The Town, surrounded by a great wall, falls somewhere between a mediaeval and old industrial-style place, falling into disrepair, where the few remaining people have no shadows, golden beasts graze, and this world’s narrator’s job is to read dreams from skulls. While the Calcutec world is in standard past tense, the dreamworld is in present tense, further enhancing the timeless quality to it. The alternating chapters take us to a place called the Town, and this is where the writing and atmosphere slows down, becoming more lyrical, dreamlike and interrogative in nature. This is where Murakami is at his short and neat writing style, with witty, dynamic and often westernised dialogue, propelled by a sense of suspense and adventure.

Add in some inklings – threatening, stinking fishy kind of creatures – lurking in the dark and to be avoided at all costs, and we are well and truly in Murakami territory.

Our narrator is a Calcutec – a human data processor – and his latest project sees him navigating a secret underground cavernous world at the centre of Tokyo, leading to the secret lab of an eccentric old man, aided by his granddaughter. Enter Murakami’s propensity for the slightly off-kilter reality. However, as is also often the case, our narrator is about to get himself embroiled in the most unusual of situations. He lives alone, he likes his beer, he whips up delectable snacks at the drop of a hat, he loves his jazz and his western culture. One part: a Tokyo muchly similar to contemporary Tokyo but with a cyber twist, where our narrator lives a life typical to all Murakami’s male narrators in their 30s or so. See conditions and procedure on our Refunds page.Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a story of two parts and two worlds, a story that encapsulates two very different sides of Haruki Murakami’s writing.If there are any problems with your order please email us. See our Shipping FAQs for further details on shipping methods, costs and delivery times.Instore Pickup available - please note this can sometimes take a week or two.We aim to ship your order within 1 business day.We charge a flat $10 per order shipping rate to most states ($20 per order to WA and NT).Please get in touch if you'd like more information about a particular book.

There may be an inscription at the front. These are books which may have some slight wear and tear or sun fading on the edges. We sell some Secondhand Books - if a book is secondhand, this is clearly noted in the product Description.If you are purchasing a book as a gift, ask us and we can give you more information. Some books may be Remainder Marked (this is a small texta mark on the base of the book).

The hard boiled wonderland