I get that one of the stories was supposed to be 'contemporary' Japan, but there were enough weirdnesses, particularly on the part of the elderly scientist side character, that urban fantasy seems the most logical category. The conceit of this book, where it swaps between two rather fantastical stories, worked really well for me. This book was recommended by a friend when I asked for books outside my comfort zone that I should read. Overall, the book was very enjoyable and among the best of Murakami's books. It actually defied my predictions and it gets points for that.

However, it's not quite as bad as others *cough Tsukurucough*.

Another vexing Murakamiism rears its head- the dreaded super vague ending. His writing of female characters has never been fantastic either. It may be forgivable as an isolated incident, but as a theme across most of Murakami's novels it is less so. On the negative side, the main character is again a casually misogynistic man who, at completely random points, pipes up with a sexist bit of internal monologue (also fat-shaming? Dude, come on). The image of the Town's skulls glowing is an extremely vivid and interesting one that will stick with me for a long time. Between the two I like the Town a bit better since, being a somewhat fantasy inspired dreamworld, it forced Murakami to extend his characters beyond consumers of pop-culture and his locations beyond cities.

Trying to figure out the connection between the Wonderland and the Town kept me engaged and guessing the whole time. Which is refreshing because in other works of Murakami, *cough 1Q84cough* it doesn't work quite as well. Murakami's penchant for otherworldliness is prominent in this work, and like Wind-Up Bird it suffuses the book with a sense of lightness and mystery. While the beginning left me wondering if it was worth my time, it quickly drew me into its world of surreal beauty. Hard-Boiled was a very imaginative novel.

Haruki murakami end of the world