Get Your Free Audiobook

  • The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

  • Written by: Haruki Murakami
  • Narrated by: Rupert Degas
  • Length: 26 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (47 ratings)

Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle cover art

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Written by: Haruki Murakami
Narrated by: Rupert Degas
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹1,093.00

Buy Now for ₹1,093.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Toru Okada's cat has disappeared, and this has unsettled his wife, who is herself growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has started receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.

©1994 Haruki Murakami (P)2020 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful!

Haruki Murakami is captivating.
The horrors of the war are well described.
The human interpersonal relationships are well explored.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Crazy ride with Mr.Wind-Up Bird

Toru Okada has just quit his job and is living with his wife Kumiko and their cat has gone missing. His life seems boring, full of mundane daily chores. But soon it starts on a wild rollercoaster through dark alleyways , deep dry wells , dark hotel corridors and many strange places. After his cat , his wife disappears and in an attempt to find them both he ends up going on a journey to discover himself. What does he find ? Pick up this novel by the master Murakami if you want to take this ride with Mr.Okada.
This novel has stories within the story with different themes and moods. We meet a plethora of characters :- Malta and Creta Kano , May Kasahara , Lieutenant Mamiya, Nutmeg and Cinnamon akasaka and the wind up bird that flew in once in a while. Each character is vibrant with their own stories. Murakami tackles several heavy themes : life and death , love and relationships, self exploration , pain , loneliness , happiness and many more , he uses the characters to focus on each of them. Do not expect a linear story with a definite start and an end. The novel deviates from the main story at many points and takes you to a completely different plot lines . The sub plots were amazing but at the same time they can be distracting. Personally I felt some of the parts were repetitive and descritpive. This is a three part novel spanning more than 600 pages with 1,51,750 words in total, which is little hard to finish in one sitting (Source: https://www.readinglength.com/book/isbn-0679775439).
I enjoyed the epic journey of Mr Okada , although I can’t say I understood it all. I would recommend this to anybody who has already read murakamis work before.
I would end this with the ending lines from the book which summarises my experience:
“In a place far away from anyone or anywhere. I drifted off for a moment “

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Emersive experience

Murakami stories have a comprehensive explanation of plots, may end up being a pushover sometime, but they do create an image in ur head...good for deep reading...almost therapeutic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 21-09-22

Long, otherwise interesting

the drawback of 3D characters is length, this book did the thing we want usually, juicy details of everything. But that requires time, and also secondguessing if it was always neccessary. if you can, stick the book out, the twists and turns are gobsmacking!!! Performance was so good, who knew there were so many voices on one body...

the book is interesting overall. i learnt quite a bit about a war time id never knew much about.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for meruc
  • meruc
  • 19-09-22

Great book, great narration

A great and unique story in true Murakami style. The first person singular writing helps a lot imagining the events happening to and emotions felt by the main character. Superb audio quality and a very good narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Gabriel Fahm
  • Gabriel Fahm
  • 11-07-22

Cant stand Mei’s voice

Mei’s voice was unbearable and there were too many distinct voices in general which distracted me. Other than that great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Tuesdays Wind Up Bird
  • Tuesdays Wind Up Bird
  • 10-01-21

Favourite book of all time becomes worst thing to ever enter my ears.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle has been my absolute favourite book for decades now. It’s a surreal journey that is both nightmarish and dreamlike. The language is often poetic and the characters are amazing. A lot of Murakami’s novels remind me of the films of David Lynch and like those Murakami constructs a world with stunning imagery and bizarre events.

This audiobook however is just, no other word for it, disgraceful. There are times when it is unlistenable. Case in point, I listen to audiobooks while working out, I have just had to pause my workout to write this review as I couldn’t wait for the last five hours to be up. People need to be prevented from listening to this, as not only is it awful, but it may dissuade them from reading the book.

The main problem is Rupert Degas’ voices he uses for certain characters. I don’t know if it was Degas himself, or the director etc. But for some reason they have chosen to incorporate the most cartoonish of voices, the majority of which are annoying.

Worst of all is the interpretation of May Kasahara. Such a fun and interesting character is turned into a shrill, obnoxious, and intolerable mess. I had to pause the audiobook where she had long bits of dialogue, pick up my copy of the book, and read instead of listening.

