2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.

Pages: 607 pages

Length: 1 Month (January)

Participants: Ilona, Sinisa, Tummala, Jackie.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

Hello! :) I am so glad that you all joined this buddy read. I have owned this book for quite a while, but never got around to reading it.

Has anyone read other books by Murakami? I have read Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84, and Norwegian Wood, and generally really like his unique writing style.

yes!! i’ve read 1Q84 and norwegian wood as well - murakami is such an engaging storyteller i can already see myself finishing this book in one night. which of his books did you enjoy the most?

Jackie wrote: "yes!! i’ve read 1Q84 and norwegian wood as well - murakami is such an engaging storyteller i can already see myself finishing this book in one night. which of his books did you enjoy the most?"

I think that Norwegian Wood is my favourite among the ones that I read.
How about you?

I have read few of his books and most of them I absolutely loved. Murakami has become one of my favorite writers now. If i rank books list would go:

1. 1Q84 - absolutely lovely and spectacular, this is undisputed No 1

2. Kafka on the Shore - very similar tone of 1q84

3. South of the Border, West of the Sun - by order how i read them it is 3rd successful try at perfections by HM

4. Norwegian Wood - first book i read and I like it but was nothing special, tone of book was too depressing for me and ending was confusing. It took me a while in retrospective to appreciate it and I gave it 5 stars but there are 3 better ones for me

5. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running -totally different than rest of his work which can be great sometimes but was kind of just boring to me if I compared it to top 3

6. Killing Commendatore - I was having high hopes from this one but I wasn't into it would be mild thing to say

my favourite was 1Q84! i really like the way he mixes fantasy and realism in his books, but i'm not the biggest fan of how he writes about romance

Yeah I heard that critic about romance before and that is his week point but I usually kind of can ignore those parts and it doesn't bother me. It helps they don't drag through pages and are usually very short takes. His perspective is usually "what would teenage boy do".

I was not fan of magic realism but first Gabriel García Márquez and then Murakami convinced me otherwise

haha yes that’s a great way to put it. in general i prefer reading romance from a female pov, so that’s probably why i wasn’t the biggest fan!

you’ve convinced me to check out gabriel garcía márquez - putting one hundred years of solitude on my tbr.

When you start reading there was a September buddy read of 100 Years of Solitude in archived posts if you want to check that 1 out for notes

Hi. I was to late to officially take part, but apparently I can still join the discussion and I'd love to, if you don't mind. I think I've read most of Murakami's books, but not 1Q84 (for some reason, it's always too much even though I usually don't mind heavy tomes- and I always think I'd have to finally read 1984 first...) and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! I'm looking forward to finally doing that!

My favorite is Kafka on the Shore. I even own a Japanese edition and can stumble my way through with heavy use of a dictionary. I haven't made it past the first two pages yet, but hope is the thing with feathers....

Wolf wrote: "Hi. I was to late to officially take part, but apparently I can still join the discussion and I'd love to, if you don't mind. I think I've read most of Murakami's books, but not 1Q84 (for some reas..."

You are very welcome to join, the more the merrier! :)

I'd like to join this buddy read too (my first ever). I've been meaning to try something by Murakami for some time, but keep putting it off. Now I have a hold on an audiobook version from my library, which they say should become available in the next few days. Am looking forward to joining others in reading it :-)

Looks like I'll be listening as well. I could swear I have a printed version somewhere, but I haven't been able to find it (yet). I've never done a group read with only the audio book before, but at least the chapters are numbered, so it might work. I'll give it a try, I can still get a printed copy if it gets too confusing.

So, has anyone started yet? I have listening to the first four chapters and I'm quite happy to finally read Murakami again. It's just the right mix of weird and everyday once more.

Wolf wrote: "So, has anyone started yet? I have listening to the first four chapters and I'm quite happy to finally read Murakami again. It's just the right mix of weird and everyday once more."

Not yet :) I am planning to start somewhere this week

Same here starting in 2 days hoping most of it will be read during weekend

i just started on this yesterday! only read the first two chapters (view spoiler)[ i love that he started the book with the protagonist listening to music - i noticed this was a common theme in some of his other books too! the pace feels quite slow for now, so i might be spreading the read over the next two weeks (hide spoiler)]

Marc *Dark Reader of the Woods* wrote: ""

Pretty good but there must be some whiskey/beer drinking missing from this chart

After chapter 7
(Not much of a spoiler I guess, but to be on the safe side...)

