[Book Notes] Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

In his fourth book Murakami takes his fantastical elements to a whole new extreme. Characters still do not really have names — they mostly have descriptors.

The book plays with the idea of self, often asking when the protagonist is about to die and whether he already knows. The ending works like a classical depressing Murakami move: the protagonist decides to abandon the real world and stay trapped forever in his own fantastical world. This is especially notable with regard to his interpretation of love interest and his view that the idea of someone can overtake the real thing.

The book ends with a single white bird taking flight. I'm guessing it represents, in some form, the protagonist crossing the point of simplicity and freedom from his world to the real one.

In classic Murakami fashion, there are quips and observations that are so poignant they make you pause in amazement. For the protagonist the book is filled with constant struggle, largely through the result of a "superior" being.

Ultimately it was my least favorite of his works so far, even though the story was so compelling and the world so fantastical.

— Jay