Record of the Strange Bird's Journey

Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: This is the author's longest-running trilogy of novels. The wife of unemployed Kentaro Okada, Tomiko, disappears under the coercion of her older brother, Shingo Mawatari, a member of the Diet and a representative of dark forces. Many strange people appear around Kentaro: a witch, a "consciousness prostitute," a girl who accidentally caused her boyfriend's death in a car accident, a former soldier, and others. Many strange things also happen. Kentaro meditates in a deep well and, after emerging, challenges Shingo Mawatari with the help of the strange mother-child duo "Nutmeg" and "Cinnamon." He defeats Shingo Mawatari in a surreal world, leaving him injured, and Tomiko then kills him in reality. The book features a bizarre color scheme, grand scale, and an interplay of reality and fantasy, earning it the title of "a thousand and one nights" of the modern era. The book was published by Yilin in 1997 and has already gained significant influence among readers.