, a lot of things suddenly start to make sense. I found myself getting initially frustrated as I was reading this book. Random weird crap was happening without any explanation, and when things become confusing they can also become unentertaining. Standard fantasy/sci-fi stories typically solve this problem by explaining to their audiences, right from the get-go, the rules in which their characters, society, and environment are grounded in. Then the story can unfold with everyone understanding what the fuck is happening. Murakami doesn't do that here. You read it with this mentality that you'll accept things as they come to you - it's very Zen-like. And seeing how this novel stresses a great deal on the subconscious and the powers that lie within our mind, it's an appropriate route to convey ideas without ever actually explaining them in detail.

Overall, I did like this book. It's not my favorite novel ever, but only because this is just not the type of story I'm naturally attracted to; however, I can completely understand why there are some hardcore Murakami fans out there. He's a great writer and a fantastically imaginative storyteller. If anyone is struggling to find something new to read and are the slightest bit curious about Murakami, go ahead and give it a shot. Just acknowledge the fact that you're going to have to loose yourself in mysticism and side-stories before you reach the last 50 pages where things logically click together leading to a really gripping ending. 

I'll get back to Murakami at some point in the future. For now, I'm delving back into the comic world - getting sleepy with Sandman.