Pinball, 1973

infobox Book |
name = Pinball, 1973
title_orig = 1973年のピンボール
1973-nen no pinbōru
translator = Alfred Birnbaum


image_caption = cover of English edition
author = Haruki Murakami
cover_artist =
country = Japan
language = Japanese
genre = Surreal novel
publisher = Kodansha International
pub_date = June 1980
english_pub_date = September 1985
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 215 pp (US)
207 pp (JP)
isbn = ISBN 4-06-186012-7 (US 1st edition)
ISBN 4-06-116862-2 (JP 1st edition)
preceded_by = Hear the Wind Sing
followed_by = A Wild Sheep Chase

nihongo|"Pinball, 1973"|1973年のピンボール|1973-nen no pinbōru is a novel published in 1980 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The second book in the "Trilogy of the Rat" series, it is preceded by "Hear the Wind Sing" (1979) and followed by "A Wild Sheep Chase" (1982), and is the second novel written by Murakami.

All three books in the Trilogy of the Rat have been translated into English, but "Pinball, 1973", and "Hear The Wind Sing", the first two books in the trilogy, were only printed as English translations in Japan by Kodansha under their Kodansha English Library branding, and both only as A6-sized pocketbooks. They were never widely distributed, and are now out of print, however "Pinball, 1973" is by far the harder to find as it was almost certainly not printed in as many copies as its precurser. Murakami is alleged to have said that he does not intend for these novels to be published outside of Japan. Whether or not this is true, both novels are much shorter than those that follow and make up the bulk of his work, and are less evolved stylistically. Because of its limited publication, the English translation of "Pinball, 1973" is the most rare (and the most expensive) novel published by Murakami. The title, "1973-nen no Pinbōru" (1973年のピンボール) reflects the title of the well-known Oe Kenzaburo novel, "Man'en Gannen no Futtoboru" (万延元年のフットボール).

Plot introduction

Despite being an early work, "Pinball" shares many elements with Murakami's later novels. It describes itself in the text as "a novel about pinball," but also explores themes of loneliness and companionship, purposelessness, and destiny. As with the other books in the "Trilogy of the Rat" series, three of the characters include the protagonist, a nameless first-person narrator, his friend The Rat, and J, the owner of the bar where they often spend time.

Plot summary

The plot centers on the narrator's brief but intense obsession with pinball, his life as a freelance translator, and his later efforts to reunite with the old pinball machine that he used to play. Many familiar elements from Murakami's later novels are present. Wells, which are mentioned often in Murakami's novels and play a prominent role in "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle", occur several times in "Pinball". There is also a brief discussion of the abuse of a cat, a plot element which recurs elsewhere in Murakami's fiction, especially "Kafka on the Shore" and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" (in which the search for a missing cat is an important plotline). Rain and the sea are also prominent motifs.

Major themes

Similar to many of Murakami's other novels, the narrator is a detached, unintentionally apathetic character whose deadpan demeanor stands either in union or, more often, starkly in contrast with the attitudes of other characters. The narrative, detached from the tangible world but highly introspective, sets a surreal tone for the novel, in which the narrator seems to find little unusual about such things as living with a pair of twins whom he cannot distinguish and whose names he does not know, or performing a funeral for a telephone circuit box. While the novel hints vaguely at supernatural occurrences (which often appear in Murakami's fiction), the plot is not intended to be interpreted allegorically.