Speculative Fiction | Book Chatter

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Book Three)
By Haruki Murakami
(Vintage, Paperback, 9780679775430, 1998, 624pp.)

This post shares my thoughts on book three. If you are reading along with me and have not finished book book three, save this post for later as it may contain spoilers.

In a nutshell, what takes place in book three?

Book three was pretty exciting. Toru is determined to find his wife Kumiko even though Kumiko’s powerful brother Noboru, advises Toru against it. In his heart, Toru believes that Kumiko did not leave by choice. He is so convinced of this, that he decides to purchase the abandoned property by his home known as the hanging house. The house is considered to be bad luck for anyone who lives there, but Toru doesn’t care because that is where the dried up well is and he needs more time in the well to figure out what is going on. Toru is unemployed with little in savings so the cost of purchasing such a property, no matter how undesirable it may be, proves to be too much for him. The money becomes available when he accepts a position as Nutmeg’s replacement in the “fitting” room.

The fitting room is where Toru meets with strange women to remove whatever is bothering them. After a small test of sorts, Nutmeg has the hanging house leveled and builds a compound in its place. This allows Toru to work as a fitting room consultant without the peering eyes of neighbors, and it allows him access to the well when he needs it. A lot of strange things happen in the well and compound. He visits the “other side” when he goes down in the well and he receives communication from Kumiko by way of online chatting. Some of the characters who played prominent roles in book two come back and there is a large chunk of the book dedicated to the Manchurian Incident.

Things happen and discoveries are made. It was quite a book and I was worried when I got down to the last 45 pages that I’d be left hanging, but I did feel there was a resolution of sorts. Not one with perfectly tied bows but I did feel satisfied with how it ended. I still have a lot of questions though.

Murakami has admitted in the past that he never knows how a story will end when he begins to write it. Based on interviews, this was particularly true with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Do you feel that this technique added something to the story? Or do you feel that it had the opposite effect?

As I was reading, I enjoyed the “wild ride” and was often surprised at where Murakami’s mind took us. When I finished the book though, I spent an entire week trying to piece it together to make sense of what took place. It’s not an impossible story to piece together because in my mind. There are clues from the past that help you makes sense of the stuff going on, but there must have been about five possible outcomes and I don’t think any of them are wrong.

When I finished, I immediately wrote-up what I thought had happened and then shared it with a few others who I knew were done with the book and they came back with other possibilities that I had not considered. After spending a week trying to come-up with the one outcome that Murakami wanted us to take-away as readers, I’ve decided that since he didn’t know how it was going to end himself, that the outcomes mentioned are clearly up to us as readers.

I know this drives some people nuts because so many of you want a firm resolution to sit back on, but this is not the case with this book and I am 100% okay with it. I felt that it came together enough to give me the satisfaction I needed as a reader and the meandering nature of the plot, set my imagination on high. I’m not sure this meandering technique works with all of his books, but I do feel that it worked with this one.

What do YOU feel happened to Kumiko?

There are a lot of theories floating around about Kumiko’s disappearance and I’ll mention a couple that came to mind:

That she was always there, but transparent. I got the impression at one point that Kumiko’s self-worth was lost after she became a prostitute for her brother. Another blogger questioned this saying that she was never a prostitute but the reason why I thought this, was because of her mention of “many men” and we know Noboru’s history with Creta so I thought that this was how he was controlling her. The transparency thing was something I considered when Toru mentions that someone is always there, but not visible. In my mind, she turned within herself and vanished only to be seen in this other place on the other side of the well wall.
Another thing I considered, is that physically she was holed-up somewhere, but that she visited Toru in the form of Creta. Creta had the same body type and often reminded Toru of Kumiko. Later, when Creta’s baby is discussed, another blogger and I could not help but think that this “baby” was the baby that Kumiko aborted early in the marriage.

Crazy, huh? I had a lot of fun coming up with possibilities. Especially when I realized that no theory is really wrong, considering Murakami had no idea where he was going with the story when he wrote it.

Who was the guy without a face?

In the final hotel scene, Toru gets some assistance from a man without a face. I took this to mean that his face was not visible to Toru (for whatever reason). Many ideas ran through my mind. At first, I thought it was Ushikawa, the loser guy that was a messenger for Noboru. Then, I thought it was Toru from the other side. What I’ve settled on, is that it was Cinnamon. That Cinnamon took the bat from the well and put it in that hotel room for Toru to use later. This also fits if you think about Cinnamon leaving the computer accessible so that Toru could read the Chronicles if he chose to do so. It’s as if Nutmeg and Cinnamon were hired to help him out. I sort of liked this idea so that is what I am sticking to.

