The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Does magical realism break the rules of storytelling? A look at a beautiful failure in the genre.

If ever you are ever in need of a strange and desultory novel, crack up this one:

Summary

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a novel by the acclaimed Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, published in 1994 and translated into English by Jay Rubin in 1997. It is considered one of the best novels from East Asian author and Murakami’s masterpiece by many critics. The novel is divided into three parts, each consisting of several chapters. The work is quite lengthy and plods a leisurely pace until the end. Murakami’s novel follows protagonist Toru Okada, an unemployed man who lives in Tokyo with his wife Kumiko and their cat Noboru Wataya (also Kumiko’s brother’s name). The novel begins with the disappearance of the cat, which sets off a series of events that lead Toru to encounter various characters and situations that challenge his perception of reality and his sense of identity. The premise of the novel seems like a whimsical take on hard-boiled detective fiction, a genre Murakami loves. However, t…