Clockwork Bird Chronicles Haruki Murakami
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Title: Chronicles of the Clockwork Bird
About The Clockwork Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
Japanese author Haruki Murakami is known for his original, deep writings that help readers look at life differently. One of the writer's most powerful novels is The Clockwork Bird Chronicles. This is not just an interesting book, but also a unique psychological experiment. The plot is truly original, and if this novel were written by another author, it might perhaps seem unreliable. However, reading this work, you will catch yourself believing every word.
The main character of the novel The Clockwork Bird Chronicles is a young man named Toru Okada. Finding himself in difficult circumstances, he tries to understand his life and find its hidden meaning. At the same time, the plot of the book is quite dynamic - something constantly happens to Tohru. He loses his cat and then his wife, constantly meets and communicates with new people, makes amazing discoveries. The novel "Chronicles of a Clockwork Bird" is incredibly eventful. And some of them look absolutely irrational. But that only makes it more interesting to read. It is written with great talent and impresses everyone who picks up the book.
No wonder Haruki Murakami is known for his extraordinary approach to literary creativity. Only his hero can search for the meaning of life at the bottom of an old dry well and, most interestingly, find it there! In the book you will meet many unique characters, each of which will share stories from his life. Learn more about the inner world and the special abilities of people. Delve deep into China's military history. The novel is incredibly multifaceted and is able to give the reader an incomparable pleasure.
The book "Chronicles of a Clockwork Bird" was published in 1995, and the author worked on it for three years. The novel consists of three parts: "The Thieving Magpie", "Prophetic Bird", and "Birdcatcher". It is very comprehensive and informative. No wonder this particular work of Haruki Murakami was awarded the Yomiuri Literary Prize. The work is really atypical and very bright. Here there is a social and emotional component, and a historical line, and even a little mysticism. Making such an original "cocktail" absolutely digestible is not an easy task. But the author did a great job with it! You can read this work more than once - you will again and again discover something new and interesting for yourself in it.
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This is the first book of Japanese literature in my life. And by the will of fate, I had to get acquainted with the culture of the land of the rising sun through Murakami. It's just a brain drain! You can't call it otherwise. You read and, together with the main character, gradually sink to the bottom of the well. The further you go, the more incomprehensible things are on the way, and this is very strange for me, since in our literature it is the other way around - by the end everything begins to clear up and fall into place. The author does not give specific answers to questions, but only hints, leaving the reader in a stupid situation. This is the secret of the human soul. No wonder we say: "Alien soul - darkness." I liked the process of reading. It was very exciting - in one book different human characters, destinies, stories are combined. I don't think it's possible to fully understand this novel. Probably, with each read time, the reader discovers something new in this book. Different people will understand this work in different ways, for sure, there will be those who will not understand anything at all and will not find anything important for themselves. Still, this book is aimed at a thoughtful reader who has already managed to read a lot of philosophical books, and not at a lover of cheap women's novels. In any case, the "Chronicles" will leave a mark on the memory of any reader, good or bad - it does not matter, but it is impossible to forget that you once read this book.
The book did not impress me. The protagonist personifies the midlife crisis, which I will probably understand in twenty years, and maybe completely bypass. There are three main points in this book: the real world, the unreal world, and military inserts. All these plot components are original, in no way connected with each other and can exist separately. Reality is the life of the protagonist, who is unemployed, loses his wife, cooks pasta for breakfast, remembers his past life, and ends up with his wife. This is my favorite part of the whole book, after all, I am a down to earth person, and a real description of reality is closer to me. I was impressed by a wandering musician with amazing tricks, pretty May, who skillfully sells wigs, the protagonist's thoughts about his wife, about their acquaintance, about their first kiss ... In unreality, we see a crowd of absurd psychics, constantly experience orgasms and sleep in a well. I don’t even want to write about the military unit, I read it with great difficulty. There are scenes of violence from flaying living people to the destruction of a huge zoo. The first book is the clearest and easiest. Here the author introduces us to the characters, describes mostly reality. In the second book, surprising events take place, new acquaintances and new facets of the unreal world appear. And the third book, in my opinion, is not needed at all, because it contains the repetition of the same thing, endless tracing from the previous parts, the same type of speech of the characters, an abundance of everyday moments. The book has become a boring pastime for me. I regret giving her my time. As I wrote at the beginning, probably, the fact is that this is not my crisis, which is why I do not understand the main character. Or maybe the fact is that this is a Japanese work of art, and I know that Japan has a special culture and attitude, which is extremely difficult for us Russians to understand.
