Rating: 
Summary: Murakami at his best
Review: This novel has been classified light sci-fi for advance science themes and creepy underground creatures, by the Buddman921 book association. May not be suitable for readers unwilling to contemplate the ending of the book for days afterwards. This book exist in two dimensions. The first is the reality of Japan in the 80's, only with an information war going on. The second is happening inside of "the end of the world," which is more of a subconsious. The two effect each other, but in what way? That is what will leave you thinking for days on in. I finished and thought that was simple. An hour later, I am questioning everything I thought. Very good book. Highly recommended to those who don't mind thinking while they read.
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Summary: Jeni's REVIEW
Review: Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a book that definitely takes getting used to. It is the first work I have read by Murakami, and I honestly was not looking forward to knowing more about the story as I concluded chapter one. But as soon as I reached the second chapter and recognized an emerging pattern, I was hooked. Murakami intricately weaves two separate stories together in alternating chapters, and quickly entrapping the reader in two complicated maze- like stories that run parallel to eachother but never seem to intersect. What interested me most was the motion of Murakami's story, from the fast paced story deep underground in Japan, to the monotonous, dreamlike story of the "End of the World" in the main character's mind. As I was racing through the book, dying to know the ending the stories completely reversed, the man in the underground world slowly waited to perish, it seemed as if his last day would never end, while the escape being planned from the "End of the World" seemed so dependent on perfect (and rushed) timing. When finishing the book, I let out a huge sigh of relief, satisfied at having solved this crazy puzzle which Murakami creates. I would definitely recommend it for almost anyone who likes adventure and playing along with make believe and all things unexpected.
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Summary: Humans Are Immortal in their Thought
Review: Haruki Murakami creates two equally wild worlds in which the antihero simultaneously exists. The character has one foot in his waking life, which anticipates The End of the World, his deeply subconscious dream world that is slowly rising to the surface of his mind. His dreams become reality and reality becomes his dreams after he gets involved unknowingly in a scientist's research project implanting a new subconscious into certain peoples' minds.
The anti-hero is a well-to-do field worker for the mysterious System, one of two battling sides in the Japanese info-war. He lives on a social island with only his knowledge of international culture and literature, beer and cooking to entertain him. Suddenly, the rug is taken from under his feet and he is plunging into the underground world of a mad scientist and his laboratory, System gangs and dangerous creatures called INKlings. The antihero's subconscious too enters into the gates of a permanent dream town, The End of the World, surrounded by impenetrable walls. He is put off at first by the calmness and strict dogma of the townspeople, as is the waking antihero confused by the strange occasions that he is stumbling into, but neither of them are significantly astonished and become complacent hostages to the many people that they collide with. Similarly, the reader is entrenched in two sets of unpalatable circumstances and yet continues on, waiting for the next strange arrest, without expecting a comprehensive explanation. The novel takes on the magical realism of dreams, and since we spend about a third of our life in this nonsensical world, we can easily follow along without a doubt in our minds that everything will figure itself out in its own way. The scientist's erudite reasoning for the whole situation and the facts he gives goes right over my head, but this dream logic that penetrates both alternate worlds justifies itself in any circumstance.
As the story continues, the logic of both worlds begins to blend more and more. His waking life gets stranger as he finds out more about the experiment that was done on his mind and went awry. The End of the World becomes clearer to the subconscious character as he and his trapped shadow try to make their escape, he investigates the land and learns about the characters there. This leads up to the moment the scientist describes when the antihero will completely subside into his dream world and the dreamer will cease to exist as the dream lives on forever; "Humans are immortal in their thought," he says. As the antihero and the scientist's granddaughter are trying to get back to the surface, they climb through a small INKling tunnel, which brings up the image of birth, like an initiation into the unreal. The baby doesn't like the experience of being born but it is necessary anyhow. Just as when the dream character admits he is attached to the town and considers staying there, it is all coming together, the dreamer will stay and exist alone without the dreamer.
