Most (if not all) novels by Haruki Murakami seem to take a while to digest properly. If anything, that seems to be the author’s goal in creating these really bizarre stories. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is certainly no exception to this, but it was so masterfully crafted that you could almost believe that it was a true story.

I think he achieves this in a few ways. First is the inclusion of seemingly mundane details of the protagonist’s life. There are scenes scattered throughout the novel in which Toru Okada is simply boiling pasta in a pot of water, or making a simple sandwich, or preparing a cup of coffee. There are also a few mentions of going for a swim in the local pool, doing the ironing, and listening to the radio – unremarkable things that you or I could do, and wouldn’t think to tell anyone, let alone write down for posterity.

I have seen a few online reviews by random people that say these details are boring and why do we need to know about these tiny details of his life? But I actually think these scenes add a certain charm to the novel.

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