(view spoiler)[Why would anyone name their cat after someone they dislike so much!?!? I really hope we'll get an answer how the poor creature deserved this... (hide spoiler)]

I'm up to book 3. Will persist to the end, but have come to the conclusion Murakami is not for me. I can see why others would like it though, and can appreciate his skill as a writer.

Nedge wrote: "I'm up to book 3. Will persist to the end, but have come to the conclusion Murakami is not for me. I can see why others would like it though, and can appreciate his skill as a writer."

maybe you can give 1Q84 a go! the plot is a lot more exciting than this one i think, the pace of this book is soo slow i'm taking forever to finish it..

wolf, (view spoiler)[ i agree lol. also wondering if we're ever going to find the poor creature (hide spoiler)]

jackie wrote: "Nedge wrote: "I'm up to book 3. Will persist to the end, but have come to the conclusion Murakami is not for me. I can see why others would like it though, and can appreciate his skill as a writer...."

I absolutely love 1Q84 but it is a 3 book series and over 1000 pages as i remember. I would recommend something shorter and almost as good like Kafka on the Shore or South of the Border, West of the Sun.

Marc *Dark Reader of the Woods* wrote: ""

This is spot on, I just finished chapter 4 and can cross of 5/7 things. Just waiting for the jazz music and bizarre dreams. Thanks for sharing!

jackie wrote: "i just started on this yesterday! only read the first two chapters [spoilers removed]"

I agree that the pace is slow, but it also feels very as a very typical Murakami book. Can't wait until the weirdness starts ^^

Well! (pun intended). Have finished and it was ok I guess, but I won't be adding it to my re-read list. I enjoyed the quirky elements, but there was something else lacking for me. I'm not very good at literary analysis, so can't quite put my finger on it, but the characterisations felt wooden or distant and I struggled to relate/empathise. Maybe given this is a Japanese novel I might liken the characters to different models of robot. Which is interesting because at one point I had the thought it's like reading computer code - blocks of routines and subroutines where you can appreciate the programmer's skill in writing it, but feel no personal connection. Admit my issues could have been influenced by the format, as I was listening to the audiobook read by Rupert Degas. Ended up increasing speed to 1.4x to get it over and done with.

Well I am at 20% and it was a drag getting trough this first part. It is so slow it makes you sleepy. On a happy note I finally got to parts I am enjoying a lot and those are 2 mini biographies of characters of Kumikos brother and Malta Kanos sister.

I am at around 35% I finished first book and started second.

I am really loving this part of the book. It is getting more strange and mysterious + these war stories are really great

Sinisa wrote: "I am at around 35% I finished first book and started second.

I am really loving this part of the book. It is getting more strange and mysterious + these war stories are really great"

i really enjoyed the mini biographies and war stories as well! i like how this book has so many quirky characters - though their stories all feel very disjointed right now (i'm at 45%). i usually have the tendency to binge read a book in one or two days, but i'm treating this book as series of short stories so far.. looking forward to seeing how everything comes together

I have only managed to read the first 10 chapters so far. It is very slow and I am having some trouble keeping my attention on the story, but I also don't have much time to read at the moment. Hopefully I can read some more this weekend!

Sinisa wrote: "Well I am at 20% and it was a drag getting trough this first part. It is so slow it makes you sleepy. On a happy note I finally got to parts I am enjoying a lot and those are 2 mini biographies of ..."

I agree, the first part took me so long to get through!
I just finished Book Two and it was a much faster read than the first one: (view spoiler)[ Toru really has a bunch of strange women in his life. Kumiko just ghosted him, and takes days (weeks?) to send him that letter to explain why she left. Creta is a classic Murakami character who can separates herself from her physical body and appears in Toru's dreams, Malta vaguely predicts the future, and something is really wrong with May, who admitted killing her motorcycle boyfriend and left Toru trapped in the well!

Is there a chance that Malta and Mr Honda are related? They seem to have the same kind of abilities. (hide spoiler)]

Ilona wrote: "Sinisa wrote: "Well I am at 20% and it was a drag getting trough this first part. It is so slow it makes you sleepy. On a happy note I finally got to parts I am enjoying a lot and those are 2 mini ..."

