Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

The End of the World half was by far my favorite of the two, interlocking narratives. The imagery, atmosphere, and mood of the Town and its surroundings held an air of mystery and serenity that was beautifully conveyed and engrossing. It was mundane and pedestrian enough to be almost idyllic, but had just enough surreal elements to keep it from being a perfect utopia. There is a color and a weight to the Town that speaks to some ineffable feeling that something uncanny is going on. Murakami is great at eliciting this feeling of strange beauty.

As for The Hard Boiled Wonderland half, it is interesting and intriguing most of the time, and even contained some of my favorite passages, but in total, it was the weaker half. Most notably, the entire explanatory chapter full of technobabble to explain the protagonists circumstance. Murakami has a great handle on showing vs telling, and this was a slog of a chapter, but the only overt low-point in the series. The only other complaint I have is Murakami's need to have his archetypal protagonist, at some point during the story, usually at multiple points, mention his penis / erection, or comment on a woman's appearance in some negative or judgemental fashion. It adds a bit of character to his characterization. but after the fourth encounter with this character-type in one of his novels, it grows tiring.

All in all, this has been my favorite of his thus far. The Hard Boiled Wonderland kept me turning the page, and The End of the World kept me engrossed on a single page, as I patiently paced my way through each paragraph, so I could properly immerse myself in the strange, beautiful End Time.

Side note: I just so happened to be reading through Murakami while I discovered Yoshitoshi Abe, creator of Serial Experiments Lain, who also created the series Haibane Renmei, which I've read was heavily inspired by the End of the World portion of this novel. Funny how things converge like that.

mentre tutti quanti ancora acclamavano come capolavoro "Kafka sulla spiaggia", io mi leggevo "la fine del mondo e il paese delle meraviglie", uscito quasi in sordina poco tempo dopo... Visto che si trattava di un libro dell'85 pensavo che si trattasse di un'opera minore, ma già dalle prime pagine mi sono dovuto ricredere: Murakami riesce sempre a sorprendermi, a prendere la mia testa e tenerla immersa a forza nei mondi che crea.
Sara la capacità dell'autore di passare con così tanta naturalezza da una terrorizzante esplorazione dei sotterranei di Tokyo alla disquisizione sul sandwich perfetto. Oppure l'inquietante sensazione di prossimità che riesce a dare la descrizione di una città popolata da unicorni e uomini separati dalle proprie ombre o, ancora, l'atmosfera satura di una tristezza densa, disperata ma allo stesso tempo pacata, tipicamente giapponese. Non so...
ma leggere questo libro è stato come visitare le macerie lasciate da una qualche tragedia del passato: infinitamente triste e infinitamente ricco di significati...indimenticabile.
PS. a chi apprezza gli anime giapponesi, consiglio di guardare la serie Haibane Renmei che riprende in maniera originale liberamente atmosfere e temi da questo meraviglioso romanzo.
<img src="https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/w780/sC7DcOOWmQ2WNEVDjLY0t8rEwqS.jpg" width="640"