I started this blog in 2023, shortly after publishing my book, Murakamian Magical Realism and Psychological Trauma. Originally, this blog was entirely about Murakami, which is why the title (Wind-up Blog) is borrowed from what I think is Haruki Murakami’s masterpiece, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.
Over time, this blog/newsletter has evolved to look at Japanese literature in translation and is no longer centred entirely around Murakami. I post essays and reviews on a completely random schedule. You can see those in the archives. Everything is free to view.
If you like what you see, feel free to sign up. If you fiddle with the Substack settings, then you can either get my posts in your e-mail inbox or as app notifications. In any case, you can opt out if you find it’s not what you hoped for.
Whilst everything is 100% free, I have turned on the paid option for people who want to support my work. Some of these essays take weeks to research. It is a labour of love, but I have bills to pay, too.
