Kelly's review
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami
The best place to start.
Hard to argue with that. His short stories are quite incredible also.
Thank you, you two. I am glad to have my decision backed up by two quality opinions I trust.
You're more than welcome, Kelly. You'll have to excuse Robert and I as we continue on our way, blessing others with their To-Read decisions...
You are truly saints of goodreads.
I completely agree. And for the record, we prefer the more formal, capitalized version, Saints of Goodreads.
Of course! Mortified to have given offense, of course. I shall show proper capitalized Respect next time. Like Aretha would want me to do.
Norwegian Wood is actually a pretty good place to start, as well. Shorter, so it's not as intimidating, and definitely the kind of thing that will tear at your heartstrings enough to keep you going even if his writing doesn't end up being your thing.
And yes, his short stories are fabulous, as well.
Is it? Thanks for that. Perhaps I shouldn't tackle it all at once then and try something smaller like that.
I think you should start with Wind up Kelly. (With all respect to Taylor, fabulous Bookface friend.)
I don't think Murakami is someone you tip-toe towards.
Good to start in the deep-end with his best; then to work backwards and forwards. To get him takes a twist; best accomplished by being hypnotised by his most accomplished book.
There are M people and non M people. I've probably given this book to 30 people and the reaction has always been thus. Somewhere, ages ago, I wrote something about my experience
with this book, and how I came upon it just after it was published. Can't find it.
Maybe it's just a case of it being a favorite and wanting all my favorite Bookfaces to read it.
I don't think you have to read Wind Up to be hypnotized by him, though. I started with some short stories (he came to my University and read two of them, actually), then read Norwegian Wood, and still found him positively enchanting. Actually, it was one of my friends who is a Murakami devotee - having read most of his works - who recommended Norwegian Wood as a starter. To each their own, I suppose.
Absolutely. More than one way to climb down the well, listen to jazz, cook a crafty meal, have a quiet adventure.
How you liking this, hon?
I honestly haven't gotten far enough to say yet. I try to get to at least 100 pages before I make any judgement calls. I will say that when I first opened the book I ripped through 50 pages very quickly. I haven't gotten to open it much since due to Life, but that's not from lack of desire.
This is not good ...
I've read tons of Japanese Lit (Endo, Mishima, Kawabata, Tanizaki, et el)but I have never 'gotten' Murakami. I am going to try 'Wind Up Bird' one more time only because I repect the hell out of Robert B. Newman.
Its interesting to suddenly see this split opinion appear. I've never heard anything but rapturous praise for this book. Glad to see Murakami doesn't dispel powerful thought. :)
My favourite Murakami so far is Norwegian Wood. Hardcore Murakami fans and snobs look down on it as it is the most mainstream, least original of his books, but I loved it to bits, even if it's sentimental and relatively unspectacular by Murakami standards. It moved me, and that means a lot to me. Few books move me these days.
Martine, you are an impressive intellect to have moved and for that alone I am willing to look at the book. Also, I think the labels 'sentimental' can be thrown around very easily at books that are simply honest in their emotions. Honesty about our deepest, core feelings almost always has some 'sentimentality' to it in that cliches are cliches for a reason. At the core, no matter what poetry we wrap around a thing to make it more complicated, there are very few reasons that are /true/. If you found that in Norweigan Wood, then it is a book worth reading, I think.
Thanks for sharing that experience. :)
Based on Norwegian Wood and the romantic short stories of his that I've read, I think that Murakami's love stories are great partly because they're sentimental, actually. I think it's hard to write about love, or at least to write about love well, without being sentimental to a certain degree. I think that word gets an unnecessarily bad rap.
I think that is valuable point in general, Taylor. A certain breed of critic or reader is always willing to look down their nose at something that is rawly emotional. Technique and craft are wonderful, but is there anything more wonderful than to be 'moved' by a book? A great writer must engage the intellect but surely the heart as well.
Good point, Taylor. Yes, I think one of the reasons why I like Murakami (apart from him having a crazy imagination and a real talent for drawing likeable oddbals) is precisely because he has the guts to be sentimental -- genuinely sentimental, as opposed to syrupy sentimental. His sentiment has a lyrical quality that I really appreciate. I suppose it's an Asian thing. I watch a lot of Asian films, and I've noticed that many of them are much more overtly sentimental/lyrical than Western ones. Sometimes the sentiment/lyricism goes a little over the top, but even when it's overcooked, there's an earnestness to it that appeals to me. I found that quality in Norwegian Wood, as well, and yes, the more I think about it, the more I believe it's why I like the book so much.
Out of curiosity, what were the romantic short stories you were referring to? I think I should read those, too...
Slow Boat to China's my favourite Murakami short.
If you liked his writing but had troubles with the lack of realism, I still recommend Norwegian Wood. There are a few magical elements to it, but nothing distracting.
Oh, and sorry I didn't respond to your question about the short stories, Martine. I don't remember the name of one of them, but the other is something like "the 100% perfect girl for me" - it's in "The Elephant Vanishes." I believe the other one was in "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman."
