“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” by Haruki Murakami – Spinning Out of Control

Haruki Murakami has made quite a name for himself with his unique and engrossing style of writing which at times can be cheerful, thought-provoking, morbid and fascinating.

It can be argued that The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is one of the earlier works by Murakami which gained him some of the recognition he has now, and just like in the spirit of many of his other works, it is quite expansive in its scope, combining numerous elements which generally have nothing to do with each other to deliver a unique and compelling story like none other out there.


Though it is hard to provide a summary for Murakami books, this one’s events are set in motion when a young man in Tokyo sets out on a noble quest: to find his wife’s missing cat.

However, quite soon he finds himself searching for his wife as well, and as things go on, the search moves on to greater, more important things (at least metaphorically). While on his search the young man, Toru Okada, makes the acquaintance of numerous rather spectacular characters, including a traumatized war veteran who fought in Manchuria, a psychic prostitute, a politician with questionable motives, and a few others.

As is usual with the author’s novels, it’s a bit hard to decide where to begin the review, so I’ll do it at the most logical place possible: the basics. The flow of the story felt a bit irregular at times, though on the whole I’d describe the pace as being rather slow, with there being a greater focus placed on ideas rather than actions.

The language is simple enough for virtually all readers to understand… however, the meaning of the language used has multiple layers of complexity. In other words, the words themselves are simple, but their combinations are rather thought-provoking.

The story itself has enough to keep those who are seeking pure entertainment interested, basically chronicling a failed marriage, the forgotten atrocities of the Second World War, and a detective case.

Though at first you will feel a bit lost as to which of the three storylines Murakami is alluding to and discussing, as you go on the process of switching from one aspect to the next becomes quite natural.

So what great questions or themes does Murakami tackle in this chef-d’oeuvre of his? Well, from what I gathered (and my thoughts on this subject are far from being final), each character represents an entire theme that Murakami explores.

For instance, the way I saw it, Toru’s story showed just how fast things can spin out of control when obsessively searching for something that may not be there at all, the psychic prostitute alludes to one’s attunement with his/her own sexuality and the spiritual doors that opens, and the veteran serves as a constant reminder of atrocities once committed, now seeming so benign and meaningless.

All in all, there is way more than enough food for thought to keep more involved readers satiated for weeks to come, and I recommend it to anyone who is already a fan of the author, is looking to learn more about him, or for a story that is thought-provoking, full of surrealistic imagery as well as charm, wit, and uniqueness.

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Haruki Murakami Personal site Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer and author of numerous bestsellers, some of which earned him the Franz Kafka Prize, the Jerusalem Prize, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and others. Some of his better known works include Hear the Wind Sing and Kafka on the Shore.