#wampeter

// i can only hope some things will be burned //

So all four of the Murakami books I've read (Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Wild Sheep Chase, 1Q84, Kafka on the Shore) take seemingly unrelated characters, who turn out to have intertwining fates, (a karass), that are working towards a common goal or object (a wampeter). Basically, Murakami's books often have a very Bokonon-ist plot. [Bokononism is a religion Kurt Vonnegut made up for his book Cat's Cradle] I guess this is kind of silly realization, but I'm proud of myself; double literary reference, booyah. also, I've decided I like Kafka on the shore a lot, because I understand a lot of the politics/humanities mentioned and it makes me feel accomplished, on top of it being a good book anyways. Is that silly? When books bring up a philosopher you just learned about, or music you've always listened to, it feels so good. Usually books try to do that a lot and just don't work. But little things here, Japanese writers I know, talking about Rousseau's theories on civilizations, both things I came across in coursework in the last year, it's nice.