Will I love Killing Commendatore?

I like the idea of a normal, mundane life suddenly turning into a magical adventure. If I pay close attention to my life—it is magical. I’m just too used to it to appreciate it. Why can’t the painting over our piano come to life? Where are the secret passageways to the unknown?

For me, those passageways are in books, where anything is possible.

Like many of Murakami's novels, Killing Commendatore seamlessly blends conventional narrative with surrealism to create a compelling tale of the artistic process, friendship, and heroic rescue.

The book is one of his longer works and for me it was a delicious voyage into his unusual world. If you are new to Murakami, this book may not be the best place to start (consider Kafka on the Shore), but for fans of the author like me, it provides a deep dive into his unique exploration of humanity and reality, one from which I only reluctantly emerged after I turned the… show more.

This book plays hide and seek with reality. You’re never a hundred percent sure if you’re in the normal mundane world or the world of magic and danger. The story moves swiftly and compellingly between worlds and raises questions about what we can and cannot believe in.

Some parts seem like drug trips gone wrong and others like the comfort and assurance of close relationships no matter how long they’ve lasted.

Murakami is a master at juggling worlds in such a way that sometimes the fantasy worlds are more real than the actual worlds.