The epic new novel from the internationally acclaimed and best-selling author of 1Q84
In Killing Commendatore, a thirty-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a previously unseen painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist’s home, and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors. A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art—as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby—Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.
Just listen to it. If it’s your first Murakami, this is a perfect introductory gateway into his wide metaphorical magnificent metaphysical totally real sensory exploratory heart wrenching world. 10/10.
A touch of the surreal, an interesting situation, underwhelmed by these characters. Why is he obsessed with a 13 year old’s chest? Ruined it for me.
“Killing Commendatore” by Haruki Murakami with translation by Ted Goossen grabs readers starting with the cover – an eyeball looking straight out.
“Killing Commendatore” opens with a faceless man who wants a portrait painted. This sets the stage for the tale of this strange but somehow normal painter. The narrator talks directly to the reader reporting his history and hinting at things that are far from normal. A word of caution for some readers; there is sexual content.
“That may be the reason why, when I think back on that time (as you guessed, these events took place some years ago), the importance, perspective, and connections between events sometimes fluctuate … Still, here I want to do my utmost, as far as I can, to set down a systematic, logical account… I want to cling tightly to the hypothetical yardstick I’ve managed to fashion.”
Vivid descriptions pull readers into a setting that is itself a character, distinct and expressly described.
“Low patches of clouds hung over the surrounding mountains. When the wind blew, these cloud fragments, like some wandering spirits from the past, drifted uncertainly along the surface of the mountains, as if in search of lost memories. The pure white rain, like fine snow, silently swirled around on the wind. Since the wind rarely let up, I could even get by in the summer without air conditioning.”
The narrator talks to others, he talks to himself, and talks to readers who get to know him well throughout his narrative. He shares his thoughts, intimate fears, and expectations. He presents the events as straightforward and concise, but behind it all, there hangs an air of suspicion and disbelief. Readers want to believe him, and yet are anxious as he hints of what is to come (“I’ll get into that later on.”)
The story of his life continues in what he describes as a series of dominoes falling, one after the other, tumbling, crashing, one pushed by one preceding. Little events cause his world to collapse around him, and he shares every detail with readers. He continues day-by-day on a mostly linear timeline, some days uneventful, some troubling, and some frightening. He presents events in a calm, measured manner, but many events are far from calm and measured. Readers are left to speculate about his veracity and assessment of events.
Murakami paints with words as the unnamed painter uses paint.
“Maybe I was just imagining things. Maybe it was my own voice I was hearing, a voice welling up from my unconscious. But what I’d heard sounded odd. Not an easy thing to do, now, is it? Even unconsciously, I wouldn’t talk to myself like that.”
Readers must evaluate the events, the relationships, the mysteries, and the result.
“Killing Commendatore” is a long trip and a very long book, but one that pulls readers along with fantasy, and intrigue. In the end, there is an idea, a metaphor, and perhaps a question.
A cold and gloomy Sunday afternoon in November was the perfect time to finish Killing Commendatore. I sat down with a cup of tea and read the last 110 pages.
I had begun the book over two weeks previous. Usually, it takes me a few days to read a book. But this one was the size of two books–the advanced reading copy is 674 pages! It took several weeks to read, with little impetus to flip pages. The style of writing felt leisurely, describing mundane things like what people were wearing or what the protagonist was cooking. These details puzzled me, for I really wasn’t sure of their purpose.
Still, something drew me on; I couldn’t even name it. The story was a journey that I was willing to take. I trusted the author to make it worth my while.
The narrator’s wife of six years decides she wants a divorce. He has made a living by portrait painting, believing he has settled when he could have developed his contemporary art style. He believes his wife gave up on him because he had settled.
First, he gets into his car and drives around Japan. A fellow artist and friend offers him the use of his father’s house in the mountains, a retreat where he had created the traditional Japanese style paintings that made him famous. The father is now in assisted living with dementia.
