Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World-Haruki Murakami

Apr 01, 2008 18:54

The narrator is a calcutec, a living encryption expert. He's divorced, works hard, and dreams of retiring and learning to play cello or Greek. He takes a normal job, and suddenly discovers a new world under his feet. There's a second, parallel storyline. It takes place in the Town, which is located at the End of the World. Here, the narrator is a new resident, stripped of his Shadow upon entering, and given the job of Dreamreader, spending each night in the Library reading Old Dreams.


And it's brilliant. Murakami does an amazing exploration of the mind, of what composes our consciousness, of immortality, and gives you two adventures to boot, as he simultaneously tries to escape INKlings, semiotecs, the System, and to figure out what the Beasts do, why the Gatekeeper won't let him see his Shadow, and why the Librarian's mother is in the Forest. It's too hard to describe without giving away too much, but it was seriously one of the best books I've read in ages, and I think it's far superior to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which I did rather enjoy as well.

I can't recommend it enough.

fiction

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