Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Rep Tra) (1/31/93)

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the most fantastically written, intriguing, meaningful, exciting, page-turner of a book that I have read in my eighteen years on this planet. It combines two stories (which are, in fact, one), both so intriguing that I couldn't put the book down. (Neither could my mother or older brother.) Murakami's prose is incredibly vivid and action-packed, like a well-filmed movie or a fantastic dream. This may sound artificial, but his writing, in content and style, completely sucked me in and immediately had me hooked and craving more. The characters are fascinating, from the brilliant, American pop-culture-oriented protagonist who also happens to be an extremely "hard-boiled," split-brained, logical thinker, to the young woman who smells of watermelon and whose specialty is a cucumber sandwich. This story has something for everyone. It has futuristic theories on the power of computers; mysterious men who smash pr! ivate property, make threats, and disappear; unicorns; spirituality; creepy underground scenes with creatures reminiscent of Gremlins or Golum; and discussion of American and Japanese popular cultures. There's something for the mystery-lover, the sci-fi- and fantasy-lover, the romantic, the thrill-seeker, and the anthropologist in everyone. More than that, it offers beauty and hope. I recommend it to all.

Can Nirvana be boring/dystopian? What does losing self really mean? Is it really worthwhile to kill one’s ego to overcome all the desires and escape the life cycle? These are some of the fundamental issues addressed in this Murakami masterpiece.

Unlike many of author’s other works, the tale and the characters are less complex, less subtle and more complete/comprehendible. The existential conundrums are also not shrouded in as much mystery with a refreshingly clear cut author’s answer at the end.

The Murakami mysticism and haunting surreality are present in plenty but missing are excessive gore and grotesque wantonness. In fact, the inner world is incredibly original with countless symbols but most understandable. While the author breaks the real life rules with the typical abundance, the fantastical parallel world retains its consistency, logic, charm and allegorical utility.

Overall, with fluid prose, a unique story, twisted metaphysical conundrums and a sci-fi like back and forth amongst the parallel worlds, this book is one of Murakami’s best.

In HARD BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD, Murakami presents 2 parallel narratives. One, the Hard Boiled Wonderland, told in the past tense and set in a cyberpunk flavored dystopian world, where an unnamed individual (nobody is named in this novel) finds out that he is a pawn in a rigged game of intellectual espionage between the System (authority) and the Factory (rebels), a game in which he is not in total control of his own mind, and where the endgame will inevitably lead to the "end of the world" (the annihilation of his own consciousness of that world). The other, the End of the World, told in the present tense and set in an "inner" fantasy world, surrounded by a wall, and a forbidden forest, and inhabited by people who can live forever in a kind of utopia provided they relinquish possession of their minds. Both narratives concern the same person, but in the first, although he appears to have freedom and mobility, he is a victim of things essentially beyond his control, and in the second, although he appears constrained by circumstances, he can make decisions that will affect the outcome of his existence. He can't have an authentic existence in the dystopian, outer world, but can make decisions towards authenticity in the inner world.

This is another wonderful novel by Murakami, filled with strange happenings, and profound ideas, as well as a masterful mix of iconic American cultural references (Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, Charlie Parker), literary references (Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Stendhal), neuroscience, cybernetics, philosophy, and even gastronomy. Simply fantastic.

Call this Inception by way of The Wizard of Oz. In fact, readers that loved either of those movies should embrace Murakami's work which mixes a stylized reality with a dream world populated by people from the "reality." The protagonist is a "calcutec," a human data processor perhaps inspired by William Gibson's Johnny Mnemonic.

The book slipstreams between science fiction, hardboiled noir, cyberpunk, horror, and literary fiction. (There's definitely a little Franz Kafka here.) It's a dazzling, dizzying bit of writing that fits nicely into the "new weird" typified by China Mieville's The City and the City, where two different worlds exist simultaneously in the same place.

Murakami is working with a palette that includes ambiguity, consciousness, and self. In both sections of the book, the hero (an unnamed Narrator) is an outsider who's being kept off-balance and trying to fit in.

Perhaps the best way to read the book is to see it as a spy story in the Bourne Identity mold. The Calcutec is a pawn in the info-war going on between the System and the Factory, and he ends up in End of the World severed from his shadow, the repository of memory. The scenes where the narrator tries to help the librarian remember are filled with a delicate emotion that could be intense in performance. (This material could easily be adapted into a play, with the different locations indicated by differing lighting.)

This novel is lierate, adult entertainment with an edge of magic and a veneer of science fiction; a romp through the tropes of pop culture, and cross-culturally (and self-consciously) hip, in an almost cinematic way. In the end, this is a brilliant book.

No doubt Murakami has mastered the literary form called "the novel". In terms of form, I can not recall a contemporary author as well fitted into the form as this Japanese genious -something he repeats in other works, such as 1Q84. However, in terms of meaning and motifs, his work borders the surrealistic almost crossing to "Realismo mágico". The pace that the writer establishes for his narrative is addictive and dexterously knitted into a cobweb that entices and catches the reader. The story proposes the existence of a world in which information is the most precious and protected token of value. In this context, a "calcutec" - a professional working for the "system" - is hired by a scientist to "shuffle" some data, important for his research. What unfolds after this decision is a fight between two worlds, just one individual struggling to survive: someone makes a decision, one world ends.The constant play between the aforementioned "worlds" or realities, made me remember one of the most important movies in recent times: The Matrix.
I think one of the most arresting characteristics of Murakami's literature - an one of the fingerprints of his success is his constant interest in the nature of man's psyche. As a writer of his stature, the Japanese master really immerses himself into man's universal questionning, what makes him so appealing to most.

I recently read Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. My fiction tastes tend towards scifi and this novel was recommended to me by a best 100 scifi novels blog. Murakami is a very good writer; his prose is easy to read and there is never a wasted phrase or word. The plain but powerful style of Charles Bukowski came to mind while I was reading this novel. The characters are very well drawn, detailed and sophisticated and the main protagonist grows and develops through the course of events. The main plot device is the juxtaposition of two narratives, one a chandleresque adventure of the hard-drinking hero, alone in the world, fighting against forces unseen and mysterious. The other narrative is kafakaesque, a gray world under a gray sky, behind a dark wall where there is no emotion or hope. Murakami skillfully weaves the two narratives together until at the end they become a jungian exposition of the hero's conscious and unconscious mind. I was very impressed by the novel and was surprised at all the Western pop cultural references made by a Japanese writer. I suppose that I have underestimated the impact of Western media, i.e. films, books, etc, on the Japanese psyche. I have the Wind-up Bird chronicle now waiting for me to read; every indication is that it should be at least as good. I say four and a half stars and not five if only because I wanted him to dive in and follow his shadow back to the Wonderland but that is the price we pay as reader rather than author, we don't get to choose how a novel ends, at least in conventional terms. I wonder what Aristotle would have said about meta-novels where the reader can choose the plot path and ending? Perhaps it would not have mattered much to him as the artistic principals that make a moving piece of art do not change, no matter the medium or the manner of its articulation.

I haven't read any Murakami since souring on him back in 2011, so I picked this up from the library and tried to give his work another chance after falling off the bandwagon. To be sure 'Hard boiled wonderland...' contains his usual blend of striking and surreal imagery. But as ever, the dialogue, the characters, really the whole narrative, as delightfully kooky as it is, just seems to be him blandly re-shuffling the exact same tropes and ideas that he always does.

Dual interlocking narratives, hermetically sealed off shadow worlds, menacing water monsters, lengthy chases through underground tunnels...he comes up with so many amazingly weird images and set pieces, yet it always seems presented with this tone of shallow, cheaply sanitized politeness. I love phantasmagoria as much as anyone, but phantoms are a lot stronger when you have an actual world with actual people to contrast them with

I picked this book up at random at a book store. Something about the cover just caught my attention, and it seemed oddly familiar.

Over a year later, I finally picked it off my shelf and started reading. Initially, it read like a gritty detective novel. Then, I noticed hints of what felt like an early 80's Cyberpunk novel (which may be a result of it's original 1985 release).

This book is typical Murakami: a main character who thinks himself fairly ordinary, in whom other see something special. There is an interleaved story and many very fine details which make the world come to life. The main character spends a lot of time reflecting and talking about 1960's Japan and Americana.

Unlike other Murakami books I've read, though, this one has a bit of a sci-fi or Cyberpunk flavor to it. Also, this is the first book I've read since childhood that I literally could not put down.

As other reviewers have said: give this book fifty or a hundred pages and odds are good that you won't be able to put it down after that.

I loved this novel, the third by Murakami that I have read. Since marrying my wife, I have discovered that there is a lot to be treasured in modern literature, and that such a genre exists with much greater depth and breadth than I had thought. It is nice to see that I was wrong.

While this novel is not as cerebral as Norweigan Wood and Kafka on the Shore, it was a very nice book and well worth reading.

I will not go into unnecessary detail about the plot; others have. I will merely comment upon my thoughts.

For example, I found certain aspects of this novel somewhat frustrating. There is too much of a "That's just the way it is" feel about the book. This can work, if the author lays the groundwork and then ties together the threads, such that the end result is such a beautiful and overwhelming conclusion that you have no other recourse but amazement and awe.

I was pleasantly surprised at the end of the novel, but not amazed or awed. So, it was somewhat disheartening to finish the book. Not that it was, in any way, a disappointing ending. Rather, it was sobering and sad. It was not a book that I wanted to end so soon.

The end was good, but I disliked the choice of the unnamed narrator. My wife and I actually had a long discussion about this. My personal interpretation was that his choice was selfish and that he was choosing to void his responsibilities and choose hedonism. My wife thought that he was doing completely the opposite. It is only when you read a novel that you can discuss that you realize that there is such a sparse landscape of rich and bounteous literature out there.

When asked what this novel was like, I compared it to snow falling all around you while you walk through a silent town on a holiday evening, alone, and somber. The wonder of the feeling and the solitude of that feeling and experience.

Purchase it, read it, relish it, and pass it on. It is well worth the time and the cost. I know that I am going to be purchasing more Murakami books. If you are like me, you read a lot of books of varying quality. I have resolved to keep a fresh Murakami on hand, so that when I get disillusioned I can recall the beauty of modern literature. If you are like me, grab this. It's worth it.

Harkius

As the title perhaps suggests, Murakami's new novel tells in alternating chapters two stories that soon begin to speak to one another as the reader notices details of the one appearing transmogrified in the other - except that "transmogrified" isn't the right word because both stories are so bizarre. The first concerns an agent or "calcutec" for "the System" (ostensibly the good guys, part private corporation, part government agency) whose brain has been altered to allow him to "shuffle" and "launder" data to keep it out of the hands of the nefarious "Semiotecs" - a sort of mafia intent on stealing sensitive high-tech information. The problem for Murakami's nameless calcutec is that his engineered subconscious - the black box in which his shuffling takes place - is short-circuiting (Murakami's sci-fi or cyberpunk account of this is quite elaborate), and when "meltdown" is complete, his world, his conscious self, will disappear, leaving him trapped deep within his own subconscious. It is here, at "the end of the world," that the second story occurs, a world of the narrator's own unconscious creation that takes the form of a walled town from which there is apparently no escape and in which unicorns siphon off the minds of inhabitants shorn of their shadows, both of which alterations leave them immortal but without emotion. In this apparent utopia, the narrator spends his time dreamreading -a lightning-rod or grounding activity performed by tracing the bits of mind stored in unicorn skulls as they are released by his touch in the ring of light rays - and contemplating, among many other things, the possibility and desirability of escape.
As the narrator remarks upon being told his fate, "The Wizard of Oz had to be more plausible," yet plausibility is not this author's concern. Murakami, whose sensibility seems distinctly Western and whose works are awash in allusions to Western culture high and low, is an effortless postmodernist who in a recent Publishers Weekly interview cites Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan as important influences ("The End of the World" chapters recall nothing so much as Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar, with traces of A.E. Van Yogt's "The Enchanted Village," just as the parallel story recalls variously everything from Gravity's Rainbow to Get Smart). Likewise, Murakami revels simultaneously in sheer plot fabrication and technical experiment, on the one hand, and ideas, on the other. Like Vonnegut and Brautigan, Murakami's technical experiments succeed so unobtrusively that they are in danger of being missed, and his prose is similarly so readable, so seemingly simple and playfully colloquial (thanks here to Alfred Birnbaum), that it can easily be misread as flat and emotionless (witness Paul West's review in the New York Times Book Review). Yet as Murakami has explained in the above-mentioned interview, "Most Japanese novelists are addicted to the beauty of the language. I'd like to change that ... Language is a kind of tool, an instrument to communicate."
And what does Murakami communicate? Among other things, a moving, emotionally understated meditation on mind and identity, on science and humanity, on dreams of utopia and the comforting familiarity and various satisfactions of our messy, flat, uncommon lives. Don't let Murakami's popularity or the current type put you off: do yourself a favor and read Hard-Boiled Wonderland; you won't be disappointed.

