Haruki Murakami is one of those authors I always vaguely feel like I ought to read, but never quite get around to picking up. I wound up getting this because, well, it was available used for five bucks (it's a hardcover), and seemed worth a shot.
I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It's one of his earlier books, first published in the mid-80s in Japan (which accounts for some odd touches, like the lack of CD players in a book that's set in the future) and is split into two parts, following different stories that initially don't appear to interact. In one, the "hard-boiled wonderland" part, the narrator is a nameless Japanese "Calcutec", who makes his living encrypting information for other people by running it through his subconscious. In the other, the "end of the world" section, the nameless narrator finds himself in a very allegorical-feeling walled town, in which he's separated from his shadow, has lost his memories, and must "read old dreams" from a library of unicorn skulls.
Eventually, these two plot lines come together, in a manner which is probably screamingly obvious from the description above: the strange town at the end of the world is a construct of the subconscious of the narrator from the hard-boiled wonderland. There are a number of possibilities as to where the story can go from there, so I won't spoil it further, should you want to read the book to find out.
That's fundamentally the problem with the book. The narrator is so unengaging that almost the only reason to keep reading the book is a vague curiosity to see which of the handful of possible directions the story will take. Not only does he not have a name, he doesn't have much of a personality and sort of drifts serenely through the plot as if none of it really matters. The book's chock full of pop-culture references, most of them Western, that attempt to stand in for a personality but fail, and while there's some nicely surreal bits in the plot, the lack of emotional involvement on the part of the narrator makes it hard to really care about those.
Article comments
1 - Helen
I don't think you're being fair to the book. Admitidly, I'm doing an assignment on it and I do have somewhat of a background on Japanese culture which helps. It's all about losing your mind, your identity and mind pollution. That it's presented so flatly without real identities for the characters is part of this. Also it's full of fairytale references and ideas such as the unicorns and the INKlings. INKlings are Infra-nocturnal Kappas(as explained in the book) and Kappas are water monsters/deities which protect the water from pollution, however in this case because they surround the professor and his lab and threaten it they can be interperated as being protectors of the mind. There's lots of little thing through out the book, like Kappas, that you can watch out for eg the paperclips, unicorns and the tons of references to right hand not knowing what the left hand does ( both with the system and with the mind). Maybe try reading it again and watching out for some of these sign posts. After a while you find yourself thinking 'what is up with these frickin paperclips?!' I enjoyed it and I hope this help you to enjoy it too.
2 - Daniel
Your review is inaccurate because when you make the comparisons between the two worlds, or "consciousnesses", in the book, you phrase it as if it is stated early on in the book that the main character is "shuffling data with his subconscious", which is not the case. In actuality the whole concept between shuffling is something that isn't entirely reveled until about halfway through the novel, and even then, so what?
Is it really the purpose of novel to be completely unpredictable? I don't think people should assume the character has no personality. (my opinion)
Think about it this way -- The main character here is somebody who's entire world is being turned upside down, and even then, finds the opportunity reflects on aspects of his life, and yes, pop-culture, revealing little pieces of his personality. Suppose your right and the author did indeed fail to give the reader any indication that the main character had a personality. Well, you read the book, isn't the main characters brain different than most peoples to begin with? (I won't go into further detail, because I don't want to give anything away).
Anyways, we're dealing with a story that is written about the mind, the unconscious, and crazy experiments. Personality of the main character shouldn't be a huge factor in rating this book.
I want to let it be known that I am not a science-fiction fan, but the author of this novel so beautifully writes this book as to make it seem like something almost feasible. Never even thought of it as science-fiction, despite how crazy things get, because the character is right there with you saying "What the hell???"
3 - Amelie
I've read this book in Japanese and several chapters in English, which seemed to me another story. The magic has been lost I'm afraid.
Agree with the funny western pop bits, that's one of Murakami's personal interests which invaded most of his beautiful works. Well, I guess it really has nothing to do with the character himself. A man only speaks for himself, that's Haruki Murakami. He plays with odd stories that serves as metaphors of his own reality and he believes that's the only reality. The strongest thing one would find in his books is Murakami's personality. He's by all means very self- centered. Some may find this offensive, others may be allured by the lovely metaphors. It's all left open for the readers I think.
Why not have try?
4 - Christian
I read this book for english. And it is the reason my grade has plumetted severly into a failing range.
5 - Michael John Moynihan
I read the translated version of the book. I wish I could read Japanese. Nonetheless, I consider it an excellent, entertaining, distinctive and brilliant novel. Perhaps it is, like fine Scotch, it is an acquired taste. The more active an imagination the reader has and enjoys using, the more enjoyable "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" will be. It is a serious read, not for dullards or readers who dislike books that collide genres, cultures, fiction and non fiction. I am a 62 year old playwright. My 25 year old daughter gave it to me. We both loved it. Treat yourself to some delicious mind food.
6 - dr
welcome to the future. no cd players for you.