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Book 1, Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Reality and Subjective Experience
Free Will
Desire and Irrationality
The Personal Impact of War
Social Alienation
Summary
Analysis
The following day, Toru is home alone cooking lunch when the phone rings. Toru answers the phone and finds a woman named Malta Kano on the other end. Malta asks Toru if he is married to Kumiko and if Noboru Wataya is his brother-in-law. Toru confirms these details and then Malta hangs up the phone. Before she goes, she promises to call Toru back later. The phone call flusters Toru, who finds it bizarre and rude.
Like Toru’s dreams, phone calls add to the surreal feeling of the novel. Although the calls follow a logical progression, they are often strange, and Toru’s callers do not follow any of the rules of social etiquette. Phone calls also are a break from the isolation Toru experiences while Kumiko is at work.
Themes
Later in the afternoon, Kumiko calls Toru and tells him to look at for a phone call from Malta. Toru explains that Malta already contacted him and is planning to call back later. Kumiko insists that Toru must do whatever Malta says. Toru warns Kumiko that he wants nothing to do with Noboru Wataya because he assumes Malta is calling to recruit him for a job. Kumiko explains that Malta has nothing to do with her brother. Instead, Malta is a medium, whom Kumiko hired to help find the missing cat.
This section is the first time Toru exhibits open animosity toward Noboru, which is an important dynamic to recognize as the plot unfolds. Additionally, this is where the supernatural starts to infiltrate Toru’s apparent reality. Although for the moment Toru withholds judgment regarding Kumiko’s plan, Kumiko takes the idea of a medium rather seriously.
Themes
After Toru’s phone call with Kumiko, he takes a nap. He wakes up to the sound of the phone ringing and finds Malta on the other end. The two of them make plans to meet at the Pacific Hotel. Toru promises to wear a specific tie so Malta can recognize him. Unfortunately, when Toru goes to get dressed, he cannot find the tie anywhere. Not knowing what else to do, he chooses a different tie instead and then heads to the Pacific Hotel to find Malta.
Despite finding the whole situation strange and confusing, Toru decides to go along with it anyway. In part, this is because he has nothing better to do. Because he doesn’t have to go to work—and therefore has more time on his hands—Toru finds himself willing to go along with whatever Kumiko and Malta tell him to do.
Themes
At the Pacific Hotel, Toru looks around but cannot find anyone matching Malta’s description. Toru sits down at a table and orders some food while still scanning the room. Moments later, a beautiful woman approaches him and introduces herself as Malta. Toru is surprised Malta was able to figure out who he was considering he could not find the right tie. Toru expresses his surprise to Malta, who appears as though she does not know what he is talking about. Toru feels as though there is something distant and strange about Malta, though he does not know what.
Malta’s demeanor has a distancing effect. She seems to exist in a different reality and does not even remember her and Toru’s conversation about the tie. Malta’s aloof, distant personality suggests that she could, in fact, possess supernatural powers. After all, she did manage to Toru even though he wore the wrong tie to their meeting.
Themes
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Malta gives Toru her business card and explains that she gave herself the name “Malta” in honor of the island country, where she lived and worked for three years. Toru questions Malta about her occupation, and she explains that people hire her to give advice on the elements of the body. Toru does not know what to make of Malta’s answer, so he switches the topic to his missing cat.
The novel leaves the details of Malta’s powers opaque. This scene is as far as she goes to explain the constraints of her abilities. Nothing Malta says is particularly clear to Toru, so he quickly shifts the conversation to the missing cat.
Themes
Instead of answer Toru’s questions, Malta takes out a photograph and hands it to him. The photograph shows Malta with another woman, who she explains is her sister, Creta. Malta informs Toru that Noboru Wataya (Toru’s brother-in-law) raped Creta, which shocks Toru. Toru wonders what he has gotten himself into. Malta tells Toru that it is important that he knows about Noboru’s and Creta’s past relationship because it is likely that he will be in touch with Creta sometime in the near future. Additionally, she explains that she does not plan to contact the police about the rape, nor does she hold Toru responsible in any way. This comes as a relief to Toru because, although he does not like his brother-in-law and would be more than happy to see him go to prison, he worries about how such a public scandal would affect Kumiko.
Here, the subject of Toru and Malta’s conversation shifts abruptly, seemingly out of nowhere. Although Malta has some relationship with Kumiko—after all, Kumiko helped facilitate the meeting—their relationship is either more complicated than Kumiko has let on, or something more serious is happening, which Kumiko does not know about. This section also gives insight into how poorly Toru thinks of his brother-in-law. Toru does not doubt for a second that Noboru could commit such a crime and go to jail for it, making him a far more sinister character than the novel previously portrayed him as being. This revelation also raises questions about why Kumiko and Toru would name their cat after a heinous person, even if they look alike.
Themes
Toru and Malta return to the issue of the missing cat. Toru wonders how the cat and Noboru are at all related. Malta tells Toru that some sort of “flow” must have disturbed the cat and caused it to run off. She warns Toru that it is possible the cat is already dead. At the very least, she knows that he will never find the cat in his neighborhood. After revealing this information, Malta asks Toru to show her one of his hands. Toru is self-conscious about doing so, but he does as she asks. As Malta grabs hold of Toru’s hand, he notices that her touch is cold and lifeless. Malta tells Toru that his future contains both good and bad things—including some bad things that will first appear as good, and some good things that will first seem bad.
Although Malta speaks with authority, Toru is skeptical of her claims and behavior. His self-consciousness stems from the fact that he is in public and other people are witnessing the hand-reading Malta performs. Meanwhile, Malta’s cold and lifeless touch reveals something off about her; she is not what she looks like on the surface. Except for her supernatural powers, she acts like the shell of a person—she is distant and literally cold. Additionally, her predictions are vague and difficult to follow. What she says about “good and bad things” could apply to almost anything and does not seem likely to help Toru find the missing cat. Again, as Malta advises Toru, it seems she is really alluding to things that Toru does not yet know about.
Themes
Malta’s vague predictions frustrate Toru, who does not know what to make of them. Malta explains that her predictions are necessarily vague because that is how one must always be when talking about the essence of things. However, before Toru leaves, Malta does tell him two concrete pieces of information of advice about his future. First, she tells him he will hear from her again soon. Second, she says that he will find his missing tie, though it will not be in his house.
Here, Toru expresses his skepticism of Malta; he thinks she is more likely to be a con artist than a genuine mystic. However, Malta does give Toru a prediction he can use to test her abilities. Malta knows Toru is skeptical, and her mention of the tie is her way of proving herself to him.
Themes
