Self has no memory of reading any of the stories (except for the one about cooking spaghetti), how odd. If ever a book demanded close reading, it is this one. Each sentence has a precise and very unpredictable effect. For instance, one sentence can say, “I’m going to kill myself tomorrow” and the next sentence will be something like “So I settled on the couch to watch a game show.”
She is totally in awe of Murakami’s unwavering commitment to the absurd.
- I didn’t want to think about plaque on people’s teeth, and I especially didn’t want to hear or think about it while I was eating.
The next sentence is about how the narrator wishes she could just resume reading — of all things — Anna Karenina instead of listening to her husband.
Oh of course! Anna Karenina throws herself in front of a train; is Murakami implying that the wife would throw herself in front of a train if she has to spend another minute listening to her husband talk about plaque removal?
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Kanlaon 