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• NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GlOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the author of Norwegian Wood and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World comes a love story, a quest, an ode to books and to the libraries that house them, and a parable for our peculiar times.
"Haruki Murakami invented 21st-century fiction." —The New York Times • "More than any author since Kafka, Murakami appreciates the genuine strangeness of our real world." —San Francisco Chronicle • "Murakami is masterful." —Los Angeles Times
We begin with a nameless young couple: a boy and a girl, teenagers in love. One day, she disappears . . . and her absence haunts him for the rest of his life.
Thus begins a search for this lost love that takes the man into middle age and on a journey between the real world and an other world – a mysterious, perhaps imaginary, walled town where unicorns roam, where a Gatekeeper determines who can enter and who must remain behind, and where shadows become untethered from their selves. Listening to his own dreams and premonitions, the man leaves his life in Tokyo behind and ventures to a small mountain town, where he becomes the head librarian, only to learn the mysterious circumstances surrounding the gentleman who had the job before him. As the seasons pass and the man grows more uncertain about the porous boundaries between these two worlds, he meets a strange young boy who helps him to see what he’s been missing all along.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls is a singular and towering achievement by one of modern literature’s most important writers.
"Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about?” —Haruki Murakami, from the afterword
"Haruki Murakami invented 21st-century fiction." —The New York Times • "More than any author since Kafka, Murakami appreciates the genuine strangeness of our real world." —San Francisco Chronicle • "Murakami is masterful." —Los Angeles Times
We begin with a nameless young couple: a boy and a girl, teenagers in love. One day, she disappears . . . and her absence haunts him for the rest of his life.
Thus begins a search for this lost love that takes the man into middle age and on a journey between the real world and an other world – a mysterious, perhaps imaginary, walled town where unicorns roam, where a Gatekeeper determines who can enter and who must remain behind, and where shadows become untethered from their selves. Listening to his own dreams and premonitions, the man leaves his life in Tokyo behind and ventures to a small mountain town, where he becomes the head librarian, only to learn the mysterious circumstances surrounding the gentleman who had the job before him. As the seasons pass and the man grows more uncertain about the porous boundaries between these two worlds, he meets a strange young boy who helps him to see what he’s been missing all along.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls is a singular and towering achievement by one of modern literature’s most important writers.
"Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about?” —Haruki Murakami, from the afterword
140 Reviews
3.5
Morgan Oddie
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Ana
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“Thoroughly enjoyed the thoughts and reflections that this book presents and meanders through about reality and the spiritual realm.
I really appreciate Murakami’s ability to make me appreciate the complexities of life and recognise how we all fumble through our world, being impacted by people as we go along, all through beautiful and immersive words.”
Emma Moxham
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“Magical realism. How wild. I found myself frustrated and captivated all throughout.
I am always excited to dig into a book club pick as the book’s are often quite different than what I would pick of my own accord.
And so for that reason, The City and Its Uncertain Walls is unlike any book I have read before.
I have an innate desire to understand and figure out all aspects of something (especially books) as quickly as possible so that I can learn, analyse, and relate. This is particularly why I like mystery, psychological, thriller type books…
But in The City and Its Uncertain Walls, the more I read, the more I reckon the whole point is to make the reader stop and just jump on the chaotic, magical, immersive ride. To make the reader realise that it’s not possible to have all the answers or know everything and that in itself is good and okay.
Once I accepted that this was the purpose, I enjoyed journeying through the real and unreal worlds, building images in my mind, and considering two of the deepest longings of life - to find purpose and love.
Definitely not a quick or easy read, but a worthwhile one.”Vanessa Porter
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“Hard boiled wonderland was the first and one of my favourite Murakami books I read and I completely understand Murakami's intrigue in this world he created and why he was compelled to return and rework it nearly 40 years later.
Compared to other Murakami books, I was drawn in by the characters as well as the world. The supporting cast all had specific quirks and distinct personalities, while the unnamed MC (as usual) was more like a passenger to the situation, yet he still had clear motivation and desires that drove the story forward (in contrast to many Murakami books).
The unnamed city was beautiful and tangible and wistful and tragic. If you read HBW, I'd say much of the mystery of how the town works is lost but the story of how these characters came to be there is completely different. I loved returning to the city/end of the world and I feel like I could read about this town many more times and still feel transported to this uniquely Murakami-esque world.”
About Haruki Murakami
HARUKI MURAKAMI was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and one of the most recent of his many international honors is the Cino Del Duca World Prize, whose previous recipients include Jorge Luis Borges, Ismail Kadare, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Joyce Carol Oates.
Other books by Haruki Murakami
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