Killing Commendatore

By: Haruki Murakami

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami, read by Kirby Heyborne.

The epic new novel from the internationally acclaimed and best-selling author of 1Q84.

In Killing Commendatore, a thirty-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a strange painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist’s home, and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors.

A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art – as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby – Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.

Critic reviews

It’s safe to say that there’s no one like Murakami

Murakami’s reality has many sides; some plain, some fancy. Translators Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen capture every colour on this mind-altering palette. No other author mixes domestic, fantastic and esoteric elements into such weirdly bewitching shades. Murakami’s “Land of Metaphor” remains a country where wonders never cease (Boyd Tonkin)

Wild, thrilling. . . Murakami is a master storyteller and he knows how to keep us hooked

Expansive and intricate . . . touches on many of the themes familiar in Mr. Murakami’s novels: the mystery of romantic love, the weight of history, the transcendence of art, the search for elusive things just outside our grasp

I found it totally gripping with scarcely a dull page, the loose ends enhancing its mystery. An absorbing work by a great writer

An immersive big-hearted new novel

Written in a simple, readable style that leaves you free to concentrate on the weirdness of the content… There is no other writer able to give us the fix that his unique qualities provide

In this novel, [Murakami] captures the creative process compellingly… The complex landscape that Murakami assembles in Killing Commendatore is a word portrait of the artist’s inner life

Murakami keeps the reader gripped

Rich, sprawling… Killing Commendatore is a… powerful, sustained meditation on how we engage with works of art

A necessarily difficult read.

This book is difficult because it flows in an abstract manner and the story is revealed in layers. I am sure that it will continue to reveal itself for years to come. Be that as it may, it is a beautiful, necessary read and I highly recommend it to those who read to be fulfilled.

Interesting and enjoyable read

I am a big Murakami fan — I have read all his books. This one like many others of his, centres around a recently divorced man, a loner who loves jazz and classical music, and cooking pasta. It also has many references to his previous books such as “colourless” character, etc. I am, however, willing to ignore such repetitions for “Killing Commendatore” offers an interesting set of new characters — a miniature commendatore and a sartorial millionaire. I enjoyed this book and found it quite hard to put down.

Disappointing

This newest novel from Murakami is a bit of a slog. There’s a kind of a dance that’s happening between this story and The Great Gatsby, alongside the references to various operas, Japanese stories and so on. Unfortunately it doesn’t come to much, and the author comes across as more interested in young women’s breasts than anything else.

The narration is alright, although words in Japanese, German, French and other languages are very poorly pronounced throughout. This is very poor for someone reading a Japanese novel. Do your homework!

At 28 hours, it is a big commitment - one I doubt I’d recommend.

Utterky boring

Murakami seems to have lost it. Starting around 1Q84, his novels lack direction and are drowned in words.