Why are Murakami's books so appealing? Where does such magic come from? The author writes about unthinkable, crazy events that could please only inadequate people. You read his books, immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Japan and believe everything that Murakami writes. Let's not forget that this is a translation. I'm afraid to think what effect the original of his creations has on the reader. In the center of the work is Toru Okada. This is a thirty-year-old man who quit his job, his wife left him and the cat disappeared somewhere in addition, maybe he left too. There were no children in their family, so the hero is unaware of parental feelings. And he has no money either. In short, a black streak in life. What are the ways out of this crisis situation? You can wash down your misfortune with alcohol, you can spend your nights in the arms of random women, or you can pull yourself together and find a new support in life. There are people who combine all of the above and live happily ever after. Our hero is an unusual person. Therefore, his way out of the crisis is not the same as that of the others. Toru chooses a dried-up neighbor's well as a support, or rather, its bottom. And you know, he will find what he is looking for. The reader will also find something important and necessary for himself. Intrigued? If you've read Joyce or other postmodern writers, you'll have no trouble understanding the plot of The Chronicle. The peculiarity of these books is that they cannot be retold, because they do not have a coherent storyline. An attempt to retell the plot will turn into complete nonsense and end in failure. And in the performance of Murakami, this nonsense turns into a real work of art. No wonder Haruki Murakami became a world famous writer!
I was very sorry that I had read it, it turned out that it was not my book at all, although one can understand those who admire. Most of all, I didn’t like cruelty and some kind of dirt (skinning alive, sitting in a well for self-knowledge), this is apparently typical of the Japanese, since all Japanese authors (4 or 5) that I read, with the exception of Mishima, evoke similar feelings . The only plus that I found for myself was that I learned something about the Japanese, about how different they are from us. The book is quite consistent with the Japanese, exiling old people to die on the islands, ripping open their stomachs in public, not sewing up operated prisoners for scientific purposes. It seems that this is all understandable from the point of view of their history and geographical location, but as a person of a different culture, it is not at all clear.
Haruki Murakami
Clockwork Bird Chronicles
© I. Logachev, S. Logachev, translation into Russian, 2015
© Edition in Russian. Eksmo Publishing LLC, 2015
* * *Book One
magpie thief
June-July 1984
1 Clockwork Bird Tuesday
Six fingers and four breasts
I was cooking spaghetti in the kitchen when the phone rang, whistling the radio overture from Rossini's The Thieving Magpie. Perfect music for spaghetti.
I thought about sending a call to hell: the spaghetti was almost cooked, and Claudio Abbado was leading the London Symphony Orchestra to a musical climax. However, I had to give up: one of my friends could offer a job. I lowered the fire on the stove, went into the living room and picked up the phone.
Give me ten minutes, - said the tube in a woman's voice.
Sorry? Who do you need? I politely inquired.
You, of course. Give me ten minutes and we can understand each other. - The voice sounded low, soft - and at the same time dull.
Understand each other?
I mean feelings.
I looked into the kitchen. Spaghetti boiled with might and main - steam poured from the pan. Abbado continued to command the Thieving Magpie.
Excuse me, but I'm just making spaghetti. Could you call back later?
Spaghetti?! the woman said in amazement. - Are you cooking spaghetti at half past ten in the morning?
Well, it doesn't concern you. - I got a little angry and switched to "you". - When I want - then I have breakfast.
Perhaps right. Okay, I'll call you, she said. It sounded dull and dry. It's amazing how a slight change of mood affects the shades of a human voice.
