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

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

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

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I've read 5 chapters of this book now and in some ways it is fulfulling my expectations for this style of (post-modern?) novel. There is the upside down bird on the cover and the chapter titles, odd and apparently disconnected, creating the suspicion in my mind that the author has other narratives at play here. I also expect neurotic characters and I'm seeing some measure of that (ie - the mysterious girl he meets in the alley and 'malta'). To me this suggests perception-misperception of reality, and the strangeness of defining what we think reality is.

On the cat - couple of thoughts - the cat is missing from the beginning but is a significant character, in a way, and contributes to the story moving forward (such as it does) - I think Murakami makes us feel like we know the cat even though it is missing. The search for the cat, in the alleyway, seems structured for meaning. The cat is missing but quite present in the story and is a huge concern for Kumiko (and hence her husband) and the alleyway is an abandoned strip of land serving no purpose but is still present, people seem to be stuck with it.

An aside - I went to an Allen Ginsberg poetry reading when I was a student, an odd coincidence but it was in the same time period that the author mentions, sometime in 78-79 .. and the main thing I can recall is that Ginsberg did a poem called "The Tiger", where he beat a drum at about heart rate and spoke in mind-breaths (as many words as he could get out before running out of air). Weird that his poem was about 'a cat'.
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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giselle wrote:On the cat - couple of thoughts - the cat is missing from the beginning but is a significant character, in a way, and contributes to the story moving forward (such as it does) - I think Murakami makes us feel like we know the cat even though it is missing.
I agree with you giselle, I think the cat is very important, very symbolic. It may be possible that the cat symbolizes Kumiko. Kumiko is distressed about this loss and desperatly wants her husband to search and retrieve what has been lost. Murakami cleverly uses a cat, which has the ability to move about freely.

This novel builds upon itself, chapter by chapter. And as you get further into the book, you may find that your commment above has more meaning than you realize.
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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Suzanne wrote: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.
Thanks Suzanne. My impression of Toru Okada is that he is a bystander in his own life who feels little or no inclination to deal with what confronts him. For example, I think it was his last conversation with Komiko before her disappearance, he refers to not knowing what his "image" is and that is an excuse for no pursuing any sort of work. He seems disconnected from reality and just waiting for things to happen for him. I think the story of Lieutenant Mamiya and his survival stands in stark contrast to the rather lame approach to life that Okada practices.

I see a possible symbolic connection (maybe a dotted line one) between the 'well' that Mamiya almost dies in and the water theme. His experience with the sun shining into the well for a few seconds each day and the way that made him feel at one with the universe suggests a quest for understanding of the fundamental elements of life or life forces. Perhaps this is Toru Okada's quest but at this point he is lamely sitting back and letting life happen around him.

The theme of fortelling the future and whether or not it is in one's favour to know the future and to know one's fate is prominent in this book. The scattered, fragmented structure of the novel suggests a fragmentation of characters and their lives and casts doubt on their future and perhaps questions the very notion that there is a future that can be told. The posthumous gift from Mr. Honda that turns out to be an empty box, after a huge build up, is suggestive of this.
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Re: Ch. 3 - Sherbet Tone and Allen Ginsberg and the Crusaders

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Well, I sure don't know where this is going, but it's intriguing. I'm looking forward to listening again tomorrow night.

Thanks for choosing this book, folks.

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

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I don't know exactly where you asked this, but here's something that impressed me that was said in these beginning chapters . . .

the minute you leave your house
all phones sound alike
from part 2


It's so true!
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