The more Murakami I read, the more impressed I am. Why is this author not recognized more often by the literary establishment? He has all the qualities of great Literature: Great characters, complex plots, amazing structure, and, above all originality. His books are just as good, if not better than, anything the American Literary community has put out in recent years. Placing him alongside Pynchon and Delillo, argubably the two most important American authors of the last 25 years, is not an unfounded goal. As for Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World? It delivers in spades of course. It is far and away the most confusing of any of the five Murakami's I've read. This is because, unlike it Wind up Bird or the "I" books, the oddities of his world are not accepted without question. The other books have a base myth quality to them. There is no sense trying to explain why Toru sits at the bottom of a well or why "I" talks to a Sheep Man, it's just something you need to accept. In HBWATEOTW though, there is a conscious effort to explain the reasons for what is happening, hence the comparissons to the cyber punk genere (horrible comparissons that ignore a large section of the work). But this isn't to say that Murakami abandons the myth of his previous works. It's still there, there is just reasoning behind it. Themeatically, I find HBWLATEOTW to be his most powerful. It is a resounding acceptance of subjectivism and the power of a single human mind to shape reality and existance. Any intelligent reader out there owes it to him or herself to read Murakami. It is an experience found in no other author.

An exercise in writing a novel "through the looking glass", Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: A Novel by Haruki Murakami and translated from the Japanese by Alfred Birnbaum is a complex psychedelic ... schizophrenic novelistic odyssey.
The text is essentially two stories that are, in many ways, mirror images of one another that play out in alternating chapters and which, over the course of the novel, slowly merge into a unified whole.
The two protagonists are characters that share may traits but are emotionally and intellectually polar opposites. This is true also of the settings-the one a modern day cyberpunk thriller that seems to take place almost entirely in the tunnels beneath the streets of Tokyo, the other an ancient, walled city of unknown location.
The protagonists are complex and vividly drawn. Yet, they both exist within a framework of incompleteness and there is the sense that beneath the frenetic aspects of the one story and the bucolic serenity of the other all their actions, to the extent they can dictate them or even understand them, are aimed at obtaining a unity they can sense yet don't understand.
This is a large, elegant risky undertaking on Murakami's part and the fact he brings it all off with such skill and aplomb speaks volumes about the depth of both his talent and his imagination.
This is not your typical Murakami novel. Fans of his other books need to understand that this book reads like nothing else Murakami has produced. Don't be put off, however. While this is not an easy read-it requires your attention and persistence-the effort is well rewarded.

In Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Murakami has created a reality that readers will find hard to escape from. In fact, he's created two realities where readers are drawn in by the sirens' call of Murakami's use of characterization and narrative prose. Each character is unique and likeable in some respect (even the thugs), and, interestingly, by the climax/fusing of these two stories, no true antagonist is brought into the picture.
One reality is that of a number-crunching "Calcutec" who, through hypnosis, is able to process various data through his mind, encrypt it, and write it back out without any memory of the process. Unfortunately, his kind is dying out from an unexplained shutdown of the brain. Other Calcutecs who received the same operation to facilitate their careers are simply dying in their sleep from no traceable medical problems. At the center of this dilemma are an eccentric old scientist and his chubby granddaughter, the only two that can answer the data processor's questions. In fact, it seems that the professor is at the root of the problem, since he first created this complex operation. Chased by INKlings (grotesque, underworld creatures) and thugs, the protagonist must venture through Tokyo's underground tunnels to figure out the source of a unicorn skull and the purpose of his most recent data processing session.
In the other, parallel reality, the protagonist resides in a high-walled medieval town, inhabited by spiritless people and golden, one-horned beasts. Stripped of his shadow, he must regain his mind and his memories, and escape back to "reality." He and his shadow conspire to map out the town and find the Wall's weakness, but they are kept apart by the Gatekeeper, who controls the beasts and the impenetrable Gate. His daily task is to read the "old dreams" contained in the skulls of beasts that have frozen throughout the winter.
Both realities are inseparable. Both stories draw to an unexpected conclusion.
This book will leave you wanting to read more of Murakami's work. Like the American writer, Kurt Vonnegut, Murakami will stretch your imagination by presenting stories that will leave you saying "hmm" long after you finish reading them.

this was my first murakami book. it was also the first book i had read after a drought of nothing but articles, lethargy and depression. either because of this fact, or because of something within the novel, it was perfect timing to insure a pleasant experience.

i was a little apprehensive with the introduction to murakami's world. as i read the first 20 pages, i had the feeling that this was a very "off the hip" style, and murakami was letting the story write itself. likely because it was the first book i read in some time, letting go and taking a walk with murakami was a trifle more difficult. eventually i was in, and navigation among the text was easier; murakami as my spirit guide.

something must be said of this man's grasp of culture. i like a writer that leaves a trail of inspiration, i feel it gives valuable insight as to where the author is at, and what moves him/her. for this particular story, he could not have picked better, more fitting material. after i was done reading the book i went through it and made a list of all the movies, books and songs mentioned throughout.

culture, of course takes you only so far, and we are talking spirit guides, so this elevator goes to the top. the story rides smoothly, playing out the daulity of the main character and ushering the reader softly into a place where they must let go and become aware. at the books core, is a story of the pervasive pressure, always present, of the yin and yang. this book is playfully bipolar, and after all is said and done, it becomes a symbol of human dysfunction; the cosmic contradiction. lying beneath the quasi scifi story is a pulse of human being; a manifestation not quite realized of good/evil, happy/sad, in breath/out breath. its a living thing, and it leaves you with quite a feeling.

i look forward to reading more. just more material from someone with a unique perception of actual reality. when someone talented takes sense oriented everyday life, puts it through their lens of experience, and produces something such as this (an observation of the human dance carrying a decent story), it is remarkable. and genuinely enjoyable.

Although Murakami's works usually tilt towards the paranormal, this one had a bit more of a science fiction bent to it than some of his others. The pace was fast and the two connected story lines sped rapidly towards their joint conclusion. The protagonist in the HB Wonderland and again in the End of the World start off not questioning much, rolling with the punches, but end up looking for more, asking questions, and seeking answers and solutions for their issues: in HB Wonderland, the shortage of time; in the End of the World, too much of it.

I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with the ending though. I felt that Murakami set the reader up for a climax that just never came. The Wonderland protagonist put his affairs in order and then quietly awaited his mental switch-over. The End of the World version of the protagonist was left with unanswered questions. Why didn't he go with his shadow into the real world (and what happened to his shadow)? Is the reader to assume that the protagonist and the Librarian are going to live in exile off in the Woods? What happens when he tires of this? What's Murakami trying to say by having his protagonist choose to stay in the sterile, perfect Utopia instead of going out and re-discovering life in the real world?

Murakami's questions about the meaning and substance of life, and our priorities in it were fascinating and thought-provoking. But I think this book falls just short of Murakami's later "Dance, Dance, Dance" in probing and commenting on contemporary life. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (hereinbelow
referred to as Wonderland, for obvious reasons) is a fantastic
story of a man who lives in two very different worlds. Murakami
is the kind of modern author most big-name reviewers refer to as
"hip", "jazzy" and "dazzling," but for the rest of us, he just
speaks in a say-it-like-you-mean-it language that communicates
directly with your spinal cord. He's always up to something in
Wonderland, and yet it's never quite clear what. His main
character, as in his other novels A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance,
Dance, Dance, is an outsider who lets the world go by with only
the odd blip on his otherwise quiescent radar screen. He's easy
to identify with, and lets you see Murakami's two worlds through
perfectly "him"-colored glasses.

Alfred Birnbaum's translation (Murakami writes only in Japanese)
is nothing short of perfect. The prose reads as though it came
from an American pen, which, paradoxically, is one of the elements
which has made Murakami a multi-million-book bestseller in Japan.

Wonderland is by turns a page-turner, an escapist fantasy, a biting
social commentary, and a serene meditation; all of these are testaments
to Murakami's clever (and at times inscrutable) pacing, and also a
nod toward his high regard for the entertainment value of literature.
Of the three books mentioned above, it is by far my favorite, though
it's perhaps less accessible than A Wild Sheep Chase. Give Murakami
a chance. He knows what he's doing, and he has fashioned a
a pair of worlds that you appreciate more and more as you live in them.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the most fantastically written, intriguing, meaningful, exciting, page-turner of a book that I have read in my eighteen years on this planet. It combines two stories (which are, in fact, one), both so intriguing that I couldn't put the book down. (Neither could my mother or older brother.) Murakami's prose is incredibly vivid and action-packed, like a well-filmed movie or a fantastic dream. This may sound artificial, but his writing, in content and style, completely sucked me in and immediately had me hooked and craving more. The characters are fascinating, from the brilliant, American pop-culture-oriented protagonist who also happens to be an extremely "hard-boiled," split-brained, logical thinker, to the young woman who smells of watermelon and whose specialty is a cucumber sandwich. This story has something for everyone. It has futuristic theories on the power of computers; mysterious men who smash pr! ivate property, make threats, and disappear; unicorns; spirituality; creepy underground scenes with creatures reminiscent of Gremlins or Golum; and discussion of American and Japanese popular cultures. There's something for the mystery-lover, the sci-fi- and fantasy-lover, the romantic, the thrill-seeker, and the anthropologist in everyone. More than that, it offers beauty and hope. I recommend it to all.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World is the seventh book by Haruki Murakami that I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and it is among his very best. I feel like every time I begin a new experience with his fiction, I am surprised. People often criticize him for being repetitive, and that can sometimes be true. However, if anyone were to try to convince me he is a one-trick pony, I'd point them in the direction of this book.
The plot of this novel is fascinating- A split narrative between a cranial data processor trying to prevent himself from being erased from existence and the inhabitant of a small world contained within his consciousness. It is a remarkably original concept that was highly informed by the emerging cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Like William Gibson's Neuromancer (which came out less than a year earlier), it contains ideas that were ahead of its time. This novel is the first instance I've ever seen of Murakami combining his brand of magical realism with science fiction concepts.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland is also Murakami’s most action packed novel. There is a sequence in which two characters are charging through the flooding Tokyo sewer underground and being pursued by leeches and creepy creatures called INKlings. I've never read a more heart-pounding scene penned by Murakami (with a possible exception being the final confrontation toward the end of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle).
The End of the World sequence, a fable-like fantasy story that is ripe with allegorical and metaphysical insights, was very exciting as well. The way the characters spoke in this section gave it the feel of something from a long time ago. The complete lack of contractions highlighted this idea. All of the dialogue felt prophetic with the “cannots" and the “do nots.”
This is Murakami at his most playful and impulsive. It is also his funniest book. You never know when the narrator will stop the action to ramble about how pretty fat women make him sexually confused or describe in great detail a ridiculously gratuitous feast that he and his lover somehow managed to fit in their bodies.
I really loved this book, but I can't quite give it five stars. The only reason why is that, while very entertaining, it didn't quite pack the emotional punch the way novels like Kafka on the Shore, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, or Norwegian Wood do. That isn't to say it is totally dry though. I don't want to give away the ending, but both plot lines conclude with an eye-watering and joyous revelation.
Whether you are a seasoned Murakami fan or an intrigued newcomer to his wonderful creations, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is bound to impress and entertain you.

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a deceptively simple yet intricate and complex piece of metaphysical literature. It follows the life of its nameless protagonist and the bizarre sequence of events that follows after he becomes involved in a dangerous political situation. The plot rockets along at a lightening pace and dwells upon themes such as human existence and the nature of the mind, making Hard Boiled a thought provoking piece of literature as well as a great thriller.
The plot revolves around the protagonist and his eventual entanglement with a brilliant scientist, who subcontracts him to do some number crunching. Turns out that the scientist held back a few details, and before long massive corporations, thugs and subterranean-dwelling creatures are pursuing the protagonist. Simultaneously, the book follows the protagonist in the End of the World, where the human mind fades away and all that is left is sterile and lifeless. Its very hard to explain, but the way the Hard Boiled Wonderland (reality) merges with the End of the World (the human subconscious) is chilling and compelling. This book is unlike any other in its class.
So for a unique, thrilling and thought provoking read, definitely try Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It's fantastic.

The style of Haruki Murakami is best described as a blend between Japanese Manga, Pulp Fiction and the narrative talent of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He mixes modern western pop culture with beautiful and mysterious tales of life, love and death. His books are usually very hard to put down and so skillfully written that they often provoke unusual and haunting thoughts.

This book is by far one of Murakami's best covering a few surreal days in a lonely information workers life. Beginning with a absurd yet fascinating elevator ride, the story quickly evolves into a tale of calcutechs, unicorns, INKLings and a chubby girl in a pink suit. The ending is a beautiful epic tale of our information workers thoughts and actions as he realizes that life as he know it will sees to exists within 24 hours.

In short a brilliant novel that really provoked me. It is not often you think about how your last 24 hours will be. Will I regret much of my life ?. What shall be my last actions: the last piece of music, my final meal, the last girl I sleep with before taking one last look at the sun and everything will be still. I loved it.

After reading the vague back cover of the book I wasn't sure what to expect.

This book is wonderfully complex with interweaving story lines, themes, motifs, and glorious post modern references. I loved the writing style that was both sharply modern yet beautiful at the same time.

By the end I felt so connected to the strange world of his book and it's characters that I felt empty once I turned the last page. The ideas of living and the mind are so interesting and it was great to see them explored in such a new way.

Loved this book!!!!!

