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Killing Commendatore: A novel Kindle Edition

by Haruki Murakami (Author), Philip Gabriel (Translator), Ted Goossen (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

8,746 ratings

Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art—from one of our greatest writers. • “Exhilarating ... magical.” —The Washington Post

When a thirty-something portrait painter is abandoned by his wife, he secludes himself in the mountain home of a world famous artist. One day, the young painter hears a noise from the attic, and upon investigation, he discovers a previously unseen painting. By unearthing this hidden work of art, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances; and to close it, he must undertake a perilous journey into a netherworld that only Haruki Murakami could conjure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, Library Journal, LitHub, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

“Exhilarating ... magical.” —The Washington Post

“Some novelists hold a mirror up to the world and some, like Haruki Murakami, use the mirror as a portal to a universe hidden beyond it.” —The Wall Street Journal

“[Murakami] is as masterful as ever.” —Houston Chronicle

“A spellbinding parable of art, history, and human loneliness.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“The product of a singular imagination.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Expansive and intricate.” —The New York Times

“Beguiling. . . . Murakami is brilliant.” —The Guardian

“Dazzling. . . . [Murakami] reveals how an artist sees the world.” —Entertainment Weekly

“[A] sprawling, uncanny epic. . . . A time-traveling tale of loss, longing, and the creation of art—with an ample dash of Murakami’s trademark deadpan humor.” —Vanity Fair

“A perfect balance of tradition and individual talent. . . . Murakami dancing along ‘the inky blackness of the Path of Metaphor’ is like Fred Astaire dancing across a floor, then up the walls and onto the ceiling.” —The Spectator

“A surreal, world-altering epic punctuated by art, literature and history.” —Time

“[Murakami] once more explicates the seemingly impossible with such thorough, exacting conviction to make believers of us all.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“No other author mixes domestic, fantastic and esoteric elements into such weirdly bewitching shades. . . . Just as [Murakami] straddles barriers dividing high art from mass entertainment, so he suspends borders between east and west.” —Financial Times

“[Killing Commendatore] marks the return of a master.” —Esquire

“The complex landscape that Murakami assembles in Killing Commendatore is a word portrait of the artist’s inner life.” —The Times Literary Supplement

“Fascinating. . . . Drawing on Buddhist spiritualism, metaphysics and magical realism—not to mention Lewis Carroll—Killing Commendatore finds its narrator enmeshed in a singular philosophic adventure.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Enthralling.” —Forward

“Murakami beautifully captures the evanescence of inspiration.” —Vulture

“Its size, beauty, and concerns with lust and war bring us back to the vividness and scale of [Murakami’s] 1997 epic, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.’’ —The Boston Globe

“Lovely and strange.” —Bustle

“Wild, thrilling. . . . Murakami is a master storyteller and he knows how to keep us hooked. . . . What makes his voice so distinctive, and so captivating, is the mix of precise observation, clarity and deadpan humour.” —The Sunday Times (London)

About the Author

HARUKI MURAKAMI was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, whose previous recipients include J. K. Rowling, Isabel Allende, and Salman Rushdie.

harukimurakami.com

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Prologue

Today when I awoke from a nap the faceless man was there before me. He was seated on the chair across from the sofa I’d been sleeping on, staring straight at me with a pair of imaginary eyes in a face that wasn’t.

The man was tall, and he was dressed the same as when I had seen him last. His face-that-wasn’t-a-face was half hidden by a wide-brimmed black hat, and he had on a long, equally dark coat.

“I came here so you could draw my portrait,” the faceless man said, after he’d made sure I was fully awake. His voice was low, toneless, flat. “You promised you would. You remember?”

“Yes, I remember. But I couldn’t draw it then because I didn’t have any paper,” I said. My voice, too, was toneless and flat. “So to make up for it I gave you a little penguin charm.”

“Yes, I brought it with me,” he said, and held out his right hand. In his hand—which was extremely long—he held a small plastic penguin, the kind you often see attached to a cell phone strap as a good-luck charm. He dropped it on top of the glass coffee table, where it landed with a small clunk.

“I’m returning this. You probably need it. This little penguin will be the charm that should protect those you love. In exchange, I want you to draw my portrait.”

I was perplexed. “I get it, but I’ve never drawn a portrait of a person without a face.”

My throat was parched.

“From what I hear, you’re an outstanding portrait artist. And there’s a first time for everything,” the faceless man said. And then he laughed. At least, I think he did. That laugh-like voice was like the empty sound of wind blowing up from deep inside a cavern.

He took off the hat that hid half of his face. Where the face should have been, there was nothing, just the slow whirl of a fog.