Both minds begin preparing for their big switch. The waking man tries to fit in one last hot shower and a last visit with his love, the librarian. In The End of the World, the character has been planning his escape with his loyal shadow shares his last dinner with the innkeeper and help his love, also a librarian, find her mother. Since he decides to stay in The End of the World, the switch does occur. This brings up another form of preparation. Things that exist in the End of the World realize themselves in his waking life. The water pool in the forest of The End of the World that is calm on the surface but is whirling just below is exactly like the underground water that is rising to the two characters as they hurriedly climb a set of stairs. In both existences, he manages to fall in love with a librarian.
I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS IN THE VERY END, THANK YOU FOR READING THIS HERE BOOK REVIEW.
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Summary: A book to make you consider what is truly important in life.
Review: Although I was put off at first with the book when it kept switching between the real world and the subconscious world, the end of the book put everything together and it was a great book worth your while to read. Murakami does a great job of creating a futuristic world which allows him to more accurately portray human interests and personalities. It is difficult to say, but by creating his futuristic world, the reader becomes much more willing to simply accept things as they are rather than try to figure out how this is all possible. By just accepting the world as it is, the reader is then much more able to grasp the emotional change that is occuring within the main character. At the beginning of the novel the character enjoys things like reading, cooking, shopping, and drinking beer. But by the end of hte novel, the main character sees the world through a completley new perspective and he begins to enjoy everything that the world has to offer. Everywhere from simply viewing a couple in a Skyline, the kitchen of a small house, or a nearly-empty park in the middle of the day. This book makes you appreciate everything a little more.
Life is not meant to be understood, although a level of understanding is enjoyable, but rather to find out what this world has to offer to make you want to enjoy living. The main character knows that the world will not care when he disappears, but he still appreciates the world more. Even if you are not going to achieve the greatest of things in the world, this books makes you realize that no matter the circumstance, even if you are about to disappear, life is still worth living and enjoyment can be found in anything.
I really enjoyed this book mostly because of the way it got me thinking. I put a lot of faith in the author and by the end of the book I was not disappointed at all. I'm sure this book will be enjoyable to any reader.
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Summary: Anything by Murakami is agreat 1st time read
Review: When model/actress James King was featured in the New York Times fashion section, about 8 years ago, she was reading this. Models always read great books. Any of Murakami's fiction is a light read. He does introduce characters and then makes them disappear without a trace creating confusion, but his imagery is breathtaking in the end pulling it all together.
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Summary: One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read
Review: I am a voracious reader, focusing on the sciences, sci-fi, many French and British 19th century classics and various other areas as they strike my fancy. Well, this book did just that. I don't want to scare you away if you're not a sci-fi fan because I think many different kinds of readers like this for many different reasons. My husband read it first and recommended it to me because of the sci-fi element in it. I normally shy away from modern fiction because it's simply not my preference but I made an exception that I have not regretted in the least. The translator, Alfred Birnbaum, is brilliant. The language of the book is extremely smooth, beautifully articulate and very rich. The story is ingenious, alternating between a modern world and fantasy setting with a far reaching symbolic twist. His ideas of memory and the mind are incredibly thought provoking. I was so enthralled at one point in the book that I actually read a whole chapter sitting at stop lights and in rush hour traffic which I have never done before with any other book. For some serious linguistic reading pleasure I would highly recommend this book.
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Summary: A Breath of Fresh Air for Contemporary Literature!