First, let me start off and say, I have not read a more enjoyable book in years. Why? It has everything that keeps fiction fresh--mystery, color, self-propelling story, reasonable protaganist and more. The fact that this is a giant mystery story is a tremendous bonus, and keeps you turning page after page. And with each page, you're sure to be entertained. The characters and events are so unique, yet grounded, that they become livid mental images instantly. You may even find yourself relating to the protaganists issues in an allegorical way. So, enough with praise, how far can that go anyway, right? You want to know, is there something wrong with this book?
Well, the only problems I had were towards the end. The novel works in an alternating chapter way--there are two stories (sort of..) being told, one is odd, one is even chapters. I became a bit let down by the resolution of the even-chapter story, but this may be more that I was sad the book was coming to an end. Also, I feel that this book may be very male-oriented. There are a few instances of situations that seem...difficult to understand, unless you're a male. Nevertheless, these are but minor flaws on an otherwise wonderful work.
In short, if you enjoy Auster, Marquez, Borges, or other writers along these lines, you'll enjoy this book. I'll end off with this line to give you a final idea of it's impression on me: I'm afraid to read another novel right after this, because I feel that it's beauty will be dimmed in comparison to this vivid artwork.
Grade: 9.8/10

I've had this book on my shelf for quite sometime now, and it just never seemed to make its way into my reading pile. I enjoyed both of my previous Murakami books, Sputnik Sweetheart and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel, but he never really ranked amongst my favorite authors, Japanese or otherwise. His odd blending of magical realism and dreamtime philosophy reminds me of Neil Gaiman's work more than anything else. It is enjoyable, but I have to be in the mood for it. When I had a long plane flight to look forward too, I figured it was finally time to enter the realm of "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World."

The title of the book gives you some clue as to what to expect inside. "Hard-Boiled" refers to the "Hardboiled Detective" fiction of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, where a dame with trouble on her heels walks unexpectedly into a man's life followed quickly by danger and adventure. "Wonderland" is of course a reference to the topsy-turvy realm of Alice In Wonderland where logic flies out the window and nothing could ever predict what was around the next corner. "The End of the World" thrust the book into the realm of science fiction and cyberpunk. And in truth the book is all of these things.

Basically two books split in half and then shuffled together, "Hardboiled Wonderland" is the story of a Calcutec, a human encryption system, who is charged with "shuffling" data in order to protect it. The Calcutec is an employee of The System, who protects information from the criminal element known as Semiotecs. When a mysterious genius professor and his seductive chubby daughter hire the Calcutec to shuffle some data, he suddenly finds himself the prize in a game between The System and the Semiotecs, both of who want what is in his head, and the mysterious unicorn skull that has come into his possession.

"The End of the World," is the calmer, balancing story of a mysterious land surrounded by a high wall, where everyone is known by the name of their archetypical character. The General, who spends his days playing chess, The Gatekeeper, who guards the doors, The Librarian, who watches the information, and The Dreamreader, who collects fragments of old dreams and reads them for some unknown purpose.

These two worlds are linked somehow, and the book flips back and forth between the frantic pace of "Hard-Boiled Wonderland" and the soothing calm of "The End of the World." Murakami keeps a skillful balance between the two, slowly leaking information that connects the two worlds, until the reader has the eventual "ah-ha" moment that brings the two halves into a single whole.

Murakami also does a good job of playing around with genres without falling into clichés and stereotypes. He is makes sure that the genre suits the story, rather than the other way around. The book never lapses entirely into hardboiled, or cyberpunk, or dreamscape fantasy. The unexpected lies around every corner, and the ending will take even the most seasoned reader by surprise.

"Hard-boiled Wonderland" is a wonderful read, an effortless mix of the fantastic and the real, a trip though both soulless contemporary Tokyo and the fractured but fascinating consciousness of one of its residents.

Its nameless narrator/protagonist has an interesting problem. He's a Calcutec, a walking human encryption machine in the employ of the System, a massive corporate conglomerate. Murakami's vision of Tokyo is set in either the near-future or a parallel version of the present; in this Tokyo, the System controls practically everything that's legal, almost as if the old-time zaibatsu financial cliques consolidated together and then merged with the government. For every yin, there's a yang, though, and the System's yang is the Factory, a shadowy yakuza-like organization that employs Semiotics, decryption agents who seek to undo the Calcutecs' work and steal the reams of data they have encrypted.

This infowar is but one of our protagonist's problems, though. His mind's been re-wired to enable him to do this work, so he is both an employee of the System and a product of its machinations. The rewiring's not quite right, though; instead of being a sleek Toyota or a zippy Honda, his mind's like a defective Pinto, and even though he's fueling it with a high-octane blend of Bob Dylan, women and whiskey, it just might explode in the near future.

Throughout the book, Murakami deals in duality, flipping back and forth between the "Hard-boiled Wonderland" of contemporary Tokyo and "The End of The World," a fuzzy sort of eternal present-tense place within the protagonist's head, a place lacking in memories and specifics. Night and day, System and Factory, underground and surface, reality and subconscious all spin around the tao of the narrative like a dizzying and ever-accelerating merry-go-round. The protagonist can't get off--and the reader won't want to.

A nameless cast in a half-fantasy Tokyo and internal cerebral realm dominate the pages of this Murakami novel. It's thoroughly rich in mundane nuances and details which give the broad plot its sheik and shiny coat. And most importantly, its Japanese-esque isn't lost through the translation, coming out foreign enough to be slightly mystical along side its fantasy and nebulousness. It feels like a combination of the movie Lost in Translation, the novel Permutation City by Greg Egan and the novel Queen of Angles by Greg Bear.

I didn't realize that the characters themselves didn't have names when I was through about 80% of the novel, which shows you two things: one, I'm terrible with names and two, I was too busy being absorbed by the on goings to be bothered with anything like a generic label for individuals. Murakami focuses the reader's attention to the scene, the plot, the casual and pointedly nebulous unfolding.

Spread across this novel are Japanese tinted cultural items, such as foods and fauna, which give it an additional novelty to match its' already speckled chapters with western culture oddities; from a detailed Italian dinner to records of once-great jazz and pop artists to the proud collection of a fine whisky collection (not to be confused with `whiskey,' like the author mistakenly called the whisky which is reserved for true Irish whiskey). Piled on this heap of anecdotal oddities comes to rich recollection of the main character's personal history in the form of reminiscing, including details about his divorce, his sex life, his jobs, his sofa appreciation and his unique childhood experiences; from jetsam to a Skyline to chubby girls to a aviator jacket. Wildly, mundanely detailed!

Even with a wider view, many of the characters are actually quite mundane themselves: the librarian, the scientist, the chubby girl, the Gatekeeper, the General, etc. It's only the Calcutec (the main character) in which we get to view personal glimpses of. They seem to be mundane to an extraordinary degree... something which Murakami seems to have honed down to an art. I think it's not the characters themselves which make them seem so extraordinarily rich, but rather the authors and translators vision to make the dull details feel so delightful.

While you pan the hemispheres of your brain as you read the parallel tracks of this Murakami masterpiece, keep in mind that these two stories aren't open for your viewing pleasure. It's written so that you must confront what's been written with what the author wants you to believe to what is the reality in the Calcultec's world. Pan between a simple/traditional/non-abbreviated fantasy world where one man holds his one job with the reality where a materialistic/vivid/linguistically-truncated world. Compare, contrast, concentrate and be ready for a cornucopia of insight and depth.

Imagine if Raymond Chandler had collaborated with David Lynch, maybe with Philip K. Dick throwing in a few cents every now and then.

That gives you some idea of what Haruki Murakami's "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" is like. Split into two different, barely-intertwined narratives, Murakami's quirkily bittersweet novel is a bizarre sci-fi mystery and an exploration of the human mind's limits... right to the world's end. It's a brilliant, bittersweetly intricate novel, and one of Murakami's best.

The protagonist is just doing his job -- he's a "shuffler," with a chip in his brain -- when he visits an eccentric scientist and his precocious granddaughter. But then he gets sent an animal skull, which appears to be a unicorn's. And even weirder, corporate agents are invading his home and tearing it apart.

At the same time -- in alternating chapters -- we are told the story of a man who arrives at a walled city surrounded by unicorns, at the End of the World. He becomes the Dreamreader at the library, finding memories hidden in skulls. But he soon discovers that this city is a prison of sorts -- and that after surrendering his shadow, he faces losing his soul.

Meanwhile, the original narrator -- who may also be the second -- is called in by the granddaughter when her grandfather disappears. Turns out the whole world may be about to end. The two brave an underground cavern riddled with voracious, monstrous INKlings, only for the narrator to discover that the greatest danger is in his own mind -- and it offer a terrifying, glorious possibility to him.

Not many serious authors could write about computer chips, unicorns, sci-fi corporations, the intricacies of brain "circuitry," and sewers full of nasty Japanese hobgoblins who like rotting meat. All in the same book, and without making you shake your head and groan "Aw, come on!".

But amazingly, that is not what makes "Hard Boiled Wonderland And The End of the World" a work of genius. Rather it's that "Hard Boiled Wonderland" and "The End of the World" are two separate books -- one is written in angular, wry prose in a grimy urban landscape, with moments of horror woven in. And one is written in flowing, soft, almost dreamlike prose in a pale, almost idyllic world that may or may not be real.

In both stories, Murakami weaves intricate, detailed webs of words, evoking subterranean chases from flesh-eating kappas and mildly comic encounters with thugs, as well as the poignant emptiness of the End of the World city. And he explores the whole concept of the mind being infinite, and that time does not exist in our dreams.

As both plots wind on, Murakami intricately twines them together. Hints, phrases, a shared lover, and the whole question of unicorns -- these tie together the two alternating plots, first in tiny ways. As the final quarter of the book unfolds, Murakami paints a complex vision of just what is going on for our unlikely heroes -- and reveals just where the End of the World is.

And it's even harder to tell at first if there is are two narrators, or if one of them is dreamed, in another time, or on another planet. The Shuffler and Dreamreader seem like very different men, but similarities start to pop up between them -- such as their dual attractions to pretty young librarians -- but Murakami successfully keeps you guessing until he reveals what the Shuffler and Dreamreader truly are.

"Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" is a masterpiece of modern fiction -- a sci-fi mystery that looks to the horizon of the human mind, written as two intertwined stories. Definitely outstanding.

If you are looking to read a Murakami book because you've heard good things but aren't sure where to start..... Read Hard Boiled Wonderland... first. Then this one. Both are masterful, and evocative (at least to me) of the great magical realism stylings of South America's greats from prior decades, but with more familiar and modern settings. The character development and storytelling are excellent, and the style is genre-defining. Haruki is among my most favorite authors, and I have all his books, but this is his great epic. It was originally released in three volumes, and might have been fun to read that way, but the conjoined English edition is all we can get, and is still great. I really have to tip my hat to translators Mr. Rubin and Mr Birnbaum. This is not an english translation of a book written in Japanese, it is some of the finest literature of our time.

I have read most of Murakami's work and continue to believe that he is one of the best and most imaginative writers today. His storylines are always inventive and have a way of sucking you in. "Hard-Boiled..." is no different in that respect. Here we have a story shrouded in mystery about a narrator who works as a Calcutec, a computer programmer of sorts, for the System, a government-type organization that controls computers and the exchange of information. The Protagonist finds himself at the center of a war between the System and the Factory, a second organization trying to gain control of the way information is transferred. The plotline alternates back and forth between the protagnoist's search to figure out his own importance in this information and technological war and an alternate universe (so to speak) where people are separated from their shadows and live in a place only referred to as The Town. As the story drives forward, the two plotlines converge and eventually blend into one another. As is the case with all of his work, he draws you in with such ease and you read the book as effortlessly as you would the newspaper, only with much more urgency and excitement.

My major problem with the text was the vagueness of the world he sets out. I understood that the mystery surrounding the characters was necessary given the unknown frontiers of the mind that the book aims to explore, but the world and the war between factions doesn't have enough meat to it to grip you as some of the other worlds Murakami has created have been able to. There was something missing, a visual element, that made it very hard to feel some of the tension and suspense he was building.

So this is a good book, but not Murakami's best. I would say that anyone could read it and enjoy it, but there are better things out there if you have a limited time and/or budget to spend on fiction.

...A GIGANTIC COFFEE TABLE?"
"I mean, for a guy leading a perfectly ordinary existence, how many times in the course of a lifetime would the equator be a significant factor?" This book was a somewhat difficult read. I am used to a gentler Murakami style, and this book did not adhere to that formula, which only attests to Murakami's genius, even if this book was not as appealing to me personally. The book seems to take a cue from the fantasy realm populated by books such as Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. At times the book was so far outside the lines of reality and so far into technological psychobabble and artful, creative meanderings of the writer's mind that it is positively confusing to decipher. It was indeed quite thought-provoking and at times quite vivid in creating certain feelings in the reader (for example, claustrophobia and fear in the section when the main character is wandering through underground caves with another person). The book can be fascinating, technical, murky, strange, engaging, and eccentric all at once. The use of the word "wonderland" in the title is quite fitting. Interestingly, the book points out some very obvious things which we never think about. For example, the main character is part of a life, an organization, that the average citizen knows nothing about. His life is completely a mystery, and even if he were to describe it to someone they would find him crazy. It illustrates how little we really know about other people and how cut off from experience we are. In our society we are able to see news 24 hours a day and are content thinking that we have all the facts, when in fact, we never know what is propaganda if we never seek out alternative media sources. For example. An interesting point to make is that this book is like reading two separate books. In alternating chapters, two stories are told, although one appears to be the everyday life of the narrator and the alternate chapters are of a town that is actually the narrator's unconscious mind. Because this book was a bit confusing I am not certain that my interpretation is correct nor that it is the only interpretation. In fact, I am sure that many different people could come up with infinite interpretations. As a result of experiments conducted on the narrator without his knowledge, it is clear that he will lose his conscious mind, as he knows it, and live in a world of his own creation in his mind. New memories are created by some sort of implants in his mind that bridge different parts of his brain (natural and implanted), creating a parallel world he will come to live in. It is not clear if he literally lives or dies. But it does not matter. This is a carefully crafted work that requires thought.