Overall Degas can’t voice women at all. I don’t expect perfect voices, but they can’t be so distracting. Looking up his other work also sheds light on his performances. I decided to look up some of his work on Bob the Builder, and yes, he uses very similar voices for some of the characters. At some point, somebody decided that voices used in Bob the Builder were the same kinds of voices that should be used to narrate Hurki Murakami.

I will give credit where it is due however. His vocal work as the main narrator is actually very good for the most part, and there are a few male characters he voices well. Though one of the uncle roles he channels Zap Brannigan from Futurama, and another is an unlistenable over the top pastiche of Peter Lorre playing a cartoon version of Igor.

There are also numerous noticeable production issues. There are individual lines that suddenly sound as though they are read in a different voice and have more background noise. I assume these are re-recordings or alternate takes shoved in at the last minute.

This was a huge disappointment and something so bad that I will be carefully researching the work of voice artists reading audiobooks in the future.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

46 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 13-11-20

Love the story, hate the narrating.

I absolutely love this book. I have read it several times, and this time around I wanted to revisit it as an audiobook. The story is one of my all-time favorites, Murakami at his best, but the narrator made it impossible to enjoy. The voice acting for some of the characters is terribly bad and extremely obnoxious, it totally ruined it for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Amazon Customer
  • Amazon Customer
  • 02-04-21

Great story! Irritating narration

Unfortunately the narrator’s attempts to read in a woman’s voice and other strange voices are very odd and irritating! But I loved the story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for sa7tn
  • sa7tn
  • 22-08-21

I love this book but narration is horrible

I own a physical copy of this book. I love it and I read most of the Murakami books, in three different languages and I find English version a better one. But I returned this audio book.
The narration is horrible. I bought audio version as life is busy right now. So I try to listen to books instead of reading them, while exercising. I went for a 100 miles ride in Welsh hills thinking it will be a great idea to re visit one of my favourite books. Mistake. I came across a road called ‘road to hell’, listening to this book also felt like road to hell..
It felt like I’m listening to something completely different, not Murakami book. It didn’t feel like Murakami story. At least not the same story I read before.
Sorry but just horrible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Bev Marner
  • Bev Marner
  • 15-10-21

Didn't want it to end!

Just amazing! Took me a while to get into the story but so glad I persevered. I think the narrator was a big part of what kept me listening. Such a performer with a myriad of characters to cover. Can't even begin to explain what it's about. Just thoroughly enjoyed the journey abd was sad when it ended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile image for TC
  • TC
  • 23-06-21

Great reading - truly.

I know people have different tastes. It makes the world interesting. So I would understand someone saying they don’t like an interpretation. It often happens that we read a book and the voices are branded into our consciousness and other people’s interpretations sound wrong. I get that. But I cannot understand those who berate this performer for what is clearly a brilliant (in every sense of the word) narration. The range is staggering. The characterisation is stunning: male, female, old and young alike.

As for the novel, it is Murakami’s wild imagination on day release. Bizarre and wonderful and weird and thrilling.

And it is very well read, honestly. I’m not lying.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Sponge91
  • Sponge91
  • 07-12-20

Great Story, Great Narration.

I loved the characters. I, honestly, couldn't stop listening. Rupert Degas is the best. Period.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 02-07-23

The narration almost completely ruined this book for me.

I enjoyed the story, having only previously read Murakami’s book “Kafka on the shore” I thought this book was good but not as good as Kafka on the shore.
The narration however is beyond bad, the different voices of the majority of the characters are astonishingly bad! The dialogue in this book as well as “Kafka on the shore” have sort of a mystical “lynchian” vibe to them, meaning to say that the dialogue isn’t always how normal people would speak to each other in real life, there’s a certain mystique and dreamlike feeling to the dialogue, having said that you can imagine how annoying it is to listen to somebody who delivers these lines of dialogue as if he’s voicing Daffy Duck.. or a over the top cartoon.. every female character ends up sounding extremely annoying even when I don’t think that is how the writing wants to portray them.
My advice would be to get the physical copy of this book instead of listening to Rupert degas narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Amazon Kunde
  • Amazon Kunde
  • 06-06-23

Brilliant book ruined

I Love the story but I’m afraid the readers over dramatic „performance „ of the words really ruined it for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Sasori Hyung
  • Sasori Hyung
  • 07-03-23

The Perfect Book (mired by narration)

I have been a fan of Murakami for 20 years and this and Kafka are my favourites; and appear in my top 10 books of all time.

