4.5-5 stars. Tender, nostalgic, and soft. It may well be the pinnacle of cozy magical realism by Murakami.

I really enjoyed this new work. It feels like Murakami cut away everything else not needed and left only the essentials at its core. Perfectly paced with masterful use of multiple perspectives.

I dare to say that this new book falls within the category of Colorless Tsukuru, South of the Border, and Yesterday - which, for reference, are my favorite Murakami works. It wouldn’t be a Murakami book without his well-known tropes making an appearance (per the Murakami bingo), but I felt that each trope was well used and not at all repetitive or overdone.

So blessed to have received an ARC of this. I will certainly be buying a hard copy when it is released.

THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS is a strange book, braiding together three distinct eras in Murakami’s oeuvre. Much like HEAR THE WIND SING or NORWEGIAN WOOD, one part deals with a young boy’s love and longing for his first girlfriend. Much like HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND, another part (set in the same universe) is more of a psychological allegory, operating at a higher level of abstraction. And yet another part resembles THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE in its attention to the everyday life of a mature man whose life is conventional but includes supernatural qualities. The result is, in some regards, uneven but, in others, delicately layered with certain metaphors and locations knotting these different threads together.

It’s hard to imagine that any Murakami fan will select this novel as their favorite, and yet it isn’t, by any means, one of his lesser works. Indeed, Murakami seems to speak more earnestly and urgently in this book than recent ones about the necessity of social trust, psychological complexity, and genuine striving to build connections.