Scan barcode
A review by nhborg
Wind/ Pinball by Haruki Murakami, Haruki Murakami
4.0
3.75
I’m stoked about having gotten around to Murakami’s debut, or his two «kitchen-table» novels as he calls them. I really enjoyed reading the introduction and how he somewhat randomly fell into writing, as well as how he developed his own, unique writing style. I also found it cool that although these first books are less refined than his newer works, there’s still so much of Murakami’s character in them. I agree with the Guardian quote on the back of the book: «Early Murakami isn’t Murakami-in-the-making, it’s already and entirely Murakami». I’ve officially started my journey of reading all of his books in chronological order (including a few rereads of his later works), and I’m excited about experiencing «growing up» together with his writing.
Murakami, as we know, has his … Things. While I admire that Murakami doesn’t give a damn and writes whatever he likes, it can go too far. His depictions of women are pretty shit sometimes. I also don’t jam along with everything he writes. However, there’s an essence in there that is just so fascinating and addictive, which sometimes crystallizes as beautiful passages or quotes. I’ve left a couple of my favorite quotes from Hear the wing sing and Pinball, 1973 below. I think the thematics speak for themselves here.
Hear the wing sing
«There are times when I can even feel myself aging by the hour. The scary thing is, it’s true.»
«All things pass. None of us can manage to hold on to anything. In that way, we live our lives.»
Pinball, 1973
«When the sky darkened he would take the same path back to his own world. This return, though, was always accompanied by an ineffable sadness. The world awaiting him out there was just too big, too powerful; there seemed to be no place where he could burrow into it.»
«We fell silent again. What we shared was no more than a fragment of a time long dead. Yet memories remained, warm memories that remained with me like lights from the past. And I would carry those lights in the brief interval before death grabbed me and tossed me back into the crucible of nothingness.»
(Side note: Listening to a lofi jazz playlist with an anime cat cover while writing this review felt very appropriate)
I’m stoked about having gotten around to Murakami’s debut, or his two «kitchen-table» novels as he calls them. I really enjoyed reading the introduction and how he somewhat randomly fell into writing, as well as how he developed his own, unique writing style. I also found it cool that although these first books are less refined than his newer works, there’s still so much of Murakami’s character in them. I agree with the Guardian quote on the back of the book: «Early Murakami isn’t Murakami-in-the-making, it’s already and entirely Murakami». I’ve officially started my journey of reading all of his books in chronological order (including a few rereads of his later works), and I’m excited about experiencing «growing up» together with his writing.
Murakami, as we know, has his … Things. While I admire that Murakami doesn’t give a damn and writes whatever he likes, it can go too far. His depictions of women are pretty shit sometimes. I also don’t jam along with everything he writes. However, there’s an essence in there that is just so fascinating and addictive, which sometimes crystallizes as beautiful passages or quotes. I’ve left a couple of my favorite quotes from Hear the wing sing and Pinball, 1973 below. I think the thematics speak for themselves here.
Hear the wing sing
«There are times when I can even feel myself aging by the hour. The scary thing is, it’s true.»
«All things pass. None of us can manage to hold on to anything. In that way, we live our lives.»
Pinball, 1973
«When the sky darkened he would take the same path back to his own world. This return, though, was always accompanied by an ineffable sadness. The world awaiting him out there was just too big, too powerful; there seemed to be no place where he could burrow into it.»
«We fell silent again. What we shared was no more than a fragment of a time long dead. Yet memories remained, warm memories that remained with me like lights from the past. And I would carry those lights in the brief interval before death grabbed me and tossed me back into the crucible of nothingness.»
(Side note: Listening to a lofi jazz playlist with an anime cat cover while writing this review felt very appropriate)