It’s a fascinating tale of magic and loss and cements many of his own motifs (loss, wells/holes, secret passages, music, ears…) and highlights some which are tropes of Japanese fiction as a unique genre (cats, odd sex, magical realism, trains… loss and confusion).

But this is not the way to experience it. Unfortunately, the choice was made to have a narrator who insists on reading to us like we’re 4-year-olds sat on a carpet in the library corner. I’m almost surprised he didn’t bust out a guitar.

It’s highly unlikely any children will listen to this so, why on Earth do we need our narrators performing all the voices? It’s highly disconcerting, jarring, and wholly unnecessary for our narrator to affect a camp, effeminate - rather than feminine - voice for the female characters. It rips you out of any of the gentle austerity and deliberate mundanity needed for Murakami and physically had me cringing. The chapter in which Creta Kano is introduced near the start was so intolerable that I had to stop listening, and almost wanted to cast my phone out of the door of the train.

We don’t need this, Audible, and whomever else is putting voices to Murakami. With some adult fiction it works, but this is usually with books you can imagine as plays anyway - with bombast and theatrical performances - but I had just listened to Stephen King’s ‘The Gunslinger’ prior to this which had an equally dire performance. Nobody needs to hear an adult male talk about putting on lace panties in a pathetic, childlike voice. It’s oddly disrespectful to the source and women in general to voice them in this irrational and incongruous tone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Mitchvg
  • Mitchvg
  • 17-06-21

Fantastic narration

Seems totally random and pointless but I enjoyed the narration enough to keep me in until the different storylines started to click. I don't know what it is it's just really good narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Jacob
  • Jacob
  • 01-11-22

A complete shambles masquerading as profound and intellectual.

This book was recommended by a good friend, who I now like a little bit less.

The reader does not witness or observe the events unfolding. Rather, the story is told through a series of absurd phone calls, letters and conversations with characters who are shoehorned into Toru Okada’s life solely to explain what is happening.

I gave up on the paperback, but managed to get through the audiobook, which was partly rescued by an outstanding performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Luke
  • Luke
  • 14-04-22

Vocal performance is hit and miss

I really enjoyed the book overall, but had some trouble with the voices for a couple of characters, particularly May Kasahara. On the flip side, the narrator's regular speaking voice is quite soothing, and to a non Japanese speaker it seemed that he put some work into understanding the correct pronunciation of some Japanese words and names.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for jamie.lockard
  • jamie.lockard
  • 12-10-21

Favourite book ruined by terrible narrator

The narrator is horrible. The way he voices the female characters is especially horrible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Bree Mateljan
  • Bree Mateljan
  • 24-02-23

A convoluted tale, performed well

Rupert Degas’ reading and performance of this book is simply astoundingly brilliant. His character vocalisation and intonation is world building and emotive.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is Murakami at his finest with unexpected turns and revelations layered into rich story devices. An enjoyable long listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 02-02-23

Kept me wanting more

Pure Murakami wonder. Lots of twists and turns that kept me wanting more. A definitely read if you like his books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 24-01-23

Fantastic

These worlds that Murakami sends us into are beautiful and scary dreams that we've all experienced from time to time. But you want to be in them, you want to find the message and have control to explore. This story is such freedom.
The tales that twist around the story could easily be books all of their own. Every character has so much to share.
Fantastic experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile image for Anonymous User
  • Anonymous User
  • 18-01-23

Excellent Narration

Overall an excellent narration, especially considering the number of female characters.

I hit a wall reading this around 65-80% of the way through, but the story was good overall with a satisfactory (but not stellar) ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for michael strong
  • michael strong
  • 14-01-23

Extraordinary

Extraordinary tale, unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Amazing performance really captures the different characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile image for jay
  • jay
  • 19-04-22

Fantastic

Love this book, story, performance, takes you on such a journey, this is my third haruki book and my new favourite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!