Review: This book was given to me as a Christmas gift this year. I would be lying if I said I was turned on by the novel's description on the back cover. It just sounded to "far off" for my tastes. But because it was a present, I reluctantly began reading it. And now I am more that glad I did so! The book grabbed me within the first page and held on all the way to books amazing end. "Hard-Boiled Wonderland" is a tough novel to explain to someone who knows litte or nothing about it. At best, my description would be something like one part "Alexander Dumas Action-Adventure" one part "Raymond Chandler Detective Mystery", And one part "Douglas Adams Bizzare Hillarity". Throw all that into a martini shaker and pour, over ice, into modern day Japan. The biggest reservation I had before beging the novel was the total outlandishness of the entire premise. Way too bizzare, I thought. But when reading it, every single character or event that I encountered came off as completely realistic and believable. Murakami has a wonderful gift for presenting the unrealistic and impossible in very realistic and possible ways. Regaurdless of how odd something may seem in his books, you never question the validity of it. A great deal of this comes from the fact that his main characters know just about as much about what's going on as the reader does, so the reader never feels like something importaint is being kept from him and every bit of weirdness is taken with a grain of salt. Thankfully, all is explained in the end. And it all makes total sense. Since finishing "Hard-Boiled Wonderland" in December, I have already read two more of his novels and am working on reading a third. Murakami's books are a breath of fresh air for contemporary literature. They are unlike anything being written today. But If I had to compare them to something current, I'd say he's pretty close to being a Japaneese Thomas Pynchon. But like I said, He's so utterly origional, that comparisons just can't do his wonderful books justice.
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Summary: Murakami's Best
Review: Of all of Murakami's novels I've read, this one is the best -- perhaps comparable with Norwegian Wood. All the classic Murakami is here, but the story has not just form but substance ... the mystery and wit of Murakami's work together with a wonderful, deep story ...
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Summary: Mystic and meaningful.
Review: This is the third book that I read by Murakami after being greatly impressed by "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" (WBC) and "Norwegian Wood". While there is some justification in describing this work as a precursor to the Chronicle, both the subject matter and the narrative structure allow this book to inhabit of universe of its own. In his clear, precise and "sensuous" prose Murakami provides us with what could be called the literary equivalent of a two-part invention: two stories alternate between chapters to come to a final merge. The main subject matter, conscious vs. subconscious, left part vs. right part of the brain, individual vs. society/culture, is flawlessly integrated within this narrative structure. Even more so than WBC "Wonderland and World" (WW) provides the reader with a kind of puzzle that either solves itself after finishing the book or remains a collection of shapely and interesting pieces. One of the sources of frustration expressed by fellow reviewers has been the cyberpunk part of this novel. To a Neal Stephenson fan like myself the cyberpunk nature of parts of WW is mostly satiric. These parts do provide a narrative justification of the plotline, yet more importantly demonstrate that life does not necessarily derive meaning from a process involving questions and answers. In despite of its challenging structure and complex subject matter WW is another essential Murakami novel. While ideas abound, Murakami also provides a kaleidoscope of scenery and atmospheres and tops it off with another lyrical ending.
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Summary: Even the End of the World is subjective....
Review: The more Murakami I read, the more impressed I am. Why is this author not recognized more often by the literary establishment? He has all the qualities of great Literature: Great characters, complex plots, amazing structure, and, above all originality. His books are just as good, if not better than, anything the American Literary community has put out in recent years. Placing him alongside Pynchon and Delillo, argubably the two most important American authors of the last 25 years, is not an unfounded goal. As for Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World? It delivers in spades of course. It is far and away the most confusing of any of the five Murakami's I've read. This is because, unlike it Wind up Bird or the "I" books, the oddities of his world are not accepted without question. The other books have a base myth quality to them. There is no sense trying to explain why Toru sits at the bottom of a well or why "I" talks to a Sheep Man, it's just something you need to accept. In HBWATEOTW though, there is a conscious effort to explain the reasons for what is happening, hence the comparissons to the cyber punk genere (horrible comparissons that ignore a large section of the work). But this isn't to say that Murakami abandons the myth of his previous works. It's still there, there is just reasoning behind it. Themeatically, I find HBWLATEOTW to be his most powerful. It is a resounding acceptance of subjectivism and the power of a single human mind to shape reality and existance. Any intelligent reader out there owes it to him or herself to read Murakami. It is an experience found in no other author.
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