Haruki Murakami

The contemporary and the mythic collide in this hard-boiled tale of computers and conspiracy theories, unicorns and ancient lands.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

A narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim. Science fiction, detective story and post-modern manifesto all rolled into one rip-roaring novel, Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the tour de force that expanded Haruki Murakami's international following. Tracking one man's descent into the Kafkaesque underworld of contemporary Tokyo, Murakami unites East and West, tragedy and farce, compassion and detachment, slang and philosophy.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

altlovesbooks

I liked this little story a lot, if not as much as Kafka by the Shore or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Murakami takes two entirely separate but parallel worlds and weaves two entirely different stories that somehow make up two halves of a whole rather nicely. Murakami has a neat way of describing how someone who's seemingly well-adjusted and stable on the surface can be hiding something fractured underneath. I won't go into the plot or provide any sort of meaningful explanation about what I think everything meant, but I will say that I greatly enjoyed the last quarter of the book especially.

Always carry paperclips.

Hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is Haruki Murakami’s deep dive into the very nature of consciousness. Across two parallel narratives, Murakami draws readers into a mind-bending universe in which Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is a novel that is at once hilariously funny and a deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind.

Lee Schneider

last 30% of the book are gripping and very intense, the first 70% has some flashes here and there but i found myself skipping lines of pages of extra descriptive scenes, ending is also crazy!

Kristof Revilak

At this point I'm just enamored with the way Murakami writes, it's no surprise I rate all his books 5 stars. He just manages to bring such a simple view of life while enveloping me in the nonsensical, whimsical, strange world he writes about

Emma Lechner

In this hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive novel, Japan’s most popular (and controversial) fiction writer hurtles into the consciousness of the West. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World draws readers into a narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. What emerges is simultaneously cooler than zero and unaffectedly affecting, a hilariously funny and deeply serious meditation on the nature and uses of the mind. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Frederik De Bosschere

Whereas the author's later novels take some time to meander into the fantastical, this early work gets its weird on from the get-go. But no worries: there's plenty of descriptions of meals, drinks, songs and female body shapes to make you feel right at home. It's everything you want from a Murakami novel.

A very enigmatic and  relentlessly imaginative book which blends elements of surrealism, science fiction and mystery. I throughly enjoyed the alternating between the eerily disquieting changeless nature of the town and the harsh reality of the modern world. A real pageturner!

Jordan Sun

A very enigmatic and  relentlessly imaginative book which blends elements of surrealism, science fiction and mystery. I throughly enjoyed the alternating between the eerily disquieting changeless nature of the town and the harsh reality of the modern world. A real pageturner!



Sanat Gersappa

Emily Morgan

“I was myself, waiting on the shore for me to return.”

Richie B

I'm not going to lie this was a hard read for me. This was my first book by Haruki Marukami and I thought I could just jump right in any book but apparently I was wrong about that, and that's partly my fault. This book was just so confusing to me until the end but even at the end I never fully understood. I don't even think it's possible to give a summary on this book but to give you an idea it follows two plotlines: one based in reality-ish?? And one based in a more fantasy type world and they really don't come together until around a quarter through the book. 
The plot was interesting; I never got bored reading it but most of my time spent reading I was just confused and that's probably more telling of me as a person than the book but it's my personal opinion haha. I did enjoy the ending when it mostly tied everything together and for that I'll give it 2.5/5 !:) 
if you already like Murakami and are familiar with him you would probably enjoy this more than I have so don't let my review turn you away from it!

Chasity Mayo

Murakami is a genius. He awakens the imagination in such a spectacular way. The whole time I read this, I felt like I was watching a movie. He also has such an interesting grasp of consciousness and develops his story lines so well. I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone!

Lori Handelman

I really like some Murakami (especially 1Q84 and Kafka on the Shore, and his short story The Seventh Man), but this one just sucked away my will to read. I just kept reading on it, and reading on it, without much enthusiasm, and whoa, I'm still only at 54% finished? Finally I realized I just didn't care. I don't even care enough to see how it turns out. I'm almost 60, life is too short to read books that suck away your will to read.

Mary Baldwin

This is my second Murakami, picked this up as soon as I finished 'Kafka on The Shore' and whilst I didn't love this book in quite the same way as the first, it was not the least bit disappointing. If someone asked me what the book is about, I really don't know what I'd say. I'm sure there's a love/hate theme when people read Murakami, because what I find magical and philosophical and enchanting, others would possibly find pointless and confusing. This book is abstract, the plot is far from conventional but does a great job of sucking you in. I loved it.

Jason Porterfield

Three stars because even Murakami works I don't enjoy very much - of which this novel is a fine example - are better than most books.

Nat Welch

I have no idea how to describe this book. It's all over the place, and I don't think I truly understood what was going on till around 80% of the way through, but it is quite interesting. The book provides a lot of thoughts on the subconscious, reality, love, technology and how to live your life. It also has some interesting opinions on very specific books and albums.

I'd recommend it to anyone who likes modern William Gibson.

Sabrina D. 

Spent a month crawling through this book with many nights ended with pools of drool covering the pages. I am not a fan of Murakami, although you couldn't tell that by how many of his books I have read. His women characters would NEVER pass the Bechdel test, and it is quite annoying to read them. Although, I did have a classmate say this is intentional to highlight the status of women....(I would've been fine without Murakami's commentary on the status of women).I was confused for the first half of his book, but, by the end, I appreciated his insight on the ~mind~ and the self and society. That is why this rating made it to three stars instead of two or one. I am quite tired of reading his female characters and his thoughts on them, though. But, alas, I must read two more books of his before the end of the semester.

Katherine

"But like a boat with a twisted rudder, I kept coming back to the same place. I wasn't anywhere. I was myself, waiting on the shore for me to return.”

Andrew Molina

What a fun and fascinating dual-thread story with two really compelling worlds that steadily build to meeting each other. I’d read it again just to fully understand the intricacies of the story structure. While I think Murakami has better books that I’d recommend reading first, this is a great book to read if you already know you like his storytelling.

Luke Jones

It took a little adjusting to the writing, but this is one of the most imaginative books I’ve ever read.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Reviews