Review coming soon. ( )

I chose this book because I enjoyed the two Murakami books I read that were translated by Alfred Birnbaum much more than I enjoyed any of his other works. I wanted to test if that's because he's a superior translator. There is also a theory that most readers enjoy their first couple of Murakami novels, but then he gets repetitive. So, in the spirit of scientific enquiry I resolved to read another Birnbaum translation of Murakami and find out which is the more accurate description (for me at least).

I'm sad to announce that I didn't particularly enjoy this Murakami, so the one-trick-pony theory is probably the best explanation of my relationship to his novels. Dance, Dance, Dance and Wild Sheep Chase really captured my attention, but I have never got anywhere near the same level of enjoyment out of Murakami's work since. Since it is so difficult to get a hold of this book, I assume most other readers are hardcore Murakami fans, or they're working on the same theory as I was. Either way they've read him before and they won't be surprised to find ethereal young girls committing suicide, an emotionally retarded narrator and that colloquial style. It's a very short book, barely even a novella, but it wasn't sufficiently rich to justify my time in reading, I'm afraid.

I feel I should give a mention to the fantastic system that Griffith University is a part of called Bonus . This is an arrangement where the catalogues of a number of other Australasian universities are searchable and holds can be placed to have books sent from these universities to your home university for no charge. Suddenly, Griffith University has the best library of any uni in Australia because it has access to all the books of these other universities. Of course the Group of Eight universities don't participate, so suddenly UQ's collection is inferior to Griffith's. Anyway, Hear the Wind Sing was not available at UQ or Griffith, but because Griffith is a part of Bonus , I had a copy sent up from Newcastle Uni. ( )

After I read part 3 (not knowing that it was a series and just finding it out), I was curious and wanted to start with part 1. Compared with part 3, I liked part 3 more because the story is more complex in part 3. Nevertheless, I enjoyed part 1 very much. It was an interesting experience to find out where and how everything began. Although I'd say that you can feel and "read" that Murakami was less experienced when he wrote part 1. Part 3 is still the same "speed" and atmosphere but the story is much more what I'd call "mature". It seems a bit as if Murakami didn't know yet where all this will lead when he wrote part 1 and in part 3 he had a precise idea of what he was doing. ( )

So so. Rambling introduction of the unnamed narrator, the Rat, the girl with 9 fingers, beer and quiet musings. Enjoyable enough to read (or listen to in my case), but wanted to read it to fill the Rat story (from wild sheep chase and dance, dance). Perhaps realistic account between the story teller's tender relationship with the girl with 9 fingers and her abortion, but then it is purposefully set aside as meaningless or only melancholy. Ok, but.... The well comes up, but fleetingly. ( )

The first book I ever read by Murakami was Norwegian Wood back in 2012. It remains one of my favourite books and came at a time in my life when a lot was changing for me so I will always have an emotional bond with it. There is something about Murakami's writing which always envokes a kind of melancholia in me. For some people this would be disconcerting but I find it comforting in a wierd kind of way. I guess it helps to remind me that I'm not the only one who doesn't feel like they have life sorted out. I have read most of Murakami's shorter books and liked all of them but I hadn't read his earliest books so I felt like it was time to revisit his writing.

Our narrator tells us the story of his life during the summer of 1970. He is a university student who is home for the summer and spends his time hanging out at J's bar with a friend known only as Rat. Along with way we learn about the troubles the narrator has with writing, his ex girlfriends - one of who commited suicide, and a new girl he meets. In common with Murakami's other shorter books, not a huge amount happens but the way he observes life really vibes with me. I could tell this was one of this very early stories because while there are hints of his style they aren't full there yet. ( )