Started Book 3 yesterday

(view spoiler)[
All in book 2 is just to strange to guess. Some resolutions come out of nowhere for me like who was that strange woman calling Toru.
This down the well chapters I didn't get he just went there becouse of war story he heard? And later when he wants to buy that house/land, I have no idea why is Toru doing stuff.
I had a felling all characters are like parts of someone. May for example I thought she is young Kumiko or some kind of ghost but that was all wrong. About May and she leaving him in the well I just feel something is missing, she wanted something from him, something from him to do or say or just feel and he didn't know anything he was completely lost. Even is he hungry or thirsty or needs to pee was confusing for Toru. Later on she event tell him she was annoyed by him and that is why she left him but planed to save him later.
With Creta this last prostitution deal makes no sense and the strangest thing is return of the close after all that talk she needs some kind of payment.
Kumiko seams to be trapped somewhere and she needs saving, if I had to guess maybe that well. And was her cheating also a dream and what happend before abortion that she wanted to tell but didn't?
Malta and Mr Honda? Haven't thought of that but now when you say it it is a possibility. But idk how he said he didn't have kids right?
Book 2 summary is just questions and mysteries and more questions and mysteries...
(hide spoiler)]

Hi,
I did not join on this although Murakami is my favourite author and this month re-read Kafka on the Shore and first time The Elephant Vanishes.

I read 8 books for him and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is my favourite...it starts slow but my oh my....it takes you on a rollercoaster of everything from loss, confusion, dreams, music, cats and violence....
Enjoy it guys...

Fadi wrote: "Hi,
I did not join on this although Murakami is my favourite author and this month re-read Kafka on the Shore and first time The Elephant Vanishes.

I read 8 books for him a..."

I would not mind seeing those 8 ranked.

About The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle i heard it is favorite for few persons but so far i don't see it braking my top 4 of Marukami

I am around 70% Book 3 chapter 15

(view spoiler)[
Its is still strange, still so many questions, this zoo story was awful in sense what happened there. This veterinarian guy looked to be lost then like Toru now, idk what connection could be there but must be some.
There is one new character that has same traits and same name like private detective from 1Q84 and that was pretty amazing, He was great villain there so having high hopes from him now. Will have to do some research after I finish so i don't get spoiled now googling what was intention having same or almost same guy in 2 non connected books. I haven't noticed Marukami did that in other books.
(hide spoiler)]

I just finished this one, and I think it might be my least favourite Murakami so far.. (view spoiler)[The overall story was okay, but there are so many loose ends! What happens to Malta? Creta has a baby with two fathers? Or was that just a dream? Where was the cat for a whole year? What was the blue mark? Why did Nutmeg's father, the vet, have this blue mark? Did he have the "fitting" super powers?

I did not really care for the side stories about the war, they were not really related to the overall story. Especially the ones from lieutenant Mamiya where that men are skinned, horrifying (hide spoiler)]

I took a brake for few days from reading this and finished this today. In general I didn't like it as much as other his books. It has hints of greatness of his other books but just to many problems for me to come close to top 4. Ranking for this would be 6/7 with Killing Commendatore being my least favorite. To many ideas, not tied up stories, end is confusing and a lot of mysteries not explained. Some chapters I really enjoyed but overall it is a 3 star for me.

finally finished this today after taking a two week break from it.

(view spoiler)[ this is my least favourite murakami as well... definitely agree with everyone that there are way too many loose ends. i felt that he tried to accomplish too much in this books - i really don't see the relevance of most of the characters to the plot. i also felt that the characters were all so apathetic (esp toru), which really affected me as i was reading, and i couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters.

the "world" he created in this book also felt so boring (esp compared to the atmospheric and magical one in 1Q84), and i wasn't drawn into it at all.. i just can't bring myself to care about a weird haunted house and why does toru keep ending up in a well?
(hide spoiler)]

btw did you guys have a favourite character?

@jackie
I liked war stories so characters form those parts of books were interesting to me me but from main stories I didn't like anyone and that was a problem. I did love reading Ushikawa chapters but he is far from favourite character. I also agree on 1Q84 it was magical and liking those characters was pretty easy.