Wait a minute, - I said, not letting her hang up. - If you are selling something, then calling here is useless. I'm sitting without work, and I'm not up to shopping.
Don't worry. I know.
You know? What do you know?
What are you without a job. I know it. Run quickly, finish cooking your precious spaghetti.
Listen! Do you even ... - The connection broke off in mid-sentence - somehow too abruptly.
I stared dumbfounded at the pipe clutched in my hand until I remembered the spaghetti. Returning to the kitchen, he turned off the gas and dumped the contents of the pot into a colander. Because of this call, spaghetti boiled a little, but this is not fatal. I began to eat and think.
Understand each other? - I repeated, eating spaghetti. Understand each other's feelings in ten minutes? What is it about? Maybe someone just decided to joke? Or some new sales agent trick? In any case, it's not for me.
Back in the living room, I sat on the couch with a library book, glancing at my phone from time to time. What were we supposed to understand about each other in ten minutes? What can two people actually learn about each other in ten minutes? To think, the woman seemed to be sure as hell about those ten minutes, because that was the first thing that came out of her mouth. As if nine minutes is too little, and eleven is already too much. What precision! It looks like spaghetti.
I got tired of reading, and I decided to iron the shirts. I always do this when my head is messy. Old habit. I strictly divide this operation into twelve stages - I start from the inside of the collar (No. 1) and end with the cuff on the left sleeve (No. 12). The order is always the same, and after ironing I count the operations. Otherwise, there will be no point.
After ironing three pieces, I checked for any wrinkles and hung up the shirts. As soon as I turned off the iron and put it in the closet along with the ironing board, my head cleared up.
I had just entered the kitchen for a drink of water when the phone rang again. After some hesitation, I finally decided to pick up the phone. If it's the same woman, I'll say I'm petting, and that's the end of it.
But it was Kumiko. The clock showed half past eleven.
How are you? she asked.
Wonderful.
What are you doing?
Finished ironing.
Not really. Just ironed a few shirts. I sat down on a chair and switched the phone to my other hand. - Why are you calling?
Can you write poetry?
Poetry? - I was surprised and thought: poetry? What other verses?
I have a friend in one magazine ... This is a magazine for girls. They need a person - to select and edit poems that are sent to the editorial office of the reader. He also has to write a short poem for the title every month. They pay good money for this crap. And, of course, not busy all day. They can throw something else in for editing if ...
Nonsense? I interrupted her. - Wait a minute. I need something legal. What makes you think that I can edit poetry?
I thought you wrote something when you were in school.
He wrote, of course. To the wall newspaper - which class won in football or how a physicist fell down the stairs and ended up in the hospital. In general, any garbage. But not poetry. I can't write poetry.
But I'm not talking about real poetry. Some nonsense for schoolgirls. No one demands that they enter literature. You can compose them with your eyes closed. It's clear?
Listen! I just can't write poetry, neither with my eyes open nor with my eyes closed. I've never done it and don't intend to," I snapped.
Okay, the wife sighed. - But it's hard to find a job in the legal field.
I know. That's why I spread my tentacles in all directions. Someone should answer soon. If it doesn't work, I'll think again.
Well as you know. By the way, what day is it today?
I thought.
Tuesday?
Then maybe you can go to the bank and pay for gas and telephone?
I'm going. You still have to go. I was going to buy something for dinner.
What do you want to cook?
Do not know yet. I'll think of something in the store.
Think carefully, she said seriously. - Don't be in such a hurry to get to work.
I did not expect such words.
Why? - What kind of day is today? All the women in the world have taken to surprise me on the phone? - Unemployment insurance will run out sooner or later. I can't sit idle all my life.
That's right, but my salary was raised, plus various part-time jobs, savings ... We'll live quite well if we don't squander. Are you tired of sitting at home and doing housework? Do not you like it?
I don't know, I answered honestly. I didn't really know.
Then sit down and think carefully,” said the wife. By the way, is the cat back?
Cat. I completely forgot about the cat.
No. Bye.
