Ten down...
...one more to go in Keeping Busy with Murakami. It's almost over!
I finished Kafka on the Shore sometime during the past weekend. Murakami stated that this novel could be understood better after multiple readings. I could believe that. Some spoilery details I didn't get during my first run through the book were:
Several books were name-dropped in this book, in addition to the usual name-dropping of musicians. Other than Arabian Nights and the Tale of Genji, Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari was mentioned. It's a collection of ghost stories, and one of the characters in the book made it sound interesting, I requested the book from the library circuit so I'll probably read it once it gets to my local library.
Next up is After Dark, which I read for the first time just before starting the whole Murakami re-reading. It's fairly short; I think I finished most of it while waiting for a flight on the day I got it. I'll finally be DONE (unless Tokyo Mysterious Story Collection ends up getting released in English in the next week or so).
I finished Kafka on the Shore sometime during the past weekend. Murakami stated that this novel could be understood better after multiple readings. I could believe that. Some spoilery details I didn't get during my first run through the book were:
- Satoru Nakata - The old man who talks to cats is also the boy who did not regain consciousness with his classmates at the Rice Bowl Hill Incident, detailed in the earlier even chapters of the book. I don't know why I did not get that the first time around. =_=;;
- They kept mentioning that Nakata's shadow is weak. This time around I got this as a reference to Murakami's earlier novel, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (or so I think).
- The translator could have been more explanatory about the "foxes" mentioned on page 252. They kind of explain it later as a fox spirit, but non-anime nerds/Japanese studies majors probably wouldn't get it as tricky Kitsune.
Several books were name-dropped in this book, in addition to the usual name-dropping of musicians. Other than Arabian Nights and the Tale of Genji, Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari was mentioned. It's a collection of ghost stories, and one of the characters in the book made it sound interesting, I requested the book from the library circuit so I'll probably read it once it gets to my local library.
Next up is After Dark, which I read for the first time just before starting the whole Murakami re-reading. It's fairly short; I think I finished most of it while waiting for a flight on the day I got it. I'll finally be DONE (unless Tokyo Mysterious Story Collection ends up getting released in English in the next week or so).