Haruki Murakami is a blend of the west's science fiction of the 1950's with his own contributions from the east.

This book resonates of Orwell's 1984, has monsters of the psyche of Stephen King, and his nostalgia touches upon modern Americana's Safran Foer or many of the other turn-of-this-century fiction writers.

But, he is also very unique. His creation of the INKlings - creatures which live in the sewers - are the anomaly to the culturally iconic American/Japanese heroes dubbed teenage mutant ninja turtles.

The greatest part of this book is the interlocking of the even-numbed chapters (dealing with the protagonist's subconscious) with the odd-numbered chapters (dealing with his present being). Each starts so far apart. So apart, that the reader has a difficult time understanding why they each write in the first person singular for purposes of perspective and surroundings. Then, as the pages turn, the worlds grow closer and closer, until the final pages have the two worlds wrap around one another - like Watson's double helix.

Delving into details would unforgivingly reveal the plot line of this uniquely structured novel.

If you like science fiction which includes little in space-age details, you should like this book. If you like fiction, you should like this book. And, if you like novels that deal in depth with the subconscious mind, you may love this book.

This is a great writer with a very different writing style. If you haven't read any of his works, you should think seriously about reading this novel to "test the waters." And -- if you are like me -- you will want to read another.

Amazing, awesome, brilliant...no word of praise is too hyperbolic for this bizarre sci-fi fantasy work. Murakami's books going b what little I've read are more like variations on a single theme...all of them have a central protagonist, a passive sterile Joe, who suddenly falls into mysterious and often macabre circumstances, meeting a series of strange people in parallel universes and being drawn therein into a quest to rescue his own existence/sanity.
This one has some hardcore sci-fi elements to it, with concepts like the human mind being altered and compartmentalized to function as a data processing and encryption unit.
I won't bother with giving a narrative summary since that's a lot of the fun of reading the book and it's too complicated to describe in any detail, but suffice to say that it's fast paced and gripping and even the sense of deja vu with other Murakami stories does not eclipse the brilliant construction of this epic.
The climax, as one sees it, is an absolute masterpiece - lasting nearly a 100 pages, where Murakami narrates in a kind of verbal 'slow-motion' mode, measuring out moment by deliciously excruciating moment to a glorious, majestic beat.

Even if Hard Boiled Wonderland (HBW) smacks of themes and images from Murakami's other novels, it lacks nothing of the musical cadence inherent in the stream of words and vivid descriptions he uses to narrate the tale. HBW flows until it sweeps the reader into the authenticity of its characters and the suspense of the stories culmination. Two worlds--one concrete and the other a dreamy metaphysical--parallel each other throughout and provoke constant appraisals and hypotheses. HBW certainly ranks among Murakami's greatest writing accomplishments.

Murakami's books in general involve the fantastic interwoven
with the real. It is not, however, a "tale of two cities",
nor a deranged man's insomnial (is that a word?) visions. It
is a tale of one man, one life and the synapses of a life
devoid of meaning until one day....It is a life which you
long to be a part of. He writes so clearly, so
much like he can see what you do everyday and can write it.
You can relate to it like your life. And that is exactly
the point of his books. How much is your life worth? How
do you see yourself in his books? Do you realize that he,
Murakami, himself is searching for an answer; perhaps you
might know the answers to? The plot's end is a peace. He
tells you that you will survive. The monotony of a daily
life is not a struggle. It is, sometimes, the only syrum to
the bacteria eating your brain.

I chose this novel to read on the flight to see my dying father, and I was immediately taken out of my own sadness into another way of mind. This is a great, healing, 5 star book about mind and love and letting go responsibly and how important it is to use information wisely and not cause harm in the name of science or personal gain. The compelling protagonist has been a willing victim of an experiment to alter his brain for the benefit of the information age. He learns that his familiar "reality" is ending, because of a flaw in the experiment, to be replaced by a bridge to a "reality" his brain has been creating all along to continue being. He survives a wild ride of circumstance as he is educated to the real facts of the experiment. He learns he must surrender to his science created fate and discovers the exquisite experience of living moment to moment, as if dying. His ordinary routines and chance acquaintances become extraordinary, and he is joyous and grateful for the lesson in what he was ignoring.

I especially enjoy Murakami's ability to create scary underground monsters like the "Inklings" giving just enough detail as in what happens to the victims to leave his reader responsible for imagining just how creepy "Inklings" must be. Many of us had a monster under the bed when we were children. My "Inkling" is my monster under the bed, and yours will be yours.

What a trip! This is a fun, cool, sexy, humorous, and yes, hardboiled wonder of a novel; so smart and sometimes so outrageously confusing, I held the book close, like a departing friend, when I finally read the last word. I thank Haruki Murakami for this ultimately positive and life affirming tale. We never lose those we love, so long as we keep them in our memory. A good reminder to me at this time and to all of us for all time. I feel like I am embarking on a grand affair with his mind's way with story. I look forward to reading more Murakami.

This book, is and of itself, a mind bending twist. Esentially two stories that are intertwined (and I won't spoil how.) His characters are well crafted and deep. The story goes into a deep, metaphisical discussion of the nature of being while characters are chased by phantoms and gangsters.
It is however still Japanese, and as such, is not tied down by Western notions of writing. This makes reading it a whole lot better. Details, descriptions and people are just more, well, detailed.
Murakami's wit and attention to detail is crafted well. The main character, who may not be the typical hero (or anti-hero) one comes to expect, displays a layer of cool as his problem becomes manifest. A whole system (or should I say System) is provided, with a history and detail that we are not always privy to.
You should read this. Just don't forget where your shadow is.

I purchased this book on a whim - the descriptions sounded interesting enough to merit a look.
Boy was I stunned by it. One of the best books I've read in a long time and probably one of the best novels I've read that's been written in the last 20 years.
Beautifully written (and translated) it spoke to many different sides of me. The novel brilliantly fuses a number of different cultural genres (science fiction, mystery, film noir, fantasy, magical realism, "cyberpunk") into a mix that, amazingly, works very well. Try to imagine a collaborative effort by Garcia-Marquez, William Gibson, and Walker Percy and you almost might be able to envision what this book feels like to read. Who else but a Japanese author could make such an intriguing pop culture cocktail?
Besides being a genre-bender, the premise of the book and the questions that it raises concerning the relationship between humanity and technology, the soul and the mind, and the individual and society are quite thought provoking.
Did I mention that the book is very funny at times too?
This is unlike any other book you'll ever read. Definitely worth checking out IMHO.

Admittedly, this isn't a book I'd have picked up for a casual read, but once I got past the first 100 pages, I couldn't set it down. The book has many layers to it and is one that I'm sure I'm going to revisit a few times. Its a great book for a book club or to read with a friend. It was a hard read, a very cortically driven story but Murakami is an incredibly gifted author and this book highlights his skills. Its a book that will capture your imagination and plays with your mind, in the most enjoyable and unexpected ways. I felt quite bewildered though the first half of the book. The second half felt more like a 'tempo run'. The climax, to my complete delighted surprise, brought peace where I'd been expecting the exhilaration of victory.

There comes along a few books in a lifetime that really make you think and feel. For me, it was Haruki Murakami's "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World." I found the book by chance, with the phrase "Hard-Boiled" being my only reason for picking it up (as I was becoming a huge fan of old noir books). I bought it without reading any pages and soon found myself lost in a world of intense imagination and utter brilliance.

Now, I can see where some people get discouraged and don't like Mr. Murakami's work. "He's too obscure." "It's too far-fetched." "It's loaded with references that I don't understand." "Some of the writing doesn't make sense."

Personally, I find his work to be nothing short of genius, and this book, along with his others, only highlights his talent. The thing about Murakami is that he has loved American culture since he was a kid, and he projects that love into his stories.

This book in-particular is a sort-of homage to the old detective stories from the thirties, laced with sci-fi and fantasy. Two different stories make up the book, seemingly unrelated at first. What results is a weird ride into the underground sewers of Tokyo, a crazy scientist, a plump and sexy girl, a walled-off town, and the End of the World. It can get a little rough now and then, and I partially pin the blame on this translator. (One of Murakami's other regular translators is planing to re-translate that soon, so watch for that.)

As an aspiring writer, I read a lot and try to find new authors and books to read. This book is one of the five that I go to when I write, a book crafted so well, with sadness, hope, sarcasm, jokes, Lauren Bacall, and hamburgers thrown together, it makes you forget you're reading fiction, and makes you think you're in a wild dream that lasts forever.

And I guarantee, if you pick it up and love it, you will never put it down.

Enjoy.

I'd read some of the hyperkinetic press that Haruki Murakami has been getting and figured that I'd give one of his books a spin. I'll admit to grabbing this title of his more-or-less randomly, and now that I'm done with it, I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND was a deliciously confounding read, equal parts exasperating farce and thoroughly rewarding hybrid. I have no interest in reprising its plot, but what you need to know is that this is the tale of a man with a mind divided. As the book is a first-person narrative, it is likewise divided into alternating chapters of "reality" (a near-future world of underground creatures and "encephalodigital conversions") and fable (complete with unicorns and shadow-ectomies).

Murakami has imagination and writing ability to burn, so while I sometimes fumed at his outrageous nomenclature, the book's vitality and humor kept me engaged. There is even some horror to be found in these pages, as this quote shows: "I had money to spare, but Miller High Life was the only import I could find."

FINAL NOTE: I am certainly going to read more Murakami in the future, but he is not the kind of fellow whose prose predisposes one to a reading jag of his entire oeuvre. Thus, after a break, I'll be back.

Amazing, awesome, brilliant...no word of praise is too hyperbolic for this bizarre sci-fi fantasy work. Murakami's books going b what little I've read are more like variations on a single theme...all of them have a central protagonist, a passive sterile Joe, who suddenly falls into mysterious and often macabre circumstances, meeting a series of strange people in parallel universes and being drawn therein into a quest to rescue his own existence/sanity.
This one has some hardcore sci-fi elements to it, with concepts like the human mind being altered and compartmentalized to function as a data processing and encryption unit.
I won't bother with giving a narrative summary since that's a lot of the fun of reading the book and it's too complicated to describe in any detail, but suffice to say that it's fast paced and gripping and even the sense of deja vu with other Murakami stories does not eclipse the brilliant construction of this epic.
The climax, as one sees it, is an absolute masterpiece - lasting nearly a 100 pages, where Murakami narrates in a kind of verbal 'slow-motion' mode, measuring out moment by deliciously excruciating moment to a glorious, majestic beat.

Even if Hard Boiled Wonderland (HBW) smacks of themes and images from Murakami's other novels, it lacks nothing of the musical cadence inherent in the stream of words and vivid descriptions he uses to narrate the tale. HBW flows until it sweeps the reader into the authenticity of its characters and the suspense of the stories culmination. Two worlds--one concrete and the other a dreamy metaphysical--parallel each other throughout and provoke constant appraisals and hypotheses. HBW certainly ranks among Murakami's greatest writing accomplishments.

Murakami's books in general involve the fantastic interwoven
with the real. It is not, however, a "tale of two cities",
nor a deranged man's insomnial (is that a word?) visions. It
is a tale of one man, one life and the synapses of a life
devoid of meaning until one day....It is a life which you
long to be a part of. He writes so clearly, so
much like he can see what you do everyday and can write it.
You can relate to it like your life. And that is exactly
the point of his books. How much is your life worth? How
do you see yourself in his books? Do you realize that he,
Murakami, himself is searching for an answer; perhaps you
might know the answers to? The plot's end is a peace. He
tells you that you will survive. The monotony of a daily
life is not a struggle. It is, sometimes, the only syrum to
the bacteria eating your brain.

I chose this novel to read on the flight to see my dying father, and I was immediately taken out of my own sadness into another way of mind. This is a great, healing, 5 star book about mind and love and letting go responsibly and how important it is to use information wisely and not cause harm in the name of science or personal gain. The compelling protagonist has been a willing victim of an experiment to alter his brain for the benefit of the information age. He learns that his familiar "reality" is ending, because of a flaw in the experiment, to be replaced by a bridge to a "reality" his brain has been creating all along to continue being. He survives a wild ride of circumstance as he is educated to the real facts of the experiment. He learns he must surrender to his science created fate and discovers the exquisite experience of living moment to moment, as if dying. His ordinary routines and chance acquaintances become extraordinary, and he is joyous and grateful for the lesson in what he was ignoring.

I especially enjoy Murakami's ability to create scary underground monsters like the "Inklings" giving just enough detail as in what happens to the victims to leave his reader responsible for imagining just how creepy "Inklings" must be. Many of us had a monster under the bed when we were children. My "Inkling" is my monster under the bed, and yours will be yours.

What a trip! This is a fun, cool, sexy, humorous, and yes, hardboiled wonder of a novel; so smart and sometimes so outrageously confusing, I held the book close, like a departing friend, when I finally read the last word. I thank Haruki Murakami for this ultimately positive and life affirming tale. We never lose those we love, so long as we keep them in our memory. A good reminder to me at this time and to all of us for all time. I feel like I am embarking on a grand affair with his mind's way with story. I look forward to reading more Murakami.

