Killing Commendatore Summary
Haruki Murakami

Killing Commendatore Overview

Haruki Murakami's Killing Commendatore is a magical-realist novel set in the mountains of northern Japan. When a professional portrait artist (who remains unnamed in the novel) is suddenly left by his wife of six years, he journeys to the mountains to take up residence in the home of a famous artist, whose son is a close friend of his. Discovering a painting in the attic labelled "Killing Commendatore," the artist unwittingly sets off a chain of increasingly strange events that involve his new neighbors, including the mysterious billionaire, Mr Menshiki, a schoolgirl named Mariye, and Mariye's aunt, Shoko. When the artist unearths a shrine in his garden and releases the spirit of an "Idea" that has taken on the form of a character from "Killing Commendatore," he must confront his inner fears and his own past to protect Mariye from the supernatural forces that live in the mountain.