This book was originally a novella… it should have stayed that way! I have never read such a meandering, repetitive, drawn-out story as this one (and I’ve read thousands of books!) – the only reason I finished it was because I wanted to see if the story was concluded in a meaningful way (it wasn’t).

It started off with an intriguing premise. Two teenagers were in love, but the girl suddenly vanished. Many years later, the man, who has always thought about her, goes on a quest to find her. Her self in the real world was a shadow, but her real self is in a strange city surrounded by walls. I liked the book until about a third of the way through and then I became bored with it. Nothing was really happening and the narrator kept on repeating himself. The last Murakami I read was Killing Commendatore and that one was much too long, but a better read than this.

The City and Its Uncertain Walls was like putting the ingredients for a cake into a bowl, but not mixing and baking them. The ideas and images were there, with unsatisfactory results.

First published in Japan, 2023. English edition translated by Philip Gabriel, 2024.