I stood up and retrieved a sketchbook and a soft pencil from my studio. I sat back down on the sofa, ready to draw a portrait of the man with no face. But I had no idea where to begin, or how to get started. There was only a void, and how are you supposed to give form to something that does not exist? And the milky fog that surrounded the void was continually changing shape.

“You’d better hurry,” the faceless man said. “I can’t stay here forlong.”

My heart was beating dully inside my chest. I didn’t have much time. I had to hurry. But my fingers holding the pencil just hung there in midair, immobilized. It was as though everything from my wrist down into my hand were numb. There were several people I had to protect, and all I was able to do was draw pictures. Even so, there was no way I could draw him. I stared at the whirling fog. “I’m sorry, but your time’s up,” the man without a face said a little while later. From his faceless mouth, he let out a deep breath, like pale fog hovering over a river.

“Please wait. If you give me just a little more time—”

The man put his black hat back on, once again hiding half of his face.“One day I’ll visit you again. Maybe by then you’ll be able to draw me. Until then, I’ll keep this penguin charm.”

Then he vanished. Like a mist suddenly blown away by a freshening breeze, he vanished into thin air. All that remained was the unoccupied chair and the glass table. The penguin charm was gone from the tabletop.

It all seemed like a short dream. But I knew very well that it wasn’t. If this was a dream, then the world I’m living in itself must all be a dream.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to draw a portrait of nothingness. Just like another artist was able to complete a painting titled Killing Commendatore. But to do so I would need time to get to that point. I would have to have time on my side.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079WM2HMV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (October 9, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 9, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5.5 MB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 736 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #89,789 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #182 in Psychological Literary Fiction
- #656 in Historical Literary Fiction
- #658 in Contemporary Literary Fiction

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Haruki Murakami
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Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Jerusalem Prize, whose previous recipients include J. M. Coetzee, Milan Kundera, and V. S. Naipaul.
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Philip Gabriel
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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging with hefty doses of magical realism and appreciate its great descriptions of artistic process. Moreover, they praise the writing style, with one customer noting how art tells the story where words were unavailable. The book features compelling characters, with one review highlighting the range of characterization even among the spirits, and customers find it enlightening, with one noting how it dives deep into thoughts about art. However, the book's length receives mixed reactions, with some appreciating its 700-page format while others find it overly long.

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Pacing Readability Writing style Character development Enlightenedness Music references Length Ease of use

222 customers mention "Pacing"166 positive56 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book engaging and thought-provoking, featuring hefty doses of magical realism.

"...ready for in my own life to read, and it's one reason the story stuck with me so well despite it's flaws. And there are flaws aplenty...." Read more

"...with all of the expected elements of a Murakami novel: a well, magical realism, jazz music, a touch of history, cooking, a disappearance, and the..." Read more

"...than I've ever read by him, it's got a noir pace, dealing with unanswered questions of treachery, unrelenting cruelty, paternity (paranormally, even)..." Read more

"...It’s so well written that the plot kept me turning the pages and I couldn’t once guess what was going to happen, so much so, that I stopped trying..." Read more

132 customers mention "Readability"132 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as an addictive and superb read, with one customer noting it as the best book published that year.

"...Murakami is a strange author. He is a master of creating odd, leisurely novels full of arms length self analysis and deep undercurrents of emotion...." Read more

"This may be one of my favorite Murakami books...." Read more

"...similar to previous works, for that -- but it's engrossing and well worth picking up." Read more

"...into words how much I enjoyed this book, as a matter of fact I savored reading it!..." Read more

91 customers mention "Writing style"76 positive15 negative

Customers praise the writing style of the book, describing it as exquisite and poetic, with great descriptions of artistic process.

"...Despite its 700-page length, Killing Commendatore is a readable work, but it is not on the same level as “Kafka on the Shore,” “Wild Sheep Chase,”..." Read more

"...The meditative, solemn and insightful conversation between a very circumscribed cast of characters..." Read more

"...take him (which is very far) and his deceptively simple and unadorned writing style, which hides huge amounts of depth beneath its calm surface...." Read more

"...It’s so well written that the plot kept me turning the pages and I couldn’t once guess what was going to happen, so much so, that I stopped trying..." Read more

47 customers mention "Character development"38 positive9 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, particularly noting how the narrator draws readers in, with one customer highlighting the range of characterization even among the spirits.

"...music, a touch of history, cooking, a disappearance, and the typical cast of characters...." Read more

"...There's a range of characterization even among the spirits (or Ideas, or Metaphors, as they prefer to be described), from the impish Commendatore to..." Read more

"...happens during his journey is the meat of the book, every character and incident are interesting and described in detail...." Read more

"...The narrator is every one of us, Menshiki is every one of us. Every entity is us and then also ‘ others’...." Read more

23 customers mention "Enlightenedness"23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enlightening, with one customer noting how it delves deeply into the author's thoughts about art, while another describes it as meditative.

