Why did Steve love this book?
I’m a Murakami fan, and this is one of his strongest novels. I enjoyed the shaggy dog, or more accurately, shaggy man, quality of the story, in which one or two mundane events lead to an unpredictable series of encounters and metaphysical journeys.
The search for a lost cat morphs into the search for a lost wife, with segues into local Japanese politics, the past and future of an abandoned house, and female acquaintances invading the protagonist’s dreams. When the protagonist befriends an elderly Japanese survivor, it leads to stunning long passages on incidents during Japan’s occupation of Manchuria during World War II and to exercises, either forced or voluntary, in solitary confinement. Imminent change is signaled several times by the mysterious call of a wind-up bird.
6 authors picked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
INCLUDES A READING GUIDE
Toru Okada's cat has disappeared and this has unsettled his wife, who is herself growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has started 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.