The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

By Haruki Murakami (translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin)

RM 32.90 @ Popular Bookstore (bought as a limited edition set together with Alice in Wonderland)

I've always lacked the courage to pick up this 600+ page book (it's almost as thick as your usual Harry Potter!) and after a 2 year long procrastination, decided to finish reading it, once and for all.

But instead of ploughing through the thick tome, it turned out to be quite a page turner. Reason? its tale, or rather, a web of intertwined tales, are logically inexplicable. Bizarre. Out of this world. Basically insane things that people do to stay sane.

Image by Père Ubu via Flickr

Synopsis:
Toru Okada has just quit his job in a law firm and spends the day completing household chores, while his wife, Kumiko works at a publishing company. They have a cat named after Toru's bro-in-law, Noburu Wataya.

Seems like a quaint, happy family, ain't it?

After some queer happenings, like the disappearance of their household cat, and some explicit phonecall from a woman to Okada, events start to take a dramatic turn. Subtle rifts start to take shape between Kumiko & Okada, more characters and their stories are drawn into a series of events, distant yet undoubtedly connected to one another; but each told with its own charm and allure.

Afterthought:
This novel has such philosophical depth that sometimes I can't help wondering if I truly understand everything I see, or if life is simply half-dream, half-reality.

Should I read it?
YESYESYES! Truly mesmerising and thought provoking. Definitely worth every single page of it :)

I'd give it a: 4.7/5.0

Read more here and here.

If you liked this book, you might also like: Sophie's World

Image via Wikipedia