This book, is and of itself, a mind bending twist. Esentially two stories that are intertwined (and I won't spoil how.) His characters are well crafted and deep. The story goes into a deep, metaphisical discussion of the nature of being while characters are chased by phantoms and gangsters.
It is however still Japanese, and as such, is not tied down by Western notions of writing. This makes reading it a whole lot better. Details, descriptions and people are just more, well, detailed.
Murakami's wit and attention to detail is crafted well. The main character, who may not be the typical hero (or anti-hero) one comes to expect, displays a layer of cool as his problem becomes manifest. A whole system (or should I say System) is provided, with a history and detail that we are not always privy to.
You should read this. Just don't forget where your shadow is.

I purchased this book on a whim - the descriptions sounded interesting enough to merit a look.
Boy was I stunned by it. One of the best books I've read in a long time and probably one of the best novels I've read that's been written in the last 20 years.
Beautifully written (and translated) it spoke to many different sides of me. The novel brilliantly fuses a number of different cultural genres (science fiction, mystery, film noir, fantasy, magical realism, "cyberpunk") into a mix that, amazingly, works very well. Try to imagine a collaborative effort by Garcia-Marquez, William Gibson, and Walker Percy and you almost might be able to envision what this book feels like to read. Who else but a Japanese author could make such an intriguing pop culture cocktail?
Besides being a genre-bender, the premise of the book and the questions that it raises concerning the relationship between humanity and technology, the soul and the mind, and the individual and society are quite thought provoking.
Did I mention that the book is very funny at times too?
This is unlike any other book you'll ever read. Definitely worth checking out IMHO.

Admittedly, this isn't a book I'd have picked up for a casual read, but once I got past the first 100 pages, I couldn't set it down. The book has many layers to it and is one that I'm sure I'm going to revisit a few times. Its a great book for a book club or to read with a friend. It was a hard read, a very cortically driven story but Murakami is an incredibly gifted author and this book highlights his skills. Its a book that will capture your imagination and plays with your mind, in the most enjoyable and unexpected ways. I felt quite bewildered though the first half of the book. The second half felt more like a 'tempo run'. The climax, to my complete delighted surprise, brought peace where I'd been expecting the exhilaration of victory.

There comes along a few books in a lifetime that really make you think and feel. For me, it was Haruki Murakami's "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World." I found the book by chance, with the phrase "Hard-Boiled" being my only reason for picking it up (as I was becoming a huge fan of old noir books). I bought it without reading any pages and soon found myself lost in a world of intense imagination and utter brilliance.

Now, I can see where some people get discouraged and don't like Mr. Murakami's work. "He's too obscure." "It's too far-fetched." "It's loaded with references that I don't understand." "Some of the writing doesn't make sense."

Personally, I find his work to be nothing short of genius, and this book, along with his others, only highlights his talent. The thing about Murakami is that he has loved American culture since he was a kid, and he projects that love into his stories.

This book in-particular is a sort-of homage to the old detective stories from the thirties, laced with sci-fi and fantasy. Two different stories make up the book, seemingly unrelated at first. What results is a weird ride into the underground sewers of Tokyo, a crazy scientist, a plump and sexy girl, a walled-off town, and the End of the World. It can get a little rough now and then, and I partially pin the blame on this translator. (One of Murakami's other regular translators is planing to re-translate that soon, so watch for that.)

As an aspiring writer, I read a lot and try to find new authors and books to read. This book is one of the five that I go to when I write, a book crafted so well, with sadness, hope, sarcasm, jokes, Lauren Bacall, and hamburgers thrown together, it makes you forget you're reading fiction, and makes you think you're in a wild dream that lasts forever.

And I guarantee, if you pick it up and love it, you will never put it down.

Enjoy.

I'd read some of the hyperkinetic press that Haruki Murakami has been getting and figured that I'd give one of his books a spin. I'll admit to grabbing this title of his more-or-less randomly, and now that I'm done with it, I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND was a deliciously confounding read, equal parts exasperating farce and thoroughly rewarding hybrid. I have no interest in reprising its plot, but what you need to know is that this is the tale of a man with a mind divided. As the book is a first-person narrative, it is likewise divided into alternating chapters of "reality" (a near-future world of underground creatures and "encephalodigital conversions") and fable (complete with unicorns and shadow-ectomies).

Murakami has imagination and writing ability to burn, so while I sometimes fumed at his outrageous nomenclature, the book's vitality and humor kept me engaged. There is even some horror to be found in these pages, as this quote shows: "I had money to spare, but Miller High Life was the only import I could find."

FINAL NOTE: I am certainly going to read more Murakami in the future, but he is not the kind of fellow whose prose predisposes one to a reading jag of his entire oeuvre. Thus, after a break, I'll be back.

This writer is an incredible wordsmith. Simply an exquisite read.It is a rare read. I have read 1000's of books, & this book will be in my top five.I rationed the last 50 pages. I wish I could read it again for the first time & perhaps in my mind's eye I will. There are 2 stories & the narrator is everyman, who defines himself by pop culture.It has a scientist,thugs& a sultry librarian. The man's brain is split as are his worlds. That's just an INKling of the plot. Reviews mention cyber punk, DO NOT let that dissuade you. One review compares it to Kafka, Borges & the Prisoner's TV Village(Village Voice)& IMO that's spot on. It is a mentally senuous experience. Treat yourself & READ IT.... (It merits a sixth (shooting!) star for the DYLAN references.)

I read this book for a Japanese literature class I am taking, and I was blown away by it. This is one of the better assigned readings I've ever had, and I will certainly be reading more of Murakami in the future.

The book's chapters alternate between Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. The Hard-Boiled Wonderland features a Japanese yuppy who works in computers and is a connoisseur of sorts: good food, good whisky, and good western music are his interests. He begins the novel in an unfamiliar elevator as he is on his way to a meeting with an oddball old scientist. The scientist has his lair deep underneath Tokyo concealed by a waterfall. The scientist's chubby, pink-dressed granddaughter is a guide of sorts for the narrator. The scientist's research is centered around sound modification and mammalian neurology. Both closely involve the narrator. The narrator is a Calcutech, a human who encodes data with his modified brain, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland's chapters center on his job and personal life, with the Scientist and Granddaughter both closely involved.

the End of the World chapters are more surreal, as they take place in a walled place referred to by its residents as the Town. Newcomers to the town, such as the narrator, have their shadows (representing the free thinking mind) cut off by the Gatekeeper. The Town is free of all troubles, and people just live there forever with no changes. Golden beasts, which die in huge numbers each winter, are important co-residents. The town is disconcertingly peaceful and idyllic, and something there feels strange to the narrator the entire time. His dying shadow is the only thing left to remind him that he wishes to leave the Town.

The true location of the Town and the relation between the two elements of this novel are left for the reader to discover. This novel is an innovative, hip, and surreal look at existence, one man's psyche, and modern life. Information is the key. To get more, read this book.

Murakami's "Hard-boiled Wonderland" is a strange cross of cyberpunk and fantasy. Alternating chapters set in present-day Tokyo and a mythical utopian realm entwine one another, descending towards the metaphorical "end of the world". Though written by a Japanese, the work hardly reflects its author's nationality. If the setting were changed to New York, very little would change.
While I really enjoyed the first third of the book, I felt it had several problems. First was that Murakami gave away the "secret" far too early, and by the middle of the book, much of the enchantment was gone. Second, the techno mumbo-jumbo that underlies Murakami's story is too silly to satisfy technophiles, but too complicated and detailed to satisfy the light reader. It's best described as bad hard-scifi, rather than simply soft sci-fi.
On the other hand, the book still has it's strengths. It is fast, funny, and dark. And just how many authors even attempt to combine unicorns and encryption? Overall, the novel's quirkiness makes it worth the time.

Haruki Murakami is certainly a man with unique capabilities. His "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" is perhaps the best new age, surrealistic novel of all time (certainly the best I've read). In his earlier "Hard-Boiled Wonderland..." we get a preview of such talents.
In "Hard-Boiled Wonderland..." we have basically two concurrent stories, one being a fantasy (complete with unicorns) and the other, well, a rather surreal story situated in Tokyo involving mind manipulation. Each story has its own strength but they seem to wander aimlessly until Murakami ties both of them together in a "way cool!!!" sort of way. Yes, it is a bit contrived and over-cooked. Yet it is the sort of book Murakami fans will love.
Bottom line: a somewhat minor episode in Murakami's literary career. Yet its creativity and originality earn well-deserved kudos.

Interesting; I had never read a negative review of anything by Murakami until I glanced over this page. The negative reviews are interesting, and in a way I see their point. Murakami's "casual" style is a bit clumsy in Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, (the Hard Boiled chapters especially, it's true), and it's not as exciting or intense as one might hope. But although I'll detract a star for the Hard Boiled half of the book, the End of the World half was captivating. The way the two stories are interwoven, the wonderful, dream-like End of the World segments, and the incredible, bewildering, and understated ending, as well as the sheer imagination injected into each of these elements -- earns the book a solid 4 stars. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I bought this on a whim...I've since read everything Murakami has written and Birnbaum translated ("Wind-Up Bird" being the exception, different translator). I was blown away by the juxtaposition of stories...so different, yet with each chapter, the growing chill in the pit of my stomach as I begin to see where it's all going. Murakami is not for everyone...Thank God! How boring if every person you bumped carts with at Safeway also dug (Understood!!) this cryptic writer. There's a reason why he is Japan's most esteemed novelist at work today. I had the intense pleasure of hearing him read at my fave independent book store (His only appearance in the US...he doesn't even do readings in Japan), and the crowd was overwhelmingly Asian, young, achingly hip. The non-Asian faces were a sea of Who's Who of the American writing scene...Murakami rocks!!

Murakami never fails to astound - I say this having read only two books but its clear from what I understand about his entire body of work that the subject matter of his novels might be considered a little odd (and I think that's an understatement). Hard-Boiled Wonderland is no exception.
Unfolding through two separate narratives, Murakami deftly paints the pictures of two contrasting realities and the actions that inevitably tie them together. It recalled Iain Bank's `The Bridge' and Irvine Welch's `Mirabou Stork Nightmares' - both novels that dealt with characters inhabiting multiple realities.
Murakami pulls off something wonderful and magical here. Not to be missed.

I first read this book quite a while ago, and recently rediscovered it. If you are a fan of the bizarre and surreal, you have probably already read it. If not, you should run out and buy it. Do not be put off by the "cyberpunk" label - the book is very accessible regardless of your technological know-how or interest level.
If you are new to the particular pleasures of bizarre fiction, here is an excellent place to start. Here we have an engaging plot and compelling characters, all wrapped in a story that slowly disintegrates into a dream. The book is satisfying to read and quite fascinating - even touching at times. The translation is quite good, and as a reader you are rarely made aware of it.
However, if you are looking for straightforward science fiction, I recommend giving this one a miss. It is firmly in the alternative writing camp.

This book was wild! My intorduction to Murakami was at the hands of Norwegian Wood and After the Quake (in which I hated the frog man story), so I knew Murakami as a normal prose author, but when I began reading this, and subsequently entered a fantasy realm that exists along side our own world, I was hooked. I have nothing else to say, I loved this novel.

Think Philip K. Dick. A little Jonathan Lethem. A little Jonathan Carroll. But still thoroughly Murakami. In a style most like the Sheep novels by the same author, this one almost seems to slip out of control late in the action, but manages to tidy up better than I expected in the end. The first half and second half seem to have been written at different times, because the transition is not smooth. Other than that, this is a great Murakami book. It's not his very best work, but it's a great place to start if you are a regular Sci-Fi reader, or a magic realist. After that, the gateway to Murakami-dom is wide open...

I want to point out that this is a review of the English translation because original books and translations are completely different works, by completely different authors.

This novel, in translation, was boring and pointless. I found it dull on an entertainment level, with no depth or meaning whatsoever. It was my first Murakami novel, and it was a book club selection.

Again, I'm not sure if it's just the translation, or what. But very much not my cup of tea.

This book requires some patience. My friend, who usually does not enjoy reading, recommended this book to me because it is one of his favorites. However, if you stick with it, I think it's quite a rewarding book. This is the only book I've read by this author, and I can't even imagine what I might have missed by reading a translation, but the author's mind is just incredible. I've recommended this book to others, and it's universally been a struggle in the beginning, but every person who stuck with it (for at least six chapters) felt this book was worth the struggle.

Murakami has a beautiful way of writing that richly paints a portrait that elicits tone, theme, and emotion. This novel is a fantastic balance of complicated realities and human curiosities about our own existence. And despite the rich language used, it still comes off as plain-spoken and easy to read. Really loved this novel!

This is the first Murakami book that I read, and what a delightful discovery! I was meeting friends in Pasadena one afternoon about 3 years ago, and I was about an hour and a half early. I stopped into a bookstore, looking for a novel to kill some time with, and picked up "Hard Boiled..." because the cover blurb sounded interesting. 2 days later I put the book down in a cold sweat, hungry for more. Nobody writes like this! I have since read everything I can find in English, and I continue to be astonished. Murakami writes wildly and joyously for people who like to think. Pynchon ok with you? Read this book.

