The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami is a complex contemporary novel with elements of mystery and magical realism. The story follows a young man named Toru Okada who, at the beginning of the novel, is told by his wife to look for their missing cat. His journey takes him from the suburbs of Tokyo to a supposedly haunted house to the bottom of a well to a strange dream world that somehow affects reality. In the process of looking for their lost cat, he loses his wife as well. And it’s all tied up with his strange brother-in-law and a baseball bat and a psychic and World War II?
This translated novel is a fascinating read that takes you on a crazy psychedelic journey. It disappointed me with its pacing at times and with the descriptions the main character gives women. It’s definitely a book that was written from the male point of view and that made reading it difficult at some points. However, it’s definitely a different sort of novel than one usually reads so it may be worth reading for that. I would give it three stars.