I first read Hear the Wind Sing a good number of years ago; however, like many others reviewing this book, I did not "discover" it until after reading (or should I say "falling in love with") several other works by Murakami: A Wild Sheep Chase (which happens to be the final book of the "Trilogy of the Rat", of which Hear the Wind Sing is the first novel; although, to be perfectly honest, I think Sheep Chase works just fine as a standalone novel), Dance Dance Dance (a sequel to Sheep Chase, although again it works as a standalone), Hard Boiled Wonderland (my favorite Murakami novel), Norwegian Wood, Wind-Up Bird (this seems to be Murakami's most popular in the US, although not in Japan), at least one or two short story collections ... in other words, I was a pretty experienced Murakami hand before coming across his first novel. At the time, I remember enjoying it but thinking that it did not stack up to these later works I had already read and been blown away by ... if anything it felt a bit like a poor man's version of Norwegian Wood, Murakami's best-selling work that also deals with similar themes and is notable for also being relatively light on the "magical realism" which is now Murakami's hallmark. However, still not bad as a first novel by the author that at that time I would've called one of my favorite authors (perhaps even my favorite author).
Over time, however, I became a bit disillusioned with Murakami's recent offerings. Kafka still entertained, but seemed to be missing a bit of the mojo and originality that characterized his earlier works. After Dark was shockingly bad. Reading the first two volumes of 1Q84 was laborious work, and until volume 3 came out a year later I was honestly unsure whether the book was complete after those first two volumes or after three (and indeed, there are rumors--fanned by Murakami himself--that there might even be a *fourth* volume at some point). These recent works were still receiving remarkable critical praise, but it felt like reviewers were reading a different book than I was; I hadn't felt truly gripped or moved since reading Wind-Up Bird (which isn't even my favorite Murakami work, in large part due to the large amount of unfinished and unconnected story lines). Reading the most recent work, 1Q84, didn't leave me hungry for what was next; it rather left me nostalgic for Murakami's earlier works: less polished, but more profound, more compelling ... more fun. I started to worry a bit whether it was Murakami who was slipping, or whether I had simply fallen out of love with the unique world and words of Murakami Haruki. So, in that frame of mind, I picked up Hear the Wind Sing this past weekend to see if the old Murakami magic could be rekindled.
I was pleased to find out that yes indeed it could be. Hear the Wind Sing is clearly unpolished and rough around the edges, but it still has that Murakami mojo and clearly foreshadows the wonderful works that would follow it. Although the "magical realism" aspect is much more limited than in most of Murakami's subsequent works, it is still there (most memorable for me was the excerpt from the made-up Derek Heartfield story about the wells of Mars). Honestly, the seed of just about every theme and motif Murakami would eventually nurture into maturity in later works appears in this novel: wells, enigmatic women (who are often "missing" something), drinking, loveless sex, disillusionment, detachment, the passive Boku narrator, Western music, music stores, death, World War II, China, mistrust of corporations, the moon, nighttime, water (be it the rain or the ocean), elephants, alienation ... I could go on and on (even the seeds of Murakami's short-comings as an author are in here, including his maddening tendency to start but often not resolve disparate story lines, which works in smaller doses such as here in Hear the Wind Sing but is a detraction, for me at least, in some of his longer works where the threads seem to fray and unravel a bit by the end). Even in this short work, one could literally open any page and find at least one notable "Murakami motif". Despite its unpolished nature--or perhaps because of it--it made me hungry to go on and re-read some of Murakami's other (and even better) works that followed it. It also left me a bit bittersweet as well--despite critical acclaim that works such as 1Q84 are Murakami's magnum opus, I can't help but think that when all is said and done, we will look back on Murakami's works from the decade or so spanning the mid-80s to the mid-90s (roughly from A Wild Sheep Case through Wind-Up Bird, including his excellent short stories during that time) as the height of Murakami's creativity and talent.
In the end, although not his best work by any means, Hear the Wind Sing is still the departure point for what would become the literary phenomenon that is Murakami Haruki. I think it is too bad that Murakami has fought to keep this work (and Pinball, 1973) all but impossible to find for the English speaking audience, but I have the feeling that at some point these works will see the light of day again, even if it is not until after Murakami passes away (the potential for profit will be too unavoidable for the publishers, I believe). Personally, I hope that the Murakami fan does not have to wait until his passing for that day to come, however. Rather than try to hide these early works, I wish Murakami would actually embrace them and even re-read and learn from them. I hope my prognostication about Murakami's golden age being long past is incorrect, but after reading every work since Wind-Up Bird thinking "is *this* the one?" (with the nuance changing from "is this the one that will be remembered as Murakami's greatest work?" to the more despairing "is this the one where Murakami finally gets his mojo back?") with the answer being "no" each time, I worry my fears may be true. If so, that makes his earlier works all the more precious. If you are a Murakami fan, do yourself a favor and track down this book to see where Murakami started; it is a short read that will be well worth your time.
