Wind/Pinball: Two Novels (The Rat #1-2)

The promise of the writer he was to become is evident in these two novellas. It\’s fun to see that the elements of a Murakami story — loneliness, sudden death, mysterious women, etc. — were present from the beginning. These are his first works, and it shows There\’s an uneven quality to the stories. That said, Heyborne does a brilliant job and this was a very entertaining listen. If you\’ve read one of Murakami\’s more celebrated novels and weren\’t that impressed, I think you should probably pass on this. If you\’re a fan, though, it\’s a must listen.

My first exposure to Murakami was in my early college years. I checked out A Wild Sheep Chase (Boku #3) one summer from a military library and after I read it, but before I returned it, the library had mysteriously burned down. I\’m not sure if I still owe the library a late fee or not. I had no way to return the book, and after reading it, I didn\’t ever want to. I saved it from the fire. I saved it from oblivion. It was now mine. Both \’Hear the Wind Sing\’ and \’Pinball, 1973\’ are novellas best left to Murakami completists. There are better novels to start with and unless you are going to read more than ten Murakami novels, I wouldn\’t begin here. Start with \’Wild Sheep Chase\’ or \’Dance Dance Dance\’, or \’Norwegian Wood\’. \\ * / Hear the Wind Sing/Boku #1 \\ * / \”How can those who live in the light of day possibly comprehend the depth of night?\” Nietzche A nice first novel(la) with most all the known Murakami tropes already stirred in. There is music (pop, jazz, classical) with specific references to actual pressings. There are: cats, bars, whiskey, birds, alienation and needy women. Murakami ventures into existential philosophy and Western literature (both real and fake). It is all there. Things that would later pop up again and again in his later, stronger novels. It isn\’t a river that flows very fast. This isn\’t a page turner. It is Gyokuro tea-steeping slowly. It is watching the stray leaves spiral to the center in a cracked, stoneware cup. It is the light and shadows dancing on you, while you sit in the shade watching people walk in and out of view. It is relaxing, interesting, and soon all you have left is the tasseography of a cold cup. \\ * / Pinball, 1973/Boku #2 \\ * / So many dreams, so many disappointments, so many promises. And in the end, they all just vanish. Haruki Murakami, Pinball, 1973 Like Murakami\’s first novel \’Hear the Wind Sing\’ (Boku #1), \’Pinball, 1973\’ (Boku #2) contains many of those elements that would define Murakami\’s fiction in the future. In someways this novel is both a story of loneliness and a love story between the protagonist and a specific Pinball machine. \’Hear the Wind Sing\’ seems to show early signs of Norwegian Wood, but \’Pinball, 1973\’ seems to be an early protonovel that would develop into Murakami\’s strange, dream-like later novels. \\ * / \\ * / \\ * / If you check out Murakami and the bookstore or library burns down, watch out, you won\’t be able to rest until you\’ve stalked every novel and read every page.

I love Haruki Murakami\’s writing. It appears I like his later works better than his younger ones. These stories are OK, but at 70, they did not appeal to me. Youth\’s follies and interests are no longer what capture\’s my interests.

I\’m a bit perplexed why some people write off these freshman efforts as somehow lesser than the rest of Murakami\’s body of work. True, they\’re a little rough around the edges when compared to some of his later novels, but there are plenty of popular/successful authors who have never written anything near the caliber of Hear the Wind Sing or Pinball 1973. What\’s more, they aren\’t nearly as self-important as some of Murakami\’s later works, giving them a raw yet honest tone. Despite their being labeled as books one and two in the Rat series, I\’d sooner compare Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball 1973 to the author\’s short stories, rather than his full-length novels. In many ways, this makes Wind/Pinball more accessible than some of my favorites, namely Kafka on the Shore, The Windup Bird Chronicle, and 1Q84. To that effect, I\’d almost recommend Wind/Pinball as a starting point for anyone interested in his fiction. Based on how they react, I could easily steer them toward Norwegian Wood, Wild Sheep Chase, After Dark, or one of Murakami\’s short story collections. By the way, here\’s where I\’m coming from: I\’m a fan, but not a \”fan boy.\” I\’ve read and reread nearly everything Haruki Murakami has had translated into English. I love the man\’s work, but not without criticism. For instance, while Kafka on the Shore rates among my top ten favorite novels, I was positively stunned by how bad Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage was. So it\’s not like I think the author can do no wrong, I just happen to think these novellas are somewhat underrated.

And I am. So, I am going to say time well spent, but I can\’t say it was great. Overall experience for me was pretty good because Murakami\’s style speaks to me. I was captivated by 1Q84. I have to say, there were some moments in these books which made me think and stick with me. I may even listen to them again. However, when I compare to other works, I have to give this a lower rating.

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