What do you think?

What part did you least enjoy in book three?

I really, really did not like the bits about World War II. I didn’t mind the mining camp too much but when it went back to discuss the 2nd massacre and we got to know Boris the Manskinner a little bit more, I really had to focus as I was tempted to skim. However, now that I am done with the book, I think if any true answers are to be found that they are to be found in those sections.

Your turn! What’s your final verdict?

Did you enjoy the experience? If this was your first experience with Murakami’s writing, will you be reading his other books at some point? Or have you decided he’s not for you?

Finally, Thank you!

Thank you for reading along with me. I know many of you went outside of your comfort zone to join me and I appreciate it! It’s been fun and I will miss the interaction. I spent the last week going through withdrawals but I think I’m good now!

And the mysterious black/blue mark that I reported having last week seems to be fading. This is my final update post but I may write-up a short review that includes all of the updates posts and a little bit more. Other than that, we are done!

Blue Black Mark - Wind-Up

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1Q84
By Haruki Murakami
(Knopf, Hardcover, 9780307593313, October 2011, 944pp.)

The Short of It:

1Q84 is a literary mash-up of epic proportions. The artistry of the writing will impress Murakami’s die-hard fans, but I suspect that he will gain a whole new following with this one.

The Rest of It:

On a busy expressway, Aomame steps out of a cab and slips into a parallel world. Initially, the fact that she’s entered another world goes unnoticed by her, but slowly she begins to realize that although this new world is similar to what she had before, there is something about this new world that she can’t quite put her finger on. At times, she sees two moons in the sky and wonders if she is the only one who can see them. What do they mean? She calls this world, 1Q84…the Q, representing a question mark. It is a “world that bears a question.”

Meanwhile, Tengo has been asked by his editor to ghostwrite a work titled, Air Chrysalis. The work was written by a young girl named Fuka-Eri and although the story is impressive, the technical aspects of the writing are less so. An aspiring writer himself, Tengo finds himself somewhat obsessed with the young girl and the two form a very unusual friendship.

As the chapters alternate between Tengo and Aomame, you realize that at some point these characters will meet. In fact, they have already met once, as children. An encounter that Tengo and Aomame have never forgotten and one that is played out repeatedly throughout the book. Neither of them can explain their inexplicable desire to find one another because the fact that they are drawn to each other is odd enough. As they make their way towards each other, they encounter obstacles and unforgettable characters along the way.

If you noticed that ‘1Q84’ resembles the title of another landmark novel, ‘1984’ then you would be correct in thinking that there is a connection between the two. This novel is Murakami’s ode to Orwell. In 1984, you have Big Brother and in this novel, the Little People. The two books share similar themes but the feel of each is quite different. In many ways, Murakami is more matter-of-fact with his storytelling. For the most part, his characters say what they mean. They are open books. The reader is always clued in to what they are feeling at any point in time. However, the meaning behind what they are feeling, is often left open for interpretation. This is one of the reasons I love Murakami. His ability to put it all out there, trusting that as a reader, you will come to your own conclusions is a tough thing to do. The confidence that he has in his readers is something I have felt from day one. It’s no wonder that his fandom continues to grow daily.

I’ve read five books by Murakami and if I were to compare this one to them, I’d have to say that this one is tamer. There is less sex, less strangeness, but the themes dealing with identity, belonging, violence against women, religion, re-birth, Oedipus complex…are all here, but handled in a quiet way. It’s not nearly as bizarre as some of his other novels. No talking cats, for instance. But it is most definitely a Murakami in the handling of the characters. The characters are often likable, and that is also the case here. However, they are not predictable. As you read the novel, you begin to get a feel for them, but you can never truly know them because they are very complex. Murakami’s characters are never flat. They are constantly evolving and that is something I look forward to every time I open a Murakami book. The other thing that is pure Murakami, is that there are no “throw away” characters. They all have a purpose, no matter how silly or trivial they may seem at first glance.

I was very sad when I turned the last page. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to crawl inside the book and become one with it. It was wonderful and thought-provoking on so many levels. It’s totally accessible even at its 944 pages and there is never a dull moment. I was worried about the translation, as it took two translators to get the job done, but I looked for style differences and they were none to speak of. If they existed, I never noticed them. With its “love story in a parallel world” premise, there is something here for everyone. I honestly don’t think it even matters if you haven’t read any of his other books. This one might even be a good book to start with because it eases you into his writing style and if you like books that question reality as we know it, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy this one.

That said, I could write pages and pages on why you should read it, but I’d rather you just trust me in saying that if you do read it, you won’t be sorry.

Source: Purchased
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