"...The journey is very believable. The reader also learns a bit about painting (which I found interesting)...." Read more

"...The meditative, solemn and insightful conversation between a very circumscribed cast of characters..." Read more

"...and it's too similar to previous works, for that -- but it's engrossing and well worth picking up." Read more

"...We dive deep on his thoughts about art and what it means to him...." Read more

13 customers mention "Music references"13 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the music references in the book, particularly the jazz elements, with one customer noting how music plays important roles in the story.

"...Art and music play important roles in the story. Murakami readers know that the author is an aficionado of jazz and classical music...." Read more

"...the expected elements of a Murakami novel: a well, magical realism, jazz music, a touch of history, cooking, a disappearance, and the typical cast..." Read more

"...The meditative, solemn and insightful conversation between a very circumscribed cast of characters..." Read more

"...their love for music, with detailed references to operas, jazz, and pop songs. Bursts of sexuality help define them and shift gears in the plot...." Read more

20 customers mention "Length"6 positive14 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's length, with some appreciating its 700-page format while others find it somewhat long.

"...While Murakami manages to almost every mystery up, the novel is a bit over long and something parts gets repetitive...." Read more

"...first three works, which I consider personal favourites, 1Q84 was overly long and painfully repetitious...." Read more

"...; 2) grand symphonies (or operas) - greater length and scope, historical sweep, more magical elements..." Read more

"...If I can say any negative It is somewhat long, and really does stretch the imagination sometimes, but all in all it was a wonderful read for me" Read more

16 customers mention "Ease of use"10 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's ease of use, with some finding it deceptively simple while others describe it as terribly complicated.

"...follows as far as it will take him (which is very far) and his deceptively simple and unadorned writing style, which hides huge amounts of depth..." Read more

"...But who would experiment with cumbersome prose and bland details?..." Read more

"...It is very down to earth, simple and straight forward, but thorough. You never get the sense that oh, that makes no sense...." Read more

"...Killing Commendatore has a great plot and is a quick read. Plot driven more than character driven...." Read more

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Day Reader
Right story, right time.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023
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The older I get, the more sure I am that the books that stick with you the longest are the ones that enter into your life when you need them. If you read a masterpiece of literature in the wrong head space it won't resonate, but you could read a dime novel at the right time and it stays with you forever

Murakami is a strange author. He is a master of creating odd, leisurely novels full of arms length self analysis and deep undercurrents of emotion. Everything feels important, but also distant. Like a dream. In that way most of his works have sort of blurred together for me, mixing his favorite writing ingredients together in different recipes but ultimately not sticking to me at all once I put the book down.

Killing Commendatore is the first book of his that has stuck with me since the very first of his I read, long ago. Most probably because it entered my life at the right time. The novel you see is, on it's face, a haunted house story. An unnamed portrait artist separates from his wife and moves into an isolated house in the mountains near Odwara. The house was owned by a famous aging artist of Japanese style works who is now ill and in hospice. It is full of secrets, hidden paintings, mysterious histories dating back to WWII, lost shrines, ghostly specters and bells.

But more critically, the story is not about the house at all. It is about transition points. When a comfortable life going in one direction is suddenly shaken and send adrift, and how a new path is forged from that murky uncertainty by grappling through the darkness. That is the core of the story, and Murakami lands that in every way that matters. It was the sort of story I was ready for in my own life to read, and it's one reason the story stuck with me so well despite it's flaws.

And there are flaws aplenty. While Murakami manages to almost every mystery up, the novel is a bit over long and something parts gets repetitive. It has the usual and unfortunate Murakami obsession with woman's breasts and poorly written love scenes, as well as his tendency to drift a bit too much into the metaphorical in his ideas that leave a few plot points not connecting with total satisfaction. That being said, the core stories of the haunted house and the man in the middle of a turning point in his life all landed for me, and this is one story of his that will stick with me for a long time.

