The City and Its Uncertain Walls Audiobook By Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator cover art

The City and Its Uncertain Walls

A Novel

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The City and Its Uncertain Walls

By: Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel - translator
Narrated by: Brian Nishii
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About this listen

From the bestselling author of Norwegian Wood and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World comes a love story, a quest, an ode to books and to the libraries that house them, and a parable for our peculiar times.

"Haruki Murakami invented 21st-century fiction." —The New York Times • "More than any author since Kafka, Murakami appreciates the genuine strangeness of our real world." —San Francisco Chronicle • "Murakami is masterful." —Los Angeles Times

We begin with a nameless young couple: a boy and a girl, teenagers in love. One day, she disappears . . . and her absence haunts him for the rest of his life.

Thus begins a search for this lost love that takes the man into middle age and on a journey between the real world and an other world—a mysterious, perhaps imaginary, walled town where unicorns roam, where a Gatekeeper determines who can enter and who must remain behind, and where shadows become untethered from their selves. Listening to his own dreams and premonitions, the man leaves his life in Tokyo behind and ventures to a small mountain town, where he becomes the head librarian, only to learn the mysterious circumstances surrounding the gentleman who had the job before him. As the seasons pass and the man grows more uncertain about the porous boundaries between these two worlds, he meets a strange young boy who helps him to see what he’s been missing all along.

The City and Its Uncertain Walls is a singular and towering achievement by one of modern literature’s most important writers.

"Truth is not found in fixed stillness, but in ceaseless change/movement. Isn't this the quintessential core of what stories are all about?” —Haruki Murakami, from the afterword

©2024 Haruki Murakami (P)2024 Random House Audio
Editor's Select Literary Fiction Magical Realism City Paranormal
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Critic reviews

"Another beguilingly enigmatic tale from Murakami, complete with jazz, coffee, Borgesian twists, the Beatles, and other trademark motifs. . . .Murakami blends science fiction, gothic novel, noir mystery, horror (think Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film Pulse), and coming-of-age story. . . . [An] elegant fable that deftly weaves ordinary reality—“something you have to choose by yourself, out of several possible alternatives”—with a shadow world that is at once eerie and beautiful. Astonishing, puzzling, and hallucinatory as only Murakami can be, and one of his most satisfying tales." -- Kirkus (starred review)

Editorial Review

A love letter to creation and creativity, 40 years in the making
There’s no arguing that Haruki Murakami is one of the most brilliant creative minds and writers of the 21st century. And for fans, The City and Its Uncertain Walls is not only long-awaited, but also fits beautifully into his literary legacy—expanding on a 40-year-old short story of the same name, and acting as a companion to Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. While the motifs, moments, and world all feel familiar, The City and Its Uncertain Walls still stands wholly on its own. As always, it’s impossible not to get lost in Murakami’s creation or narrator Brian Nishii’s performance. It’s not just a love letter to magical realism, creativity, and writing, but also reflects the author’s own experience with his craft—as a labor of love that was 40 years in the making, and was most definitely worth the wait. — Michael C., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The City and Its Uncertain Walls

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outstanding, his best

I really feel like this is a culmination of Murakami's entire career as a writer. A masterpiece.

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Desperately needs editing

I love Murakami but found this book so disappointing. Part I was good, but it was also the 3rd time he had written it in a different form. It got progressively worse from there, horribly repetitive with no purpose, and ended without a point. He should have just stuck with revisions to the original story; this triptych lessens the quality and impact of the first portion of the book. Such a shame.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing surreal storytelling

Savor like a fine scotch with a splash of mineral water. A story of grief, loss, despair and other dimensions. Visits from ghosts and becoming disconnected with your own shadow, finding that the past and future do not exist.
Jazz music and freshly baked blueberry muffins, sitting by an old stove on a cold day.
A story that is maybe better read than listened to, but I’m thankful for the option.

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Introspective, straightforward, neat, and magical

I enjoyed the meandering plot of this story, traveling between different realities of self and the world around, slowly merging into a singular narrative.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Started out unsure, but ended up quite satisfied.

I had a hard time getting into this novel in the first few chapters, but I kept with it. I’ve had a few of his books do that to me. I thought it was a lovely story with a lot to unpack. I will never tire of his unique way of mixing reality with fantasy. He creates huge metaphors that really make you think about life and loss. This story in the end, made me feel hopeful.

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The narrator says “liberry” instead of “library”

Another classic Murakami. Everything is great except the narrator occasionally mispronounces library. He’s great otherwise though.

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slow pace

cerebral. interesting premise. somewhat thought provoking. once I got used to the different style and pace I enjoyed it.

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An Unparalled Storyteller

I have never read a novel by Haruki Murakami that I didn’t love. He creates worlds that envelope the reader so masterfully. Just as I love and admire Japanese visual artists, so, too, do I admire Murakami as artis

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Another great story

Another great story by Mr. Murakami, takes the reader on a mental trip and candy for the senses.

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Revering books

I chose to listen to this because I had previously enjoyed other Murakami novels, but this was a real disappointment! The voice of the narrator compensated for the lameness of the story and endless repetition. If I had been reading rather than listening to it, I would have put it down long before the middle.

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