Maybe you can eat? He's been gone for a week now.
I mumbled noncommittally and switched the phone back to my other hand.
Almost certainly hanging around the empty house at the end of the path. Where the bird stands in the yard. I saw him there several times.
On the track? When did you go there? You didn't say before...
Oh oh! Gotta run. A lot of work. Don't forget the cat.
There were short beeps. I looked down at the phone again and put it on the hook.
I wonder why Kumiko was taken there? Our house was separated from the path by a wall of concrete blocks. There was no point in climbing through it.
I went to the kitchen for water, went out to the veranda to see if there was food left in the cat's bowl. A bunch of sardines lay untouched from the previous evening. The cat didn't come. I stood on the veranda and looked out over our little garden in the early summer light. Kindergarten is not one of those that soothe the soul. The sun only stayed there for a short time, so the ground was always black and damp. Of the plants in the corner, there were only two or three bushes of faded hydrangeas, and I do not really like these flowers. There were several trees sticking out in the neighborhood, and from there came the mechanical cry of a bird, reminiscent of the grinding of a winding spring. God knows what kind of bird it was and what it looked like, but Kumiko called it the Clockwork Bird. Every day Clockwork Bird flew here and wound up the spring of our quiet little world.
I had to go look for the cat. I have always loved these animals - and our cat too. But cats live their own, feline life and, moreover, are very intelligent. If the cat is missing, then he decided to visit somewhere. He gets tired, wants to eat and returns home. Still, you have to go look for him so that Kumiko is satisfied. There's nothing else to do anyway.
In early April, I left the law firm, where I worked for quite some time. For no particular reason - just picked up and left. Needless to say, I didn't like the job. So, nothing special, but they paid well, and the staff is normal.
In truth, I played the role of a professional errand boy in the office. It turned out great, I think. I must say, I have a real talent for practical duties. I grasp everything on the fly, act energetically, never complain. Besides, I am a realist. That's why, when I announced that I wanted to leave, the senior associate (it was a Father and Son law firm, and he ran it) even offered me a small raise in salary.
Top LiveLib Reviews:
Arlett. Rated 10 out of 10
When I cook pasta, I always remember Murakami. When the phone rang, I was cooking spaghetti in the kitchen, whistling the overture from Rossini's The Thieving Magpie, which was being broadcast on the radio. Perfect music for spaghetti. The first time I read these lines was 10 years ago. I completely forgot the plot, but I remember spaghetti. Happens. What is the magic in his books? He tells some absolutely crazy stories, but...
Tarakosha. Rated 10 out of 10
Understand each other? I repeated as I ate my spaghetti. Understand each other's feelings in ten minutes? What is it about? Maybe someone just decided to joke? From her husband (Toru Okada, 30 years old, Japanese unemployed - temporarily) his wife left (Kumiko, about the same age, working in a prestigious editorial office). The wife left her husband. And before that, their cat disappeared (Noboru Wataya, the end of the tail is slightly bent up, to confuse the n...
zavlit. Rated 10 out of 10
What does Murakami mean to me personally? Murakami is jazz, it is the sounds and smells of some other world, it is youth, it is mystery, it is erotica. Murakami is 10 years ago. I had just graduated from the institute and every week I ran to a friend’s bookstore, picked up armfuls of books and read avidly - for the soul, and not according to the program. That's when Murakami came along. I read and admired and yelled about it at the...
Reviews of the book "Chronicles of the Clockwork Bird"
mmm ...... I started reading his books from the Norwegian Forest - and I think I did the right thing ... as one reader noted earlier - this was the most correct .... after that book, I just started reading all the books, his, they’ll screw up .... but it’s precisely the chronicles that “went hard” ...... no matter how they write, but reading this book quickly is not right .... there are too many points that you should pay attention to, therefore, with a quick reading - you will probably miss it .... I read it slowly, but (!) I am sure that I missed a lot .... but there is no doubt that the book is addictive!
and you yourself will notice all his books in this style, so this one did not differ much in this regard.
about the fact that the book leaves an incomprehensible feeling after reading \ - it's true;))
and this wave will tell you sooooo addictive;)
heh ...... when reading the book, I even specially set the music of the artist "Takahiro_Kido_2008_-_Fleursy_music"
atk called ego album .... mmm .... the music itself is mystical, so the effect exceeded all my expectations;)
Haruki-sama is really good. The completely everyday life of an inhabitant in his novels turns into a hundred mystical-adventure relationships, unraveling which, the reader will be surprised to find that all this time he has been looking into his own pupils.