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BronxBuz
Climbing Down the Mental Ladder
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2019
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Not the best, not the worst. Despite its 700-page length, Killing Commendatore is a readable work, but it is not on the same level as “Kafka on the Shore,” “Wild Sheep Chase,” or “IQ84.” The narrator, a portrait artist, is going through a separation as well as being at a mid-career crisis. Art and music play important roles in the story. Murakami readers know that the author is an aficionado of jazz and classical music. In past works, the classical music in the background has been Prokofiev, Beethoven, Liszt, and Schubert. This time, it is Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier playing, but it is the fans of Mozart who will be most intrigued. The title refers to the Mozart opera, Don Giovanni, a painting of which is discovered in the attic of a house the narrator is renting. The painting depicts the opening scene, which is the killing of the character Commendatore. Not surprisingly, with Murakami’s use of altered reality, the characters of Commendatore and Donna Anna eventually come to life just two-feet tall. Many of the characters are “mysterious,” e.g. Menshiki, the neighbor; and the "Man with the White Suburu Forester." Even objects, such as the dry well (ala “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle”), the knife and the bell are of uncertain realities. Overall, there is a lot to enjoy, e.g. the underground adventure, and the depiction of an artist at work. My own love of art, Mozart, and Strauss may have influenced my enjoyment of this work. On the minus side, there is too much repetitive writing, and some of the story elements seem superfluous, e.g. Mariye’s intrusion into Menshiki’s house and the narrator’s multiple, unemotional sexual encounters. Has Murakami actually made sex boring? You decide. But did I like the book? Yes, indeed.
["Mental" ladder is a typo on page 194 of the hardcover edition; the word should have been "metal," but Murakami probably would like the error.]

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Wilson
Multilayered Story with an Unexpected Twist
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2018
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This may be one of my favorite Murakami books. Killing Commendatore explores loss and how to come to terms with the loss of a sister, a parent, a child, a true love, identity, and a marriage. The narrator, a portrait painter, escapes to the mountains to live in his friend's famous father's (who also happens to be an artist) house as he navigates an unexpected divorce. I could relate to his experience and how he processed his feelings. The journey is very believable. The reader also learns a bit about painting (which I found interesting).

The action begins with the discovery of a painting hidden in the attic. What follows is a tale with all of the expected elements of a Murakami novel: a well, magical realism, jazz music, a touch of history, cooking, a disappearance, and the typical cast of characters. I enjoy these elements and don't mind that they are explored in new ways with new characters in each new book. There was a twist (which I didn't see coming at all) where I expected magical realism to be the explanation, but in reality, the explanation was very much grounded in reality.

Themes explored are the loss of a mother, relationships between parents and children, having a parent in hospice care, life-long and newly acquired friendships, and of course, divorce. I read the Kindle edition, but loved it so much I bought the UK edition for my shelf. The story stayed with me for a long time after finishing it.

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Under Ether
beautiful, magical Murakami
Reviewed in Canada on November 25, 2019
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I loved reading this book. I've read quite a few of Murakami's novels and this was my second favorite, after the Wind Up Bird Chronicle. Very surreal. I'm not even sure how to describe the story because it moved in multiple directions. Metaphors, strange occurrences, dreams, symbolism, hidden worlds.. it's all here. So satisfying. One those books I wanted to absorb entirely but also was so reluctant to get to the end, because i didn't want it to finish.

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Mr. P. Gardiner
A deeply satisfying psychological odyssey
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2024
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Having enjoyed reading the Wind up bird chronicle I was eager to read this book. There is something fresh and original in Murakami’s writing - he can do so much to elevate the mundane to a much higher level. I am not an artist, but his exploration into the world of artistic expression through painting is inspiring. He shows how painting can be used to express the deepest and most tightly concealed emotions, and in this novel the painting is the key to the hero embarking on an odyssey through the darkest tunnels of his traumatised self. The mystical dry stone pit in the ground is also an entry point, as it was in the Wind up bird chronicle. This is magical realism at its best. I read it whilst travelling across Europe by train and it proved itself to be a delightful travel companion that I didn’t want to say goodbye to.

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Nawwaf
Very pretty copy! But so-so novel
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on November 7, 2023
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If anyone wants to read or collect all of Murakami’s novels, I’d definitely recommend buying this version. But honestly, I wouldn’t recommend anyone reading it. Read The Wind-up Bird Chronicles. It’s very similar but more well written.

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Cliente Amazon
Fantástico
Reviewed in Brazil on December 24, 2020
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Fantástico

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gabriele cadoni
Up to expectations
Reviewed in Italy on December 30, 2023
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As usual, Murakami keeps you on your tiptoes with a storyline that is ever changing and thrilling, constantly evolving and surprising, delivers as he always did, a book that will suprise and fascinates you until the end.

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Killing Commendatore: A novel Kindle Edition

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Right story, right time.

4.0 out of 5 stars Climbing Down the Mental Ladder

5.0 out of 5 stars Multilayered Story with an Unexpected Twist

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful, magical Murakami

5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply satisfying psychological odyssey

3.0 out of 5 stars Very pretty copy! But so-so novel

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantástico

5.0 out of 5 stars Up to expectations

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Right story, right time.

Climbing Down the Mental Ladder

Multilayered Story with an Unexpected Twist

beautiful, magical Murakami

A deeply satisfying psychological odyssey

Very pretty copy! But so-so novel

Fantástico

Up to expectations