Book Review: "The City and Its Uncertain Walls" by Haruki Murakami

I would like to say hello to all my readers who are still here. It's been a rough few months for me and it's only March so I'm not holding out much hope for 2025. My mental health has been terrible, my head is simply not there and my life doesn't seem to be on the right track. But, there is one thing I am grateful for and that's books like those written by Haruki Murakami. Murakami has always had a dark almost magical quality to his writing as though he knows just the right words to describe these emotions that usually have no way of being described in our usual words.

The novel begins with a 17-year-old boy who develops a deep and intense connection with a 16-year-old girl. Their relationship is intellectual and emotional rather than physical, built upon shared ideas and a unique vision of the world. They first meet after both winning an essay-writing competition, and their conversations are filled with philosophical musings and an almost dreamlike understanding of each other. However, the girl keeps an emotional distance, hinting at something beyond the physical world that ties her existence to a place she calls “the walled city.” She believes her truest self resides beyond this invisible boundary, and though the boy listens, he does not yet grasp the full significance of her words.

Without warning, the girl vanishes from the boy’s life, leaving no clues behind. Her disappearance is as sudden as it is absolute: no explanations, no letters, no farewells. The loss leaves the protagonist in a state of disorientation and emotional paralysis. It is not simply heartbreak but a profound and haunting absence that lingers in his mind for years to come. This pivotal event shapes his entire life, setting him on a path of longing and existential searching. The walled city she once spoke of begins to take on an almost mythic presence in his thoughts, becoming both a symbol of his lost love and an unknown destination that might hold the answers he desperately seeks. This is something Murakami is really good at. When people's lives fall apart - he seems to have the words to rationalise and philosophise them. It is something I need right now - a great place to disappear.

As the years go by, the protagonist grows into adulthood, but his emotional world remains anchored in the past. The unresolved nature of his first love continues to cast a shadow over his life, making it impossible for him to fully engage in new relationships or find fulfilment in conventional experiences. Though he outwardly conforms to the expectations of adulthood: working, socialising, and participating in the motions of everyday life, he carries an underlying emptiness. His mind frequently returns to thoughts of the lost girl and the mysterious city she spoke of, as though his reality is incomplete without finding closure. Another thing Murakami is good at in his writing is articulating the lives of people who have had a good chunk taken out of their psychologies.

One day, something compels him to finally search for the city. Whether it is a dream, a memory, or an inexplicable pull, he follows his instincts and begins a journey that transcends physical space. The walled city, which had once seemed like an abstract idea, now materialises as a place that exists beyond the fabric of ordinary reality. As he approaches, he begins to notice how its presence disrupts his sense of time and perception. The city is not bound by logic; it operates on a different set of rules. Those who enter it rarely return unchanged. This is where Murakami starts to turn to the tropes he used in Kafka on the Shore and other, older books written by him to work that slightly magical element into the novel.

All in all, I think that this book though it may not be his best novel, is definitely echoing his more classic, older books. His writing has a great need to be felt by the reader and the way the reader does this is by immersing themselves in the story and putting their faith in the goodness and curiosity of the protagonist. It is something I definitely recommend you read.