Wind / Pinball by Haruki Murakami
Wind/Pinball is a collection of Haruki Murakami’s first two novels, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973. These novels are about two young men coming of age, the unnamed narrator and his friend the Rat.
The stories are about loneliness, obsession, and eroticism, and they bear all the hallmarks of Murakami’s later books. The novels are surreal and powerful, and they explore themes such as love, loss, spirituality, dreams, the power of music, redemption, and sexual identity. Murakami also investigates Japan’s World War II heritage, the notion of reality, and the authority of prophecy, fate, and nature.
What I Liked
I really don’t know – I’ve read every book that Murakami has written and I still can’t put my finger on why. There’s something – it’s a weird mix of setting, character, and something that draws me to read all of his books. Same with this one. It’s brilliant, but strange.
What I Did Not Like
Ok. Murakami is weird. Like really, really weird. I don’t think I can recommend any of his books to anyone. So, I don’t like that. But I also don’t think he can be any less weird without losing some of his books’ magic (they do a lot of magical realism anyway).
