Killing Commendatore

Murakami In Wonderland

The English translation of Haruki Murakami's book was eagerly awaited, even though reviews of the Japanese original were not exactly raving

Still, Murakami could never write a bad book; even if he did, it would be a great read. Murakami with his surreal style, may be an acquired taste but his books are addictive. About time he was awarded that elusive Nobel (and also the Bad Sex prize given out annually).

Killing Commendatore, translated by Phillip Gabriel and Ted Goossen, follows the strange adventures of the unnamed protagonist, a popular painter of portraits, whose life comes apart when Yuzu, his wife of six years announces that she wants to leave him for another man.

He gets out of home, drives around aimlessly for a while till his friend Masahiko Amada offers him the use of a remote mountain cottage, where his father, the great artist Tomohiko Amada used to live and paint. He suffers from dementia and was moved to a care home.

The narrator wants to be a 'real' artist and no longer wishes to paint portraits but inspiration does not strike even amidst peaceful, picturesque surroundings. To pad his dwindling bank balance, he teaches at a nearby art school. He also starts casual affairs with two married women, one of whom stays around for a while, bringing him news from her "jungle grapevine."

Then, three things happen, he gets offered a huge amount of money to paint a portrait of the mysterious Menshiki, who lives on a hilltop mansion nearby. Menshiki has been inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby, except for the lavish parties. He also lives in splendid isolation and has a peculiar obsession for a young woman. (Later, homage is  also paid to  Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland.)

Menshiki claims to have retired rich from the sale of his tech business, but there is no trace of him online. His most remarkable feature is his snow white hair. He drives expensive cars, wears stylish clothes and has a hidden agenda for seeking out the artist.

Then, the narrator discovers a painting titled Killing Commendatore by Amada hidden in the attic, which bewitches him. The genesis of the painting inspired by the opera Don Giovanni, lies in the time Amada spent studying art Vienna.

The third strange occurrence is a the sound of a bell that wakes up the narrator at night, till he and Menshiki trace it to a pit in the forest nearby. Disturbing the stones on the pit unleash a creature who plays a big part in what happens next.

It would be a spoiler to reveal any more, but the book has to be read at leisure, savouring Murakami's descriptions of food, clothes, music, books and art.

Very few writers can throw logic to the winds, forget about connecting dots and tantalise the reader regardless. The one annoying thing about this book, is the writer's breast fetish-- his conversations about breasts, particularly with a thirteen-year-old girl, are creepy. Ignore that and the novel will please a Murakami fan.

Killing Commendatore

By Haruki Murakami

Translated by Phillip Gabriel, Ted Goossen

Publisher: Knopf

Pages: 674