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Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

#84: June - Aug. 2010 (Fiction)
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Theomanic

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Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Haruki Murakami

Chapter 3,
Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders / Malta Kano's Hat
Last edited by Theomanic on Sat Jun 05, 2010 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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I find here small mystery after small mystery. Where is his polka dot tie? How did Malta Kano recognize him in the busy cafe? Why does Malta feel she needs a fake name? What exactly does Malta do?

I particularly enjoy this descriptive phrase on Malta's hat in the photograph: "Again it was ominously mismatched with her outfit." Of all words, "ominously"?

There is some mention in this chapter on the restrictions of Japanese society: Toru's feeling of discomfort in his suit, his mention about how he would have gotten in trouble at work for wearing a nice tie, the fact that all the patrons in the tearoom were looking at them for doing something at all unusual.

What did you find significant in this chapter?
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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Not only did Malta recognize Toru Okada without the tie, but she tells him where to find the missing tie. I’m starting to feel that these women are “gas lighting” Okada.

Water is introduced in this chapter, another theme that weaves in and out of many of the chapters and Malta discusses water and the “elements of the body”. She makes an interesting remark, “I cannot explain to you in detail how all these circumstances are related. It would be a very long and very complicated story, and although I mean no disrespect to you when I say this, it would be virtually impossible for you at the stage, Mr. Okada, to attain an accurate understanding of the true meaning of that story, which involves a world that we deal with on a professional basis” (pg 42). This statement is pretty ominous.

It suggest to me that one, the people he meets and what they say are all related and two, that there is a big picture to this story, something important that Okada is not ready to accept or understand and that he has started a long journey, and three, he will be uncovering a world or life that is different and strange to him, or, a truth that he is incapable of understanding. But I can’t help thinking that this strange and different “world” or, “truth” is right in front of him, he just can’t see it, so the big picture is being cut up in little pieces for him to fit together, and us, as readers take the journey with him, and try to put the pieces together. But unlike other mysteries, I am enjoying the ride and trying not to outwit Murakami, because I don’t think I can.

What I find interesting is the role reversal of husband and wife. I can’t imagine that Komiko is happy with this. The passages about the beef and peppers had me laughing hysterically. There is a stigma in American culture about a man who relies on his wife for money, this stigma can only be intensified in the Japanese culture. Okada has taken on the role of wife very well. He makes dinner, gives her a beer, and listens to her day. But, I can’t help wondering why Okada quit his job. I am nagged with the feeling that there is something more to that story than he is letting on, maybe it is part of the “world” or “truth” that he is not ready to accept.

I am reminded of Peter Straub’s, “Ghost Story” while reading this. While reading “Ghost Story”, all the pieces are right there in front of you, but the reader is confused as to what is happening, until bam! It hits you in the face. I’ve said this before, Murakami is a great story teller, he is patient and his words are deliberate. He is my favorite type of writer. I feel like I am lost in the woods, Murakami is leading me deeper and deeper into the dark wilderness, but Murakami is a talented guide, and I trust him, I follow him blindly.
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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Suzanne wrote: I am reminded of Peter Straub’s, “Ghost Story” while reading this. While reading “Ghost Story”, all the pieces are right there in front of you, but the reader is confused as to what is happening, until bam! It hits you in the face. I’ve said this before, Murakami is a great story teller, he is patient and his words are deliberate. He is my favorite type of writer. I feel like I am lost in the woods, Murakami is leading me deeper and deeper into the dark wilderness, but Murakami is a talented guide, and I trust him, I follow him blindly.
This is the chapter where I started telling myself to remember, this is pomo, don't try to find symbols, don't expect answers to any of those questions. In short, I did not trust Murakami the way Suzanne is trusting him. Dear readers, Suzanne is right and I was wrong, 'nuff said.
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Suzanne

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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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Theomanic wrote:How did Malta Kano recognize him in the busy cafe?
There is only one logical explanation to this question.
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Theomanic

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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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Suzanne wrote:
Theomanic wrote:How did Malta Kano recognize him in the busy cafe?
There is only one logical explanation to this question.
Welllll.... yes, that is true. However! I would put forth that you can't assume in this book that the only logical explanation is the correct one. Obviously, the only way she would know him (logically) is if she knew what he looked like already, but that just spurs more questions: Why did she imply she didn't know? How does she know? Did Kumiko show her a picture for some reason? Why would Kumiko show Malta a picture of her husband when Malta is looking for a cat? If not a picture, how else would Malta know? Has she been spying on him? And so it goes... and that is assuming we are accepting a logical reason. Maybe Malta knows him because she can sense his energy as a man who has lost his cat. Maybe Toru has an aura about him that is unique and only Malta can see it. Who knows?
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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What I find interesting is the role reversal of husband and wife. I can’t imagine that Komiko is happy with this. The passages about the beef and peppers had me laughing hysterically. There is a stigma in American culture about a man who relies on his wife for money, this stigma can only be intensified in the Japanese culture. Okada has taken on the role of wife very well. He makes dinner, gives her a beer, and listens to her day.
Yes. I had a hint of that when Komiko mentions it in the first chapter as something she might even end up liking. Further, this job she holds is getting demanding everyday and she is sure to resent the fact that she cant give it up or afford to give it up like her husband.

Here again, the missing cat is somehow the skewed center of the story. It has been for the last three chapters and by now you know something is up with it (never mind that the blurb at the back of the book says so!)
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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What do you guys think of the cover? Why do you think the bird is upside down?
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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The cover on the edition I am reading is a stylized extreme close-up of the left side of a bird’s face. The bird’s eye fills about 1/3 of the space on the front. The image may qualify as minimalism but it is not surreal. I guess the book designer only read a synopsis of the story and got that it was pomo but missed the surreal emphasis.

The picture of a cover on this message board, the upside down bird, is more realistic (except it is upside down). I thought the bird was the winding knob on a clock that happened to be in that position.
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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I really enjoy the cover at for Murakami's books. I find they're a good balance between realism and surrealism, just like his stories. Having said that, before I read his novels, I found his cover at a little bizarre. I guess I was really used to sci-fi and fantasy books with pretty obvious art. This is the title character, this is the Important Object they have, this is their sidekick, etc. That or something totally abstract, like some stripes or something. I think I've come a long way in appreciating cover art since then!
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