This is simply the best book I have ever read! I was hooked from the first page and drawn into the world of the narrator as subtly as one is drawn into a dream. The linking of the subconscious and conscious elements of the mind are at work here, and this is what makes this book all at once so wonderful, disturbing and enlightening. It is a psychological masterpiece and lays bare the interconnectedness of all things- the people in our lives, the places, the choices we make, our dreams, desires, longings and regrets and most importantly, the often inexplicable and enigmatic relationship between our subconscious and conscious mind. The masterful way Murakami interweaves the chapters begins with a divergent simplicity and gradually progresses to a complex, synchronistic web/mandala in which all points share a beginning yet have no end.

this is one of my all time favourite books! I LOVE it, hahaha!!
admittedly the story is not for everyone. it suits readers with a certain mix of qualities. I'd say, you need a bit of imagination, a lot of open-mindedness, some spirituality, and the willingness to go along with a strange ride, hahaha.
but what a great ride it is going to be!
what a great story! and what wonderful writing!
I love it!!

In my opinion this novel serves as a bridge between genre-fiction (sci-fi/cyberpunk in this case) and more serious literature. It's not the best novel I've ever read so forget about murakami being the greatest writer alive or things like that... He's very talented, no doubt about that, and provided with an astounding imagination but I'll trade this book any minute for a Tom Robbins' novel... Let alone Kurt Vonnegut.
Still, it clealy deserves 4 stars (and maybe a "bonus" 1/2) and I gladly suggest this to everyone who's looking for a twisted (but brilliant) take at genre-fiction.

Although I was put off at first with the book when it kept switching between the real world and the subconscious world, the end of the book put everything together and it was a great book worth your while to read. Murakami does a great job of creating a futuristic world which allows him to more accurately portray human interests and personalities. It is difficult to say, but by creating his futuristic world, the reader becomes much more willing to simply accept things as they are rather than try to figure out how this is all possible. By just accepting the world as it is, the reader is then much more able to grasp the emotional change that is occuring within the main character. At the beginning of the novel the character enjoys things like reading, cooking, shopping, and drinking beer. But by the end of hte novel, the main character sees the world through a completley new perspective and he begins to enjoy everything that the world has to offer. Everywhere from simply viewing a couple in a Skyline, the kitchen of a small house, or a nearly-empty park in the middle of the day. This book makes you appreciate everything a little more.
Life is not meant to be understood, although a level of understanding is enjoyable, but rather to find out what this world has to offer to make you want to enjoy living. The main character knows that the world will not care when he disappears, but he still appreciates the world more. Even if you are not going to achieve the greatest of things in the world, this books makes you realize that no matter the circumstance, even if you are about to disappear, life is still worth living and enjoyment can be found in anything.
I really enjoyed this book mostly because of the way it got me thinking. I put a lot of faith in the author and by the end of the book I was not disappointed at all. I'm sure this book will be enjoyable to any reader.

This is one of my all time favorite books. No one does these reality shifts quite like Murakami and the ending is an emotional punch in the best way. The book will linger in your consciousness and view of the world long after you've put it away.

I am a voracious reader, focusing on the sciences, sci-fi, many French and British 19th century classics and various other areas as they strike my fancy. Well, this book did just that. I don't want to scare you away if you're not a sci-fi fan because I think many different kinds of readers like this for many different reasons. My husband read it first and recommended it to me because of the sci-fi element in it. I normally shy away from modern fiction because it's simply not my preference but I made an exception that I have not regretted in the least. The translator, Alfred Birnbaum, is brilliant. The language of the book is extremely smooth, beautifully articulate and very rich. The story is ingenious, alternating between a modern world and fantasy setting with a far reaching symbolic twist. His ideas of memory and the mind are incredibly thought provoking. I was so enthralled at one point in the book that I actually read a whole chapter sitting at stop lights and in rush hour traffic which I have never done before with any other book. For some serious linguistic reading pleasure I would highly recommend this book.

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World follows two distinct and parallel storylines, both with unnamed narrators who might or might not be the same person. In the first storyline, the narrator is a "Calcutec", a computer specialist working for "The System" to protect data against the "Semiotecs", an organization of powerful black market information pirates. Called down into the sewers below Tokyo against regulations and against the law, the main character agrees to "shuffle", or encode the work of a nutty professor who says he has discovered a way to make bones talk! His life might be in danger though because all the major powers want a piece of this new technology. This plotline alternates chapters with a more fantasy type idyll about a town surrounded by an impenetrable and unscalable wall, in which the narrator tries to figure out who he is and how he came there. There are other inhabitants but all their comments are pretty cryptic. But there's some bizarre stuff going on. For example, there are unicorns grazing around the town, you lose your shadow, and the narrator is given the job of "reading dreams" from the skulls of strange beasts! He must set about figuring out how to escape unless he wants to be trapped there forever.

This novel was weird but refreshing. I thought it was pretty clever of Murakami to almost write two books in one, the first being a cyberpunk adventure and the other a strange surreal fantasy. But it worked. Don't worry, these two stories within a novel do have a purpose in being joined together, even though you might not understand all the "physics" talk when explanations are given. You get the gist of it. Harold Bloom once said that what gives a novel its lasting greatness is that it has to be strange. Murakami more than lives up to this thought and makes you feel as if you've entered a new world. That's a good thing. It really gives you a sense of wonder and mental adventure which you don't find too often in literature these days. I look forward to reading his other works.

If you liked this book, I would highly recommend viewing a Japanese anime called Haibane-Renmei which was greatly influenced by the fantasy parts of Hard-Boiled Wonderland.

What is this book about? Hard to say. It's science fiction, maybe kind of a "Neuromancer" sort of feel, but it's got a touch of Douglas Adams sort of humor and improbable settings and creatures. And glowing unicorn skulls. I can't describe it all. But I loved it.

You have to take your time with this and all of Murakami's stuff. This had a lot of different elements blended in together (sci-fi, kappas- which are rarely written about anymore, and most of all good ole detective work by the character and the reader) and it works pretty well. I wonder if anyone else noticed the correlation between the city and town chapters and the use of the left and right side of the brain. The map in the front of the book also looks like a brain...

i picked this off the bookshelf without much of an idea of what was awaiting me. kind of took a gamble on it, but I was very lucky: this guy is awesome. I have only been reading vonnegut for a year and murakami kept those juices going for me. i don't see any reason this isn't a worldwide modern classic; it certainly isn't limited to an Asian audience. i would also say that the book is very fast-paced; you won't be lagging on this one. each chapter's mirror image builds on the other, sweeping you headlong into the delusional plotline. don't let anyone spoil this for you - start reading now! dreamreader hahaha oh i want to read it again!

I have only read one other book by this author and have enjoyed both thoroughly. Both books were difficult to stay engaged in the beginning - I went into both not knowing anything about the author or storyline. However, his writing style and imaginative approach is intriguing. I love the blend of different genres wrapped in one with surprising effortlessness. If you are open to a very different read than anything you may have already read, I highly recommend this book. It is a refreshing break from the oftentimes formulaic style of fiction.

If I was advising a novice Murakami reader I would suggest

starting with "The Wild Sheep Chase," then "Dance Dance Dance,"

then "Kafka on the Shore," then "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and

the End of the World." This book is not the first one to read.

It is a mix of science fiction and the type of fantasy/head trip

one finds in Murakami's novels. I had no clue what was happening

until half way into the book and only kept reading because I

trusted Murakami would bring it all together by the end. Again, it is the same kind of alternate reality one finds in Murakami:

something that takes you out of your box so you can gain insight

into the mystery of being human.

I picked up KAFKA ON THE SHORE on a whim, and was very surprised and taken in by the story. Unpredictable and surreal, with quite creepy moments.

This is my second book by Murakami, and this one was even better.

It might not be the easiest thing to get into.

Do not expect to grasp the meaning of the book immediately, just go with the flow.

We are given two story lines,

Hard-Boiled Wonderland is sort of a cyberpunk sci fi story, while The End Of The World is a slow and dark Twillight Zone type tale in a Tolkien-ish mythological setting.

And little by little you realize you are reading a very original, entertaining and poetic treaty on the workings of the brain.

When I was young, we had an imaginary camel in the basement upon which we blamed all that went wrong. I knew this book would appeal by about the second page when, to describe the size of the seemingly not-moving elevator, he says that it would house an office plus three camels: probably no more incongruous an animal could be found in a Japanese book! There were several warped touches of humour like this, although he did tend to get on with story-telling as he progressed.
Everyone has mentioned the dual nature of the book - took a little while to dawn on me that the "I" is the same in both: doesn't help that no-one is ever named, even if we do get to see the name of the winner of horse races and all consumer goods are identified with specificity. There was only about one chapter when the Professor got a bit wound up in his explanation of what was going on - I found him to be strangely portrayed as he was a genius yet his language was distractingly informal.
At the end of the day, I found this a thought provoking novel, as the main guy was faced with a choice: "life" with its ups and downs in the real world or existence without a mind but without anything bad ever happening in a kind of Utopia. Or was it as cut and dried as that? Find out for yourself - this was a great book, my first by Murakami.

I absolutely loved this book. First few chapters were "oh-kay" and typical of Murakami, but wait till you get to the middle of the book when things start inter-tangling between the two stories. Yet another fantastic novel by Murakami, and I have to say that the man is pure genius! Modern book reader's writer.

Murakami just convinced me that he can not only write fantasy/sci-fi if he wanted to, but do it better than anyone. I like the fact that almost no one in the novel has a real name. Every character has a simple title (related to their traits or professions). This characteristic, in itself, becomes the most important key to the mind of the narrator. I would also throw in the Jungian factor in the novel (archetypes, personality traits & most interpretations within the novel).

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in mystery novels. You'll see that not every story/adventure ends in having sex (Dan Brown).

Ok, perhaps it's an empty novel signifying nothing, but there's no sound and fury; think rather of a 60's rock song about midlife crisis, playing in a vintage radio by a lonely window. It's a novel like the gentle sun of the afternoon on the first day after you were fired, but this scene was a film playing in a muted late-night restaurant TV, and the entire thing turns out to have been a painting. The plot drags one under like a whirlpool fenced in fear. The material culture of civilization orbits through the entire thing like talismanic fetishes--whiskey, fine food, hearty country food, Bob Dylan, tweed suits, chess sets, a certain imported rustproof nail clipper in a black leather case--the novel oozes a tireless love for life, a yearning for what's happening right now, an amor fati... One reads it, and it seeps in; one thinks, one might as well go on with life too.

Someone once said "high" literature is the one that ends badly, while genre lit has happy endings. We can't really tell whether it was happy or sad, but this book definitely had an ending.

This is such a clever novel and one that is especially worth reading in today's upside down and hectic society. Pretty much everything here is a metaphor for Japanese life (which the US is starting to mimic what with our serious recession). One world is crazy and fast paced, the other peaceful yet sheltered and bound by strict rules.

Reading through multiple times will reward one with realization of these themes and metaphors and will play with your mind for days afterwards. Haunting and mysterious yet imminently satisfying.

This was the second novel I read by Haruki Murakami. The first was Wild Sheep Chase which is a great book in itself. But Hard Boiled Wonderland sucks you in and doesn't let go. With all of the Ring type movies coming out, I would love to see this book made into a movie. And I think David Lynch would be the director who could pull it off. If you are a Murakami fan check out the Elephant Vanishes a collection of short stories. Great book. Another great Japanese writer with the sam last name, but no relation as far as I know is Ryu Murakami; Coin Locker Babies is a great read by Ryu.

As a student of language (English in my case) and linguistics, I loved this book. It was recommended to me by my father-in-law who also seems to have loved it. To over-generalize, it is a higher-brow version of Douglas Adams with a bit of Oe mixed in.

Much like both of the above authors, there are intertwined sub-plots constituting the larger story. Moreover, like the above, the reader (at least myself) begins to wonder about his or her own life. What are the limits of perception, how much does linguistics define what we see?

I highly recommend this book, it isn't a work quickly forgotten.

"unaffectedly affecting"..... definitely. Intellectualism mixed with groundless introspective hypothesis. The perfect blend of two cultures that edge towards each other while blending vastly different histories. And the only truly common strain remains. Of a life lived in futility and love/hatred lived for it's own sake. Minds that were made for strife and dying. Without which they would die, to the perfection and utter emptiness of the body left behind.

It is a vague thing, the way by which Murakami's focusing on the details illuminates the forest. And what a peaceful ending must surely be like, autumn, rain, bob dylan, and sleep. Fascinating this talent of his with metaphors. Only he could liken chubby girls in pink to big strawberry shortcakes waltzing on a dance floor. Or Bob Dylan is like "a kid standing at the window watching the rain." Or observations like "Death leaves cans of shaving cream half-used." "Because she never let me sit by the window on trips." And the humorously insightful, "The effort of forcing energy into a vacuum."

The style is subtlely intrinsic. What starts out as two absolutely distinct stories meld. Where they meld? I cannot tell. It is masterfully seamless. You come away and they were two stories, parallel and yet blended. Fantastic stories, involving myths and unbelievables, yet so natural. So natural that it took me until pg 382 to realize that no character in the entire book had been given a proper first name. Subtlely intended and masterfully woven.

I've read somewhere around 10 Murakami books and consider myself a huge fan. This is the first time I've gotten stalled in one of his books and considered not finishing (though I likely will). Not his best. Grinds to a halt at time, oddly paced.

I gave this 3 stars because I love Murakami's other work and didn't think it deserved a 2 star rating.

This book, though, just did not click with me like most of his others do. I found myself wanting it to be over the entire time. It read slowly. I wasn't engaged, capitvated, intrigued. Just bored and confused. I struggled to visualize the world he created, whereas normally his books create mezmerizing images in my mind. It also depressed me.

Again, though, Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors, I just really didn't like this book.

