The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

I mentioned in Weekly Notes 51/2024 that 2024 wasn’t a good year for reading. I found out in 2011 that reading Murakami helped me get back into the habit, and I often use it as a trick. I chose this book with that aim.

This book is interesting because it is a new version of his first story, which was a novella (a long short story, as Murakami calls it).

I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator’s voice was very calming for me.

I loved the worlds Murakami creates in this book – a town surrounded by tall walls and a town surrounded by mountains. There are some music mentions, but not as many as in his other books. The worlds also felt like they were connected to each other.

I didn’t enjoy the first part of the book because I was trying to figure out the metaphors, and my mind was full of questions. Once I stopped doing that, I enjoyed listening to the book. I made a few notes during that time that I should tear out and burn.