I Finally Finished the book Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami after almost a year.
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a book about this man facing a quarter-life crisis that went out of control. Toru Okada, our protagonist, left his job to figure himself out. And figure things out he did. Mr. Okada found himself on a long, winding, painful journey that drew me in from the first paragraph.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Since I am floating between jobs—something I planned for only a season but might as well turn into a year-long tirade similar to Toru’s—I was enamored over Murakami’s ‘dreamesque’ piece of literature. The book dabbles into everyone’s season in oblivion, the rough and the ugly. Toru’s season probably worse than others.
Starting the book in about May or June 2021, I put it down for one reason alone. It was lengthy. The chronicle is made up of two books to which my reading drive dwindled upon entering the threshold of book number 2. But even after about 10-months, picking it up again felt like I never left Toru’s universe.
Despite its length, Murakami knows how to fill his readers with the sensory experience of his made-up universes that weirdly feels like home. I believed that I never left to begin with. Somehow, my soul knew how to tiptoe around the scenes of this universe in anticipation of what would happen next, an immortal fly on the wall.
Each of Murakami’s pieces seems to have mastered this skill. All the books I’ve read instantly transport me to a place distinct from space and time in a matter of a few sentences.
Despite its length, the book ended with somewhat rushed conclusions to too many intertwined characters and overlapping stories. Its abrupt ending left me grappling in the dark to tie loose ends together. Now I am here, heart bare and lacking closure.
Scrolling through Goodreads, fans reminded readers how questions are always left unanswered in Murakami’s books. The book has lesser pages than 1Q84, which probably contributed to the lack of closure on so many fronts. But the story was already twisting and turning in so many directions they did not have to sacrifice page number to a closed circle, or a near closed circle. It may just be my opinion. Murakami may have done this on purpose.
Even with the length issue, I was hoping for more.
The magical realism Murakami douses his books with lingers in its reader’s reality. One is left to sit and wade in the afterglow of the last pages. In essence, I am hungover and decided to write about it.
In light of the mysterious Wind-Up Bird, Toru’s adventure has led me to look into my similar time in the middle (of jobs and maybe even life) in strangely interesting lights—very Kafkaesque :
1. Nothing is Smooth Sailing, and that is Okay
Toru Okada was living a regular life. He lived in somewhat happy matrimony with his wife, Kumiko. The book starts off with Toru at a junction in his life in terms of his career—something I can relate to at this time in my life. In this case, art pretty much reflected my life. Instead of only a break in his career, things got way out of track.
Toru lost his cat, his wife, his understanding of reality, and his grasp of the present. To sum it all together, things were pretty terrible. And yet Mr. Okada was somewhat calm and collected in the middle of all the chaos and nothingness.
He did things I would never have in a near similar situation. Gladly, things worked out for him in the end. Mr. Okada took the blows on his life in confused peace but also in erratic and unconventional anger and pain—to the point of possible…murder.
Murakami poetically reflected the reality of polar opposite reactions to situations as something normal. The book was a beautiful reflection of the messy dimensions of human emotions in the messiness of life.
Life is messy. If you do not have it all together or are on an emotional roller coaster, that is life. Toru’s circumstances were not in vain, which leads us to point number two.
2. Stuck in the Middle, Decisions and Discovery
Toru left his job to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. After law school and working as a goffer for some law firm, he never took the bar and realized that law was not his life.
In between jobs, in between life was Toru’s slogan.
Wading in the middle of life, he dove into household work without complaint and waited patiently for his wife to come home after work. Little did he know, his wife was also in the middle of her own struggles and had to get away to fully grasp what was inside of her. Totally disappearing from Toru’s life and work, Kumiko was just as confused as her husband.
The onus of their self-discovery was on the backs of their choices. Be it free will or not. These two were on a journey to understanding themselves. They were on similar paths but in total isolation. You then come to empathize with how alone Toru was in the first part of the book.
Talking on the phone with a friend who is on the verge of entering similar oblivion, we discussed how the fear of taking action to new chapters feels very isolating. He worried about all the people and friends he would leave behind as he closed a chapter to start a new one for his personal goals.
The decision for self-discovery may be isolating and scary, each one a burden you seem to be carrying alone. The six hundred pages of Wind-Up Bird Chronicle painted Toru’s dark isolation of self-discovery in loud greys contrast to the scene of Toru with the likes of May Kasahara, Creta Kano, Nutmeg, and even Cinnamon.
This journey of understanding the self is filled with uncertainty and rough roads. You may be facing the same, but that does not mean you have to rush into the next chapter in your life. Toru’s story (as explained in point number three), made it loud and clear.
3. Take Your Time
Despite my qualms about the length, I appreciated and understood how slow-paced Toru’s life became in the middle of all the conundrums. As compared to how fast-paced our world is, Toru’s life felt like he was moving in slow motion.
Even if his days were somewhat on repeat, like sitting at a park by Shinjuku station every afternoon, these pointless routines were meant for a bigger, weirder purpose down the road.
After pages and pages, you do not immediately realize that a year has already gone by since the first chapter. His wife has been gone for a year, yet our protagonist moved at the same pace. He had a goal, but he was not in a hurry to get there. Toru bought his time, and things still worked out in the end.
The magical elements of the book painted time as fluid and somewhat unimportant. Since our main character seemed to be able to travel through time, space, and dimensions, Toru had no reason to be worried. And so should you, even in the face of giving up.
4. Letting Go and the Magic of Never Giving Up
As you near the end of the book, you will see how steadfast Kumiko was in her decision. She pushed Toru away, repeatedly. She made it loud and clear that she no longer wanted to see Toru. Kumiko wanted him to give up and forget about her. Only after months did she communicate with Toru to give the poor man some kind of closure. In this letter, she blatantly described her sexual affair with another man. If that was not a strong enough slap to Toru’s face, she basically told him she never wanted him in her life again. Lastly, through chat, she repeated the same plea.
Her message was loud and clear, but Toru was unfazed. He did not give up. Mr. Okada wanted to see her face to face and get things straight before accepting the end of their marriage, their love.
A year went by, and Toru was still determined. His goal was to get her back, even if it seemed as if he was not doing anything about it—like sitting at a park in Shinjuku every day. It makes you wonder how he was working toward his goal.
Check out my post about setting goals below (or click this hyperlink):
The smallest steps Toru took were connected to the greater yearning of his heart, his love for Kumiko. Things still worked in his favor in the end. He just kept to it. There were months when nothing happened, but he just kept to whatever choice he believed would help him, something I find admirable.
Studies have shown habits help people reach success. Check out this Entrepreneur Article about the correlation here.
Toru seemed to understand this, which I believe may have helped him at the end of the day. Or not. The magical forces in Murakami’s universe do not adhere to the findings of science.
Toru Okada’s life was a mess stuck in the middle. Things and people had to leave or get lost before they were understood, before they found themselves. And time seemed to slow down in the face of problems. Sounds so much like the reality you and I face. So I hope we got to learn something from Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
Busyzi 
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