Killing Commendatore: A novel

The masterful storyteller Haruki Murakami has delivered a riveting winding tale in his fourteenth novel, Killing Commendatore. When his wife of six years suddenly announces that she wants a divorce, the unnamed narrator flees from his home in Tokyo. While on the run, he is invited by a close college friend to live in his father’s empty house in the mountains outside Odawara. The narrator, a passionate artist himself, is captivated by the idea of residing in the former home of Tomohiko Amada, a distinguished Japanese artist with a mysterious past. Shortly following his arrival, the narrator’s wealthy neighbor asks him to paint his portrait, which unleashes a series of inexplicable events.

Murakami’s writing flows with a kind of intimacy that will suck readers into the novel’s seemingly ordinary but spectacularly surreal world. The central characters are impressively complex; their minds are always searching, always examining, and Murakami welcomes readers to think deeply about philosophical ideas with them. While Murakami’s pacing may feel slow to readers over the course of the novel’s nearly 700 pages, especially when the narrative meanders or repeats itself, relaxed and contemplative readers will thoroughly enjoy the journey.