Kafka Tamura, a fifteen-year-old, makes a life-altering decision to escape his home, haunted by a troubling prophecy from his father.
Nakata, an elderly man with a unique affliction from his childhood that left him illiterate, leads a simple life-tracking lost cats. But his peaceful routine is disrupted by unforeseen events.
As their individual journeys unfold, a series of peculiar and mystical incidents occur: cats communicate with humans, fish fall from the sky, and a mysterious pimp employs a girl well-versed in philosophical theories. Meanwhile, a forest harbors soldiers seemingly untouched by the passage of time since World War II. Amidst this enigmatic backdrop, a brutal murder takes place, with the victim’s identity and the identity of the killer shrouded in mystery—a puzzle among many that converge to create an exquisite and dreamlike masterpiece.
Critics have lauded the novel’s sense of wonder and magical elements, describing it as hypnotic and spellbinding. The story weaves a cool, fluid, and captivating narrative that leaves readers completely enthralled.
Haruki Murakami, the esteemed author, penned this novel in 1978 when he was twenty-nine years old while running a jazz bar in Tokyo. A sudden impulse during a baseball game sparked his writing, resulting in his debut novel, “Hear the Wind Sing.” After winning a new writers’ award, Murakami continued to produce more novels, including “A Wild Sheep Chase” and “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World.” However, it was “Norwegian Wood,” published in 1987, that propelled him to literary fame, making him a celebrated and revered literary phenomenon.
