' The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle does not quite find the precise and yet capacious form for which it is searching, and sometimes, I think, Murakami seems to be miming disarray rather than exploring it or unfolding it.

Douglas Johnson, Far Eastern Economic Review His intimately woven world is meditative and violent, psychic and sexy, funny and cute.' - J.

'(A)s the journey progresses, Murakami pulls a thread at the centre of his web that draws this odd collection of characters and evidence closer together.

It is not easy reading, but it is never less than absorbing.' - Phoebe-Lou Adams, Atlantic Monthly

'The novel is a deliberately confusing, illogical image of a confusing, illogical world.

Note that if Yoshiko Yokochi Samuel is correct in saying that 'the English version has been subjected to extensive cutting', this fact might help explain why there are a few loose ends in the English version. Some believe it is a successful, well-rounded piece, others that it has too many loose end. Please note that The Economist's review refers to the original Japanese edition, not the translation under review here.Īll find points to praise, but there is no consensus on the book as a whole.

May they suffer at the hands of the literary gods for their crimes against helpless readers and Murakami.īut it's just another reminder, that when you read a book in translation you're getting screwed - often far worse than you could even contemplate. Rubin, in fact, handed in both an abridged and a complete translation, but Knopf stuck to their ridiculous word-limit.

This sad fact is now confirmed in Jay Rubin's Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words, where he writes that it was 'stipulated in Murakami's contract that the book should not exceed a certain length'. In a review in World Literature Today Yoshiko Yokochi Samuel writes that 'the English version has been subjected to extensive cutting, undoubtedly under pressure from the publisher'.Based on the story 'The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women', which can be found in the collection The Elephant Vanishes.L'uccello che girava le viti del mondo - ItaliaĬrónica del pájaro que da cuerda al mundo - España Les chroniques de l'oiseau à ressort - Franceĭie Chroniken des Aufziehvogels - Deutschland General information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author Trying to meet all your book preview and review needs.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Murakami Haruki

Kumiko okada the wind up bird chronicle