Murakami's works are my favorite! They are overflowing with tenderness; very sensual, exciting and atmospheric. This book is no exception, but rather the opposite. It has everything: sadness and humor and a mystery that will not let you go until the very end, and much more that will not leave you indifferent while reading and will leave many more thoughts and feelings when the last page is read!
Not enough adventure, said the functional naval combat players in the back rows. All talk, talk...
Wow - talk, - I said, climbing down from the stand. I remembered how they cut down my dark-faced interlocutor, and I felt
not good. (C) Monday starts on Saturday
I think this book would make a good movie .. especially if it was directed by David Lynch;) but in the format of a book, in my opinion, it is somewhat delayed. In terms of atmosphere, one of the most gloomy and depressing works of M., in my opinion, a lot of bloody details and hopelessness .. whiskey, beer, classical music, a detailed description of the process of cooking and eating food, other physiological procedures, as usual;)
in the book, I liked the stories of Lieutenant Mamiya most of all - I read it avidly, in general, everything related to the 2nd World War in this book, Murakami wrote and described it for 5+, but everything else, how to say it, in general, I already read so much - since I didn’t want to stop reading halfway through the book, I liked some conclusions, for example, it’s very well said about death: “no matter how death is an incentive to progress” (I’m not quoting verbatim) !!! in general, as for me a book for an amateur, I did not turn out to be such.
The literary work of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami "Chronicles of the Clockwork Bird" was written in 1991-1995. This book is about many things. The main character of this story is a man who is looking for the meaning of life. He is with himself. Alone.
The Japanese edition (original) was published in three sections. "Chronicles of the clockwork bird" is three full-fledged "books" - three volumes or parts. They are called "Bird Catcher", "Prophetic Bird" and "Thieving Magpie".
In the life of this legendary Japanese, the Clockwork Bird Chronicles occupy a very important place. For this book, the writer at one time even received the honorary literary prize “Emiuri”. One of the judges in charge of this literary award is the legendary humanist critic and 1994 Nobel laureate in literature, Kenzaburo Oe. The person is very insightful and tough. Kenzaburo Oe was one of the people who insisted that the Clockwork Bird Chronicle should receive the elite Yemiuri award.
The Russian translation of Haruki Murakami's book was carried out by Sergey and Ivan Logachev. At first, the novel was published in the New Youth edition - in No. 46 and No. 47. It was only in 2002 that The Clockwork Bird Chronicles appeared as a separate volume. Since then, the book has been constantly reprinted in large numbers.
The main character in this story is Toru Okada. He also acts as a narrator. This is a young man who lives in the suburbs. According to Haruki Murakami, this is the embodiment of real passivity. The guy is incredibly apathetic personality. He does not follow his own desires, Toru Okada is constantly pushed around and forced to "dance" to someone else's tune. At the time of the story, he is unemployed. On the first pages of the book, it is said that Toru Okada left the law firm, where he worked as an ordinary clerk. After leaving office, he lives on the money that his wife Kumiko earns - she is a journalist in a publication dedicated to healthy eating. He also has some savings from his parents.
What can you learn from reading a book? Gradually measured life comes to naught. Outlandish things begin to happen to Toru Okada. For example, when a spouse is at work, a woman now constantly calls him - a stranger provokes a man to have sex with her on the phone. Then Toru Okada suddenly lost his cat, but he met a sixteen-year-old beauty. Then two extras begin to look for a cat, but after a while the man's wife, Kumiko, disappears. She goes to her lover because of sex.
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