Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami (1979/1980)

Largely plotless, the main character sits in a bar, drinks beer, and obsesses about a girl with 9 fingers.

Book Review:  Hear the Wind Sing was Haruki Murakami's first novel, which now comes in a re-titled bind-up with Pinball 1973, his second book. It was a quick (100 pages), enjoyable, and easy read, tho I think much of the enjoyment came in relating this to his later work. So many of the Murakami elements are here: loner (& oblivious) main character, unpredictable girlfriend, Western culture, wells, death, drinking, student riots, sex, quirkiness to be quirky. Even from this early date, he had established the themes for his future books. But it also reads so much like a first novel, like something a college student would write; the cliche first novel template in action.  It is fairly minimal, not a lot happens, mysteries are raised, not a lot is cleared up. Hear the Wind Sing is mainly sketches of a period in a life, not fully drawn, unformed but enjoyable.  Here are some points I noted: (1) the main character likes his friend's novel because there is no sex and no one dies -- hmm, two of Murakami's favorite themes are sex and death, (2) for long stretches this could be an American novel -- e.g., many American songs cited and not much Japanese "local color," (3) fans should enjoy reading the introduction on how Haruki Murakami got his style (he started writing the book in English) and became a writer, (4) in the intro he says this was not a good novel -- but I disagree it's simple and not perfectly formed, but there are many worse, (5) the translation seemed well done, as it flowed smoothly and there were only a few points where I had a "is that the right word?" moment. Hear the Wind Sing is sometimes also identified as the Rat #1, after a character in the book nicknamed the Rat. Should be enjoyable for all Murakami readers, but probably not of irresistible interest if not a fan. [3 Stars]

The main character obsesses about pinball, lives with twin sisters, and remembers his old girlfriend.

Haruki Murakami's second book, Pinball 1973, is a solid read, and it's fascinating to see his growth between this and Hear the Wind Sing, here venturing into true third person narration (there was some third person narration by the first person narrator in Hear the Wind Sing). As with Wind, this seems more like a sketch than a complete novel -- maybe an incomplete sentence compared to a complete sentence. There's no real beginning and ending to Pinball 1973, and not much growth between the first and last page. But it is certainly enjoyable to read and watch Murakami's style develop, with the unique touches that we know and love. Pinball 1973 is sometimes also referred to as the Rat #2, after a character from the first book who reappears here. Murakami is not yet Murakami in these first two books, but it's wonderful that these early books have finally been re-released. [3 Stars]