I have only ever read one other book in my life that made me simply recline in my seat upon its completion and just ponder for a long amount of time (that book being Philip K Dick's "Ubik") like this one did.
Murakami masterfully takes what could easily be two entirely separate novellas and combines them into one brilliant novel; intertwining two seemingly unrelated worlds into one by the end. As ever, Murakami's strange brew of mysticism and cynicism draws the reader in with undeniable magnetism, and when they look up again, their day is over.

This has been the first Murakami novel I have ever read, and I must say it is by far the best novel I have read in a long time ! I don't think it is right to simply attach a label like "cyberpunk" or "sci-fi" to the book, because I feel the psychological aspects of the journey of a man towards his inner self are the main focus of the book. The sci-fi elements that Murakami uses to set up the plot to me are merely background settings.
It is a well known fact to each living soul on this earth that death is inevitable, and one generally needs a lifetime to accept that. In this case, the main character is forced to complete his acceptation process within a day. While addressing the absurd question of "what would I do on my last conscious day", Murakami manages to create a cold concrete, painfully touching "radiohead"-like atmosphere in which the main character shamefully realizes the total triviality of his life.
The end of the book still lingers in my head, Murakami uses a lot of references to american pop culture throughout the book, but not just for the simple reference itself. When you will have read the book you will understand his last reference to Bob Dylan's "A hard rain's a-gonna fall":
Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
Where black is the color, where none is the number,
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',
But I'll know my song well before I start singin',
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

This is my favorite Murakami book. I picked it up on a whim, based on the jacket copy, and it has become one of my favorite books.

While not perfect - some chapters are a little loose - the story is one of the most intriguing things I've ever read. Alternating between the 'real' and subconscious every chapter is a neat trick that makes you ponder the very reality of the story. Which world is the 'real' world? Towards the end the story even turns a little Lovecraftian - Which was very surprising for a Japanese author. The books also poses one of the most interesting physics problems about time I've ever been introduced to. There were many themes in this book I agree with and wouldn't be able to articulate without it.

It's not only greatly entertaining, it makes you think about the world a little differently.

At first this novel had me utterly confused, because I failed to read the dustjacket, and I did not realize it was one novel, not two unrelated short stories. But besides my initial confusion (which really was not that bad, even somewhat amusing), I quite enjoyed this book. The END OF THE WORLD parts are really lovely, dizzyingly beautiful. Of all the Murakami I have read, this is definitely my favourite.

This book was my introduction to the works of Murakami. Having read a lot of praise for him finally I had decided to initiate the literature journey to his world.
I can say I was a bit utterly disappointed after finishing the book. I sensed that definitely, Murakami had a unique and vast imagination. However whatever he had on his mind, the world his imagination created, was not described the way it should have been done. There are missing pieces which create some holes when the reader tries to make-up in his mind what kind of an image the author is trying to convey. I think of the novel as two lines which converge however they are both blurry and the one line they create is not clearer.

This book is interesting in concept - two superficially unrelated stories which are actually deeply interconnected - however, due to either the author's writing style or the style of the translator, the work is quite convoluted and although not necessarily hard to follow, it is hard to retain. Thumbs up for creativity... too bad the style gets in the way.

I love Murakami's works, especially Norwegian Wood, but this one is longer than the others and a little too much Science Fiction for me. Although, I did read it non-stop - so he had me from the beginning but I feel many will not be able to finish this novel - they will give up on it without finding out what happens. It is a mind twister though. What is real and what is not.

I don't read Murakami's works in chronological order, I wish I did. This is one hell of a dark-themed book. Written back in 1985, I'd guess the theme has a lot of to do with the world back then. Of course the hardboiled detective idea has a class and time of its own.

Murakami must have something for Finland, because up to now he's mentioned it in probably every book I've read. The little psychedelic story he came up with this time was impressive (The 20-30 thousand year old Devil sitting on a rock on the side of a Finnish countryside road, looking tired...).

I initially bought this book, because I wanted to read 1Q84 but was told I should read one of Murakami's other works first. I instantly became addicted to this book from the first page. As some of these other review's state, this is a dual storyline that changes every chapter. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that hasn't read it yet. I feel the ending, left something to be desired, but it will still go down as a book i wouldn't mind re-reading.

[...]

Unicorns, alternate realities, mad scientists, information wars, creatures that live in the Tokyo sewer system--they're all a part of Haruki Murakami's *Hardboiled Wonderland,* a semi-futuristic novel in which a data "shuffler" takes what seems to be an ordinary job and ends up trying to save the world...specifically, his own. To say much more about the plot would be to give away too much, but think about your idea of the perfect world. What would you give to attain it? More importantly, what would you give up? Murakami always asks the big questions and gives you plenty to think about; unfortunately, in this novel, he offers a pound of bologna in a three pound bag. There's just too much empty bag.

I tried hard to like this book, I really did. And it was easy for the first ten pages or so; in fact, the first chapter of *Hardboiled Wonderland* had me settling in for what I thought could well be an enviably good read. Then I started the second chapter and my hopes dimmed. By the middle of the book, I'd lost hope I could finish the novel at all. As most previous reviews have noted, *Hardboiled Wonderland* tells two stories in alternate chapters--the first seems to be a relatively straightforward mystery; the second, is a kind of mythic fable. Of course, the two stories are inevitably connected in ways that become clearer as the novel proceeds. What also becomes clearer is that *both* stories are going to become more and more unrealistic until what you're reading is basically a watered down sci-fi/fantasy novel with philosophical pretensions, ala Philip K. Dick.

That's not a bad thing; after all, Murakami has always had more than a passing resemblance to P.K. Dick, but what Murakami lacks, and especially in *Hardboiled Wonderland* is Dick's admirable brevity. *Hardboiled Wonderland* doesn't have to be 400 pages long--it doesn't even need to be 300 pages long. 250 pages would have sufficed to tell the story Murakami has to tell and would have strained my credulity and tried my patience a lot less. I'm unable to read this text in the original Japanese, but in this English translation Murakami's prose is loose and his plotting flabby. The novel is bogged down in a multiplication of unnecessary detail and incident, in drawn-out descriptions, in pages and pages of minutiae and verbal deadwood that even a mediocre editor should have known to prune away. At its worse, *Hardboiled Wonderland* reads like a dream someone is telling you at the breakfast table, the kind of unfocussed and aggravating narration that goes, "And then this happened...And then this happened...And then this happenened..." Unfortunately, a lot of *Hardboiled Wonderland* is at its worst.

Interminable scenes of running through Tokyo's sewer-systems, extensive explanations of the already muddled brain science behind the novel's speculative science fiction, an unnecessarily comprehensive sociological history of the "imaginary" town--it was all much too much of a not-so-good thing and only served to illustrate the point that not only is it often the case that less is more, but often--in fiction as in life--the more you explain the less convincing you become. *Hardboiled Wonderland* had more than enough of everything, more than too much, and soon had me thinking "enough is enough."

Yet I persevered. Why? Mainly because having read two previous Murakami novels which I liked much better ((*Dance, Dance, Dance* and *A Wild Sheep Chase*)) I had some reason to believe that things would sharpen up once he got around to the point. And so things did. Murakami's plots are typically an investigation into some aspect of personal identity and the existential crisis at the core of human life. Is there a meaning to it all, or not? Who are we, really? That kind of thing. And *Hardboiled Wonderland* is yet another thought-provoking take on these ever-relevant themes. It's just too bad that Murakami nearly bores you to death with so much B-movie filler between point A and point C.

All in all, *Hardboiled Wonderland* is a book I don't regret reading--but one I wish didn't take so long to read and that I'm glad to be finally done with.

I picked this book up on a whim -- I was looking for something by a contemporary Japanese author -- and somehow made it through. This book is dull, especially the poorly written "hardboiled" sections (though those ought to be the most exciting). Perhaps the translation is at fault, but the language was flat and banal. Or perhaps Murakami was trying for the simplicity of good noir. If so he fails utterly, creating instead a juvenile tone that replaces ideas with cultural references (John Ford, Bob Dylan, and Ivan Turgenev for that highbrow feel). Murakami is especially inept at integrating exposition into the novel. The fable-like "End of the World" sections are better, but not enough to support this bloated attempt. Overall: really very bad, and nowhere near to earning the Philip K Dick and Thomas Pynchon comparisons he's garnered.

This is one of the top 5 novels I have ever read. It represents one of the most fully realized, completely imaginary, worlds that I have encountered in any work of literature. Since so many other readers have provided plot summaries, I won't try. At the same time, I was so moved by this book that I had to at least add some superlatives. Murakami clearly ranks up there on the short list of the world's greatest living fiction writers: Marquez, Saramargo, Pamuk, Muller. And imho, Huraki Murakami is the most creatively gifted of the bunch. This is a genuine masterpiece. If you are a reader of the world's greatest literature, then read this. And prepare to be amazed.

A bright initial idea and a few passages of lovely prose in the alternative world plot, but basically random filler to carry out the clever plot design. The characters are cardboard thin, the plot convolutions incomprehensible or arbitrary, the philosophy muddy and doesn't withstand close scrutiny, the whole story seeming purposeless except to carry out the predestined narrative framework. Nothing is at stake emotionally or intellectually; the whole enterprise feels hollow. It's one of those books that seems smart, until you really think about it. An easy way to kill time while reading, but little more.

After fighting through the first half of the book the story improved but was it worth the effort? I still don't know.. I think the tale will stay with me but why? not great nor bad just a giant shrug, kind of like the protagonist: in with a whim out with a whim.

This is a powerful intro to Murakami. I loved it and have been a loyal reader ever since. Inadvertantly, he reveals a great deal about modern Japanese culture. The translator of this book has done a superb job.

Do yourself the favor and read this!

iKnow

Murakami's blend of tough-guy crime writing, Kafkesque parable and science fiction here results in a novel that is considerably more uneven than A Wild Sheep Case (the only other book of his I've read so far), where he limited himself to being a postmodern Japanese Raymond Chandler, but is nonetheless a darn good read -- strange, introspective, thought-provoking and riveting (except for some of the sci-fi drivel, which is both long-winded and confusing). This book falls one star short of perfection only because Murakami has already proven he can do better.

This is 'Alice in Wonderland' colliding with a strangely symbolic sci-fi universe. I see the shadowy landscapes and the brilliantly colored streets of imagination. This book explores the transition between dreams/imagination and reality. The slightly understated narration and the exaggerated scenery of this novel clash brilliantly. It is a ride away from what most of us are used to, so give it a chance.

although most people would prefer norwegian wood (which remains one of murakami's top seller), this is, i think, closer to murakami's true style. an exploration of self, a search for a potentially nihilistic life within the mind and an in depth look into reality. a good follow-up of this book is his latest (not yet translated, I believe) Seaside Kafka - that uses the same motif - a split story - about the search of oneself.

What an incredible book. This is the book that had me ordering previous out-of-print Murakami books from interlibrary loan to read over and over again. The critic's darling continues to impress with subsequent books, but I'll always be a sucker for this one. The unintiated should start here and then read Wind-Up Bird.

One of the best books I have read in a long time. Thought proving, extremely creative and brilliant writing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys, for lack of a better term, magical realism and this very typical style of Haruki Murakami, going back and fourth between the chapters with a paralleling storyline.

Back in the late 60s I picked up a sci fi paperback called Sirems of Titan. Had never heard of Vonnegut, but I was hooked. After finishing 1Q84 (a stunner!),I needed more Murakami and I settled on HBWATHEOTW. Wow!

I'm not into fantasies, but this one blew me away. I can understand Murakami's worlds. They give me hope and substitute for a heaven I don't believe in. He's a brlliant author. Just can't believe it took me so long to find him.

This is my favorite Murakami novel. As another reviewer pointed out, it's quite hard to describe as Murakami defines convention. But, its prose (and the translation) is magical, the story captivating and the events contained therein indescribeably beautiful and mysterious. This novel haunted me for months after I read it. Writing this review is making me want to pick it up again. It will blow you away.

I am about to finish reading the Japanese text, using the English translation as a help. The novel is OK, but what I noticed is that entire bits of it are missing in the translation. Not just sentences here and there - sometimes entire scenes. That happens over and over again. Sometimes boring bits are cut, sometimes obscure ones, but also funny ones. Not sure why. Maybe a page limit was imposed on the translator (the English edition I have does have exactly 400 pages). Other than that, it is a good translation.

I waited to read this Murakami book because friends said that it was more difficult that his others. I don't know what they were talking about. The chapters alternate between two story lines, but there is no difficulty in following them. What is different is that story telling style. This book has a clear beginning and ending as a novel instead of his others which tend to read as a string of vingettes. It was a nice change to his other works.

This book is probably not for everyone. It's probably not for most people. But, if you've ever struggled with the creative process, I think that this book is an extraordinary allegory for what it takes to produce something from the aether of your mind.

At first I wasn't impressed with the beginning of the novel. Having read many of Murakami's works, I felt the beginning lacked the usual composure and calmness that he seems to instill in most of his protagonists. It seemed almost hurried and scattered, leaving me breathless in a bad way. But as the novel continued, i began to see that the voice in the narration was used by Murakami to separate the two worlds distinctly. One is busy, modern, fast-paced, while the other is slow, languid, and pale. This in itself makes the book a deserving read.

It is said that if you are role-playing with a group of people who know what they are doing and enjoy it, the result is work of collective story-telling, where true expression and communication is embodied like an idealized family reunion.
This book could have come from that evening, right after the big dinner.