The narrator moves into the mountaintop house. He is in a slump, unable to paint. He teaches art classes and has liaisons with married women. He is approached by Menshiki, a mysterious man from a neighboring mountain. “Menshiki” means “avoiding color,” very apt considering his pure white hair and secluded and walled-off life. Menshiki commissions the narrator to paint his portrait, and then to paint a portrait of a girl he believes to be his daughter. The girl happens to be one of the narrator’s art students. He discovers a new way of painting that is intuitive, impressionistic, and powerful.
Meanwhile, otherworldly experiences arise that disturb the membrane between reality and the unreal.
Soon after moving into the house, the narrator discovers a painting in the attic, Killing Commendatore. It is based on a scene from Mozart’s Don Giovanni but also perhaps an image from the artist’s experience as a student in Nazi-controlled Vienna, painted in the traditional Japanese style. No one has ever seen the painting before. A ringing bell in the forest leads the narrator to a mysterious pit. Ideas and Metaphors take a corporeal form, based on the images in Killing Commendatore. When the girl disappears our narrator goes on a quest to save her, entering another reality, crossing a river, walking through a dark wood, and crawling through a narrow tunnel.
The last half was intriguing and rewarding. The novel is called an “homage to The Great Gatsby,” and I can see that. But I also connected it to other literary works and mythology.
In the end, the narrator states that his capacity to believe made him different from Menshiki; he is not one of T. S. Eliot’s “straw men,” a hollow man without feeling., for he trusts there is some guide which leads us where we need to be.
This is a story of transformation, a death and rebirth re-enacted, and yet the narrator’s endpoint is to return to the life he started with, as a portrait painter, reunited with his wife, embracing her child. It is enough, now, for them both.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
An excellent journey into the world of art the nature of reality and love Murikama creates the unexpected and wonderful better than any one else can a must read
Murakami always creates the most unique characters and worlds; you can get utterly lost within the pages of his books…
4.5 stars. A Murakami novel without a doubt, but yet different than anything else he’s written. This novel was more rooted in reality, but also completely disconnected from it, like his other novels. The nameless narrator is so much like his other protagonists, but more grounded and self-aware. If you are curious about Murakami and haven’t tried him out, this may be the best novel to start with. Murakami is a true 21st century novelist and, this being the 9th of his novels that I’ve read, I continue to be blown away by the dreamscapes he creates.
A portrait artist moves into the secluded home of a renowned Japanese painter who has been hospitalized with dementia. There, he discovers a secret painting the artist had created years ago. The drama and craftsmanship of the painting blow the narrator away. This discovery opens up a “circle” that leads to a series of strange events. A mysterious and wealthy recluse befriends put narrator with unclear motivations. Meanwhile, the painting continues to absorb the narrator in unexpected ways.
There is nothing else like reading a Murakami novel. Dreams and reality are intertwined and are the same. The reader chooses what to believe and what is metaphor. I eagerly await next year when I will allow myself to read another of his novels. Please read one. Start with this one if you aren’t sure which to turn to.
This was a pretty good ghost story. I think not a masterpiece, but good. There is one scene that gives one a good idea of what it must feel like to be born. It takes place in Japan, which was interesting in and of itself. A good read overall.
I am a Murakami fan, but some of the more recent long reads have been…a stretch on what is becoming a tired set of themes.
Still overall a good read.
Odd but a really good read
Well written, fast paced. Excellent
This is a book that seems slow, but you can’t put it down–and once you’re finished you can’t stop thinking about it. In a category by itself.
Listened to the audiobook which was quite lengthy, although was always interesting. Excellent character development and somewhat convoluted plot. I felt like I was really knew these people by the books end.
Same themes and ideas recycled from his other books, but it was still a fun ride.
It is an entirely original plot which is very believable although presenting supernatural circumstances and characters.
Strangely interesting. A rather mythical journey through memory and consequences playing out in the lives of the characters. I liked the setting in modern Japan and the references to art.
My favorite author… always delivers amazing stories!
A very strange book. One if the main characters just seemed to drop away in the end. Much was made of the “white” house but that was never explored either. Left me wanting.
A beautiful work of art about creating art, Killing Commendatore is a must-read for the dedicated, cerebral artist.
A typical Murakami read – clever writing, a reflective main character, and a good dose of surrealism. Perhaps a little longer than it could have been, but I can’t say I minded.