Kelly's review
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Kelly's review
rating:
bookshelves:
fiction
I absolutely adored the book upon starting out. It is exquisitely crafted, with each seemingly casual word chosen to illustrate the world into which we have entered. It is a lonely world full of half finished stories, abrupt departures, missed connections and deep silences. "Poor Mr. Wind-Up Bird," lives on an alley with no exits, in a borrowed life that he could never afford to live without the kindness of his uncle. He's just quit his job, as he has no idea of where to go with his life, but is dissatisfied with its current course. He lives with a wife that he never seems to really speak to, in a routine existence in which she is often late or absent, or spends her time repressing everything she chooses to say to him. Murakami meticulously illustrates this quietly painful existence in all of Mr. Wind-Up Bird's movements, whether it is missed phone calls, a wasted dinner, or a frozen statue of a bird never able to take flight. This sort of language kept me going throughout th...more
The best place to start.
Hard to argue with that. His short stories are quite incredible also.
Thank you, you two. I am glad to have my decision backed up by two quality opinions I trust.
You're more than welcome, Kelly. You'll have to excuse Robert and I as we continue on our way, blessing others with their To-Read decisions...
You are truly saints of goodreads.
I completely agree. And for the record, we prefer the more formal, capitalized version, Saints of Goodreads.
Of course! Mortified to have given offense, of course. I shall show proper capitalized Respect next time. Like Aretha would want me to do.
Norwegian Wood is actually a pretty good place to start, as well. Shorter, so it's not as intimidating, and definitely the kind of thing that will tear at your heartstrings enough to keep you going even if his writing doesn't end up being your thing.And yes, his short stories are fabulous, as well.
Is it? Thanks for that. Perhaps I shouldn't tackle it all at once then and try something smaller like that.
I think you should start with Wind up Kelly. (With all respect to Taylor, fabulous Bookface friend.)I don't think Murakami is someone you tip-toe towards.
Good to start in the deep-end with his best; then to work backwards and forwards. To get him takes a twist; best accomplished by being hypnotised by his most accomplished book.
There are M people and non M people. I've probably given this book to 30 people and the reaction has always been thus. Somewhere, ages ago, I wrote something about my experience
with this book, and how I came upon it just after it was published. Can't find it.
Maybe it's just a case of it being a favorite and wanting all my favorite Bookfaces to read it.
I don't think you have to read Wind Up to be hypnotized by him, though. I started with some short stories (he came to my University and read two of them, actually), then read Norwegian Wood, and still found him positively enchanting. Actually, it was one of my friends who is a Murakami devotee - having read most of his works - who recommended Norwegian Wood as a starter. To each their own, I suppose.
Absolutely. More than one way to climb down the well, listen to jazz, cook a crafty meal, have a quiet adventure.
How you liking this, hon?
I honestly haven't gotten far enough to say yet. I try to get to at least 100 pages before I make any judgement calls. I will say that when I first opened the book I ripped through 50 pages very quickly. I haven't gotten to open it much since due to Life, but that's not from lack of desire.
This is not good ...
I've read tons of Japanese Lit (Endo, Mishima, Kawabata, Tanizaki, et el)but I have never 'gotten' Murakami. I am going to try 'Wind Up Bird' one more time only because I repect the hell out of Robert B. Newman.
Its interesting to suddenly see this split opinion appear. I've never heard anything but rapturous praise for this book. Glad to see Murakami doesn't dispel powerful thought. :)
My favourite Murakami so far is Norwegian Wood. Hardcore Murakami fans and snobs look down on it as it is the most mainstream, least original of his books, but I loved it to bits, even if it's sentimental and relatively unspectacular by Murakami standards. It moved me, and that means a lot to me. Few books move me these days.
Martine, you are an impressive intellect to have moved and for that alone I am willing to look at the book. Also, I think the labels 'sentimental' can be thrown around very easily at books that are simply honest in their emotions. Honesty about our deepest, core feelings almost always has some 'sentimentality' to it in that cliches are cliches for a reason. At the core, no matter what poetry we wrap around a thing to make it more complicated, there are very few reasons that are /true/. If you found that in Norweigan Wood, then it is a book worth reading, I think.
Thanks for sharing that experience. :)
Based on Norwegian Wood and the romantic short stories of his that I've read, I think that Murakami's love stories are great partly because they're sentimental, actually. I think it's hard to write about love, or at least to write about love well, without being sentimental to a certain degree. I think that word gets an unnecessarily bad rap.
I think that is valuable point in general, Taylor. A certain breed of critic or reader is always willing to look down their nose at something that is rawly emotional. Technique and craft are wonderful, but is there anything more wonderful than to be 'moved' by a book? A great writer must engage the intellect but surely the heart as well.
Good point, Taylor. Yes, I think one of the reasons why I like Murakami (apart from him having a crazy imagination and a real talent for drawing likeable oddbals) is precisely because he has the guts to be sentimental -- genuinely sentimental, as opposed to syrupy sentimental. His sentiment has a lyrical quality that I really appreciate. I suppose it's an Asian thing. I watch a lot of Asian films, and I've noticed that many of them are much more overtly sentimental/lyrical than Western ones. Sometimes the sentiment/lyricism goes a little over the top, but even when it's overcooked, there's an earnestness to it that appeals to me. I found that quality in Norwegian Wood, as well, and yes, the more I think about it, the more I believe it's why I like the book so much.Out of curiosity, what were the romantic short stories you were referring to? I think I should read those, too...
Slow Boat to China's my favourite Murakami short.
If you liked his writing but had troubles with the lack of realism, I still recommend Norwegian Wood. There are a few magical elements to it, but nothing distracting.Oh, and sorry I didn't respond to your question about the short stories, Martine. I don't remember the name of one of them, but the other is something like "the 100% perfect girl for me" - it's in "The Elephant Vanishes." I believe the other one was in "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman."