What an incredible book. This is the book that had me ordering previous out-of-print Murakami books from interlibrary loan to read over and over again. The critic's darling continues to impress with subsequent books, but I'll always be a sucker for this one. The unintiated should start here and then read Wind-Up Bird.

One of the best books I have read in a long time. Thought proving, extremely creative and brilliant writing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys, for lack of a better term, magical realism and this very typical style of Haruki Murakami, going back and fourth between the chapters with a paralleling storyline.

Back in the late 60s I picked up a sci fi paperback called Sirems of Titan. Had never heard of Vonnegut, but I was hooked. After finishing 1Q84 (a stunner!),I needed more Murakami and I settled on HBWATHEOTW. Wow!

I'm not into fantasies, but this one blew me away. I can understand Murakami's worlds. They give me hope and substitute for a heaven I don't believe in. He's a brlliant author. Just can't believe it took me so long to find him.

This is my favorite Murakami novel. As another reviewer pointed out, it's quite hard to describe as Murakami defines convention. But, its prose (and the translation) is magical, the story captivating and the events contained therein indescribeably beautiful and mysterious. This novel haunted me for months after I read it. Writing this review is making me want to pick it up again. It will blow you away.

I am about to finish reading the Japanese text, using the English translation as a help. The novel is OK, but what I noticed is that entire bits of it are missing in the translation. Not just sentences here and there - sometimes entire scenes. That happens over and over again. Sometimes boring bits are cut, sometimes obscure ones, but also funny ones. Not sure why. Maybe a page limit was imposed on the translator (the English edition I have does have exactly 400 pages). Other than that, it is a good translation.

I waited to read this Murakami book because friends said that it was more difficult that his others. I don't know what they were talking about. The chapters alternate between two story lines, but there is no difficulty in following them. What is different is that story telling style. This book has a clear beginning and ending as a novel instead of his others which tend to read as a string of vingettes. It was a nice change to his other works.

This book is probably not for everyone. It's probably not for most people. But, if you've ever struggled with the creative process, I think that this book is an extraordinary allegory for what it takes to produce something from the aether of your mind.

At first I wasn't impressed with the beginning of the novel. Having read many of Murakami's works, I felt the beginning lacked the usual composure and calmness that he seems to instill in most of his protagonists. It seemed almost hurried and scattered, leaving me breathless in a bad way. But as the novel continued, i began to see that the voice in the narration was used by Murakami to separate the two worlds distinctly. One is busy, modern, fast-paced, while the other is slow, languid, and pale. This in itself makes the book a deserving read.

It is said that if you are role-playing with a group of people who know what they are doing and enjoy it, the result is work of collective story-telling, where true expression and communication is embodied like an idealized family reunion.
This book could have come from that evening, right after the big dinner.

The story might seem a bit crazy first (a guy neurologically trained to shuffle experimental data, a professor who does research on sound-removal, and his lonely grown-up grandchild), but Murakami knows how to make it sound realistic and breadth-taking. On the other side the story tells about some of the problems of every-day people, not in a soap-opera style, but between the lines of saving the world.

This was my first Murakami book and it was the one that got me hooked on this amazing author. The story is simply amazing. The way he managed to tie everything together in the end was masterful.

I love the way his characters are all quirky and a little strange in their own right. Each of their own little quirkiness that adds such color to their characters.

I still have not finished all his books, but you can be sure I will!

If you are yet to discover the world of Haruki Murakami it may first come as a challenge to get into this book. I implore you to stick with it. Murakami is a modern day master and the strange tale of Hard Boiled Wonderland haunts me still, seven years after stumbling upon this strange story of the human condition, discovery, adventure, joy, fear, loneliness, love and contentment.

I started reading this book unsure of what to expect (having heard that the translation of Murakami's books can be bad, and what not), but this book is definitely brilliant. Brilliantly brilliant, in fact. I plan on reading it again after the first reading sinks in.

I have read this book both in English and Japanese. Although there's some intentional change, the translation is superb. The essence is never lost in translation.
This particular book is a bit different from his other books and I personally believe this is the best. It's more philosophical than your usual cyberpunk and it makes you think about your own life.

If you are looking at this page, do yourself a favour and purchase this book immediately! Your thoughts and dreams will alter while reading this book and most likely -- each time you think back on it!

This is simply a superb book. Murakami keeps you glued to the page with his interesting characters, unique action sequences, and hip yet beautiful writing style. That's that.

The best Murakami book I've read so far, and also the best to start with if you haven't read any of his books. And if you haven't, well, you're missing out.

One important question I usually ask of myself after reading a book (and always consider before recommending) is: if I could somehow erase my mind of this book, would I want to read it again? The answer for this book would sadly be no.

Just off a high from reading Wild Sheep Chase, I bought and immediately devoured Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World. At start I was encouraged with the completely unorthodox nature of the books unwilling protagonist, and the sexy, twisted descriptive writing style typical of Murakami. A quick nod to translator Alfred Birnbaum (who I think translates most if not all Murakami's books), he better be well paid because if any writing has ever been augmented in translation, it might be these works.

The book quickly got confusing (for someone of average intellect anyway). Granted, weaving two universes together (a fantasy world, and physical one) isn't easy, but I don't think it had to be that hard. The alternation by chapter really started to screw with my immersion, and really didn't pay any dividend until the end.

The End is a subject I need to deal with carefully (as not to plot-spoil), so I'll just say this: Rationally inclined readers will have an issue with the mysticism soaked wrap-up. Not to say you need to be irrational to appreciate the ending, but as a Sci-Fi reader, I'm used to (and prefer) plots and endings that have some kind of plausible scientific potential for happening. Perhaps I missed it, but scouring through the reviews, I found nobody that said anything about how his...ugh, can't spoil.

Suffice it to say, this book in my opinion is not his best. I would rather not have my mind erased and re-read Wild Sheep Chase than to read this book for the first time.

Enjoy,

Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California

When model/actress James King was featured in the New York Times fashion section, about 8 years ago, she was reading this. Models always read great books. Any of Murakami's fiction is a light read. He does introduce characters and then makes them disappear without a trace creating confusion, but his imagery is breathtaking in the end pulling it all together.

This was the first novel I read by Murakami, and when I read it, I absolutely adored it and couldn't put it down. Since then, I have read "South of the Border, West of the Sun," and "Dance, Dance, Dance," and I don't think either of them can really compare to Hard-Boiled.

I am not one who normally writes reviews, and you'll find that this is probably very sub-par to the others on this page. However, I do highly suggest this book to anybody reading. It took me a little bit to actually get into it, probabaly because this was the first Murakami novel I had ever read, but in the end it was completely worth it.

This book has to be one of my favorites of all time. It is not highly read for it is a translated book, but it shocked me beyong belief how this book is written, with a refreshing sense of mood and with a air of wisdom hidden amongst all. I highly recommend this book, but I must warn, enter with a open mind and it will seem more astounding.

Wrought with moments of wonder and sweet sadness, a thing of great beauty which, although fantastical rings astoundingly true, Murakami's HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD will reach out to those who embrace it, touching the heart, the soul, and especially the mind.

This book has incredible potential, it starts brilliantly, and the twist in the narrative is great. The only problem is the end! The end of this book is a real let down. I have just finihsed reading Wind-up Bird Chronicle, which also had the same 'problem'. Maybe this author just likes bad endings.

Just finished this book and I was left with a feeling of being let down.

The writing is very good. I found no problems or inconsistencies with style, form or thought.

My problem is with the story itself; it wasn't very interesting. Very little in it grabbed me, very little filled me with a desire to care and read on. After starting slowly and gaining a little momentum, it felt like the series of events that unfolded just limped along to the end.

I'm not discounting that this could be an enjoyable read for some. But for me it was anticlimactic and disappointing.

This is art; postmodernism on paper. Murakami 's novel melds the hip and the mundane with ephemeral epoxy. If William S. Burroughs collaborated with Phillip K. Dick and John Irving, I think the result would be similar to this.

This book put me in one of those beautiful places were you can feel the connectivity of everything. After the first 3 chapters I couldn't put it down. I've read alot of Murakami since but this is still my favorite.

This book has to be one of my favorites of all time. It is not highly read for it is a translated book, but it shocked me beyong belief how this book is written, with a refreshing sense of mood and with a air of wisdom hidden amongst all. I highly recommend this book, but I must warn, enter with a open mind and it will seem more astounding.

Wrought with moments of wonder and sweet sadness, a thing of great beauty which, although fantastical rings astoundingly true, Murakami's HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD will reach out to those who embrace it, touching the heart, the soul, and especially the mind.

This book has incredible potential, it starts brilliantly, and the twist in the narrative is great. The only problem is the end! The end of this book is a real let down. I have just finihsed reading Wind-up Bird Chronicle, which also had the same 'problem'. Maybe this author just likes bad endings.

Just finished this book and I was left with a feeling of being let down.

The writing is very good. I found no problems or inconsistencies with style, form or thought.

My problem is with the story itself; it wasn't very interesting. Very little in it grabbed me, very little filled me with a desire to care and read on. After starting slowly and gaining a little momentum, it felt like the series of events that unfolded just limped along to the end.

I'm not discounting that this could be an enjoyable read for some. But for me it was anticlimactic and disappointing.

This is art; postmodernism on paper. Murakami 's novel melds the hip and the mundane with ephemeral epoxy. If William S. Burroughs collaborated with Phillip K. Dick and John Irving, I think the result would be similar to this.

This book put me in one of those beautiful places were you can feel the connectivity of everything. After the first 3 chapters I couldn't put it down. I've read alot of Murakami since but this is still my favorite.

I discovered Murakami recently with "Kafka on the Shore" and am now reading the "Wind-up Bird Chronicle", and I can tell you already "Hardboiled ..." is not his best work. This book has 3 faults all of which are kind of pet peeves of mine. 1) Characters that are so smart they make you sick, which is to say they only make you think the author is trying to impress you with his erudition and good taste, and are otherwise entirely unbelievable 2) Long "adventure" scenes in which you already know what's going to happen e.g. as characters try to get from A to B, and yet author drags you through tiresome details anyway trying to impress you with his "imagination" 3) explanations of stuff you understand is only a plot device (even if it supposed to be sci-fi) which become long and convoluted to no purpose -- after all, you don't learn anything from it, you've already accepted it as a premise, hence the author should have the grace to pass over it as briefly as possible.

Anyway, I was disappointed to see Murakami make all of these mistakes, after the relatively clean and striking "Kafka on the Shore" (also a converging lines type novel incidentally). Though I haven't finished "Wind-up..." it's clearly on another level, so read one of those two if you haven't already. If you have, don't expect much from "Hardboiled ...". I give it 3 stars because any novel I can get to the end of deserves that much.

This book is amazing in its creativity; Murakami's attention to detail is astounding. It's definately worth reading and thinking about, though don't try to explain the story to friends because that is an insanely difficult task.

I made a mistake in buying it, I never liked science fiction, (or whatever it is this) the previous murakami books I had read were different, in this one I felt I was reading it by obligation, never engaged me, and given the infinity of books available to read, I just dropped it and began to read a Patricia Highsmith mystery. I am having an excelent time with "extrangers in a train"

Amongst scads of positive reviews, it's a pleasure to offer a dissenting voice. What is this book? The book's jacket sez: "this hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive novel ... a narrative particle accelerator ... cooler than zero and unaffectedly affecting, a hilariously funny and deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind." Cooler than zero? That's called hype, and even though it reads like the shameless promotion for something hollywood, it might be the best writing to be found in this book.

The basic premise and narrative structure of "Hard-Boiled Wonderland," while not especially original or inventive, does hold potential for a meditation on the mind. But Murakami consistently fails to touch this space. The characters are caricatures, one-dimensional, facetiously portrayed, and defined entirely by eccentricities. They lack any real sense of an inner life (despite the premise), and are, in most cases, some variation on stock cliches (the "deranged scientist," the "undemure granddaughter," and "various thugs" (this from the book's jacket again)). The narrative itself is also beset by cliché and caricature, not "genre-bending" but derivative, a poorly realized reguritation of big-movie & mass-market conceits.

In fact the very language is often a weary assemblage of catch phrases and common combinations, sometimes laughable in their anesthetizing overuse: "I stood there dumbfounded, as if I'd been hit by a blunt object, overcome by the chilling realization of my utter helplessness" (Ch.3). This is a sense even better conveyed by reading a few pages. And although it's said to be "adroitly translated," Alfred Birnbaum appears to be trying to capture the sense of Murakami's style by casting it in a kind of hackneyed American vernacular.

The science-fiction or cyberpunk elements are watery at best; the book basically equates the mind with a kind of clever computer system that operates according to some fuzzy Freudian misunderstandings. And after living in Japan for a year, its clear that this novel has nothing insightful to offer about the culture or sensibilities of the Japanese, one of Murakami's alleged assets. (For that I recommend Abe or Mishima instead.) The Murakami book-covers are beautifully designed and blurbed with a "cooler than zero" edginess, but after reading this one, its seems clear that Murakami is largely the buzz of a successful marketing engine, rather than an innovator of language and literature.

i haven't quit on a book in a long time. i'm a huge vonnegut and palanhiuk fan, so murakami was suggested to me. maybe it was because of the comparison, no wait, this book was just bad. poor transitions, bland descriptions, and i have to say just bad story telling. this was my first murakami, and unfortunately i can't try it again.