Books on the Nightstand discussion

You shouldn't be reading this unless you've read the book because I'm going to talk about the ending.

Sara tells Tsukuru that she will make up her mind in 3 days whether she will be with him or the "other" man. Did anyone else have the sense that the man Tsukuru saw her with was her father? For some reason, my initial reaction when Tsukuru was in the coffee shop and saw Sara with another man was that this was a father-daughter outing. I need to go back and read that passage.
It drove me crazy that Murakami didn't tie up this storyline.

I thought that was a possibility (that the man was her father).

But I think that Tsukuru's arc was achieved in that:

1) he was able to take a risk again in declaring his love for Sara.

2) His closure experience with his friends showed him that he's not, in fact, "colorless" and dull. He was undervaluing himself.

3) his closure experience also taught him that, in human interactions, not everything can be explained. Sometimes things just happen. No one person is necessarily at fault when relationships break down.

I think the important take-home at the end was that Tsukuru was able to take a risk. By not revealing Sara's decision, Murakami highlights that it WAS a risk, rather than a foregone conclusion that Sara would commit to him.

Yet I think enough seeds were planted for the reader to infer a happy ending. I did.

I'm not so sure Eric. I agree the Tsukuru's pilgrimage freed him to take risks again and so that arc was achieved. But what happens if Sara rejects him? Does he go back to being "colorless"?

I don't think that Sara has another lover but I do think she is unsure about Tsukuru. A woman who has another lover in her bed will generally not answer the phone at 4am and talk to another man. But a woman who is in love also generally will not tell a man she loves I will talk to you in 3 days. When faced with a declaration of love she does not say "I'm fond of you too". I think Tsukuru for lack of a better word has been friend-zoned.

Are Murakami's other books equally ambiguous?

Yes. The ones I've read, anyway. But aren't most literary novels these days?

Isn't that one reason YA is so popular? Because they're more plot-driven and unambiguous?

I think YA is really popular because it's about coming of age and everyone can relate to that. Plot driven and unambiguous I will have to think about.

It didn't even occur to me that the man could have been Sara's father. I couldn't figure out the significance of the three days. When the book ended, I was stunned and felt like I hadn't gotten 'closure.'

I don't read dystopian, futuristic, horror, fantasy, etc., books. I don't do cloudy. I need reality! So I assumed that everybody except me understood the ending.

I just thought the ages sounded about right. We are told that Sara is 38 and the man looked to be in his "early fifties"...if he was just a young looking late fifties, it's very possible. I don't see anything unusual about a woman of any age holding her father's hand and the fact that she looked so happy when Tsukuru otherwise describes her as being pretty subdued.....well, I guess there could be all kinds of reasons for that but one could be that she doesn't get to see her father often. I didn't find much to relate to in Tsukuru's experience so maybe I'm a little too focused on Sara's....she is, after all, a minor player.

Okay, guessing game. If the man was Sara's father, could the three days have meant that she wanted to run everything by him before making a decision?

If the man wasn't her father, perhaps he could have been a. old beau she had committed to seeing?

That three day thing is driving me nuts.

The only symbolism i've ever seen ascribed to the number 3 is in Christianity but I doubt that Murakami is making reference to the father, the son and the holy spirit....lol. My thoughts were that she is just really not that into him and she was busy so she's putting him off. Maybe if the other man is a lover, he's married and she's giving him an ultimatum....either divorce your wife or I've got this other guy over here waiting in the wings. Could be any number of things really. I still maintain that if Sara was truly in love with Tsukuru she wouldn't put him off at all. I understand why it's driving you crazy, Denise. I wonder if Murakami does any interviews....would love to hear him talk about this one.

I also thought that the man was her father, or an older relative. I don't think it really matters. The point was that whoever it was, Sara seemed happier with him than with Tsukuru. Tsukuru already lacks confidence in himself and in his worth to other people, so his interpretation of what he saw reflected on his own character rather than on Sara's.

I think Sara (wisely) wanted Tsukuru to have time to digest his experiences with his friends, and sort out his own issues before committing to a relationship. If Sara was seeing someone else, this would give her time to sort that relationship out as well.

Tsukuru 4 a.m. phone call was an indication that he was dealing with his emotional blockage, and had made some progress. I wouldn't be surprised by a sequel where he goes in search of Haida because he and Sara run into some problems.

I'm loving the ideas and suggestions. Perhaps I'm wrong to fixate on the three days. But I assumed it must be relevant or he wouldn't have written it.

Janet, I read an interview with him last night where he talked about this book, but he didn't talk about the three days. Lol

I thought it was her father or uncle, too.

That thought hadn't occurred to me. I guess the other Murakami books I've read prepared me for ambiguity, and in fact this one seemed far less surreal than some of the others. :)

I thought he had grown and processed enough over the course of the story — just being willing to face the questions showed emotional progress.

Regardless of whom Sara was with the evening Tsukuru saw her, I guess I decided (or assumed) that she and Tsukuru end up together. In any event, the hope of this happy ending was enough for me to close out the book, inasmuch as you ever can with Murakami.

Up until the very end of the book i kept hoping for closure and for loose ends to be tied. I guess this is the case with Murakami. The reader is called to decide the fate of the characters and fill in the gaps. There's a certain nobility to it, but i admit i felt a bit taken aback at times. Haida, for instance, left Tsukuro so abruptly that i can't shake the feeling that his role in the story was underdeveloped. But i guess Hayida served his purpose. After all, people who get attached to Tsukuru, eventualy and inevitably seem to leave him.

For a first time Murakami reader, i really liked this book.

PS . I also thought that the man with whom Sarah was holding hands was her father .

Paulo wrote: "Up until the very end of the book i kept hoping for closure and for loose ends to be tied. I guess this is the case with Murakami. The reader is called to decide the fate of the characters and fill..."

Wow! That was your first Murakami? I'd suggest reading his short stories (After the Quake is my favorite Murakami short-story collection, although Tony Takitani was lovely - as was the film.) Then read one or two shorter novels (e.g., Sputnik Sweetheart). Work your way up to 1Q84 and -- my all-time Murakami favorite -- The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.

I'm actually jealous that you have so much Murakami to experience for the first time!

This was my first Murakami, too.

I think by the time Tsukuru sees Sara with the older man, I was seeing through his eyes and therefore saw the man as a romantic partner. But since she appears so open with him, perhaps he is a family member or friend.

I don't tend to like endings without closure, but the whole book dealt with the fact that in life we often don't get answers or closure. Where did Haida go and why did he never get in touch again? Who killed Shiro and why? I would like to believe that lonely Tsukuru will finally have someone to love who will stay with him.

Laura wrote: "This was my first Murakami, too.

I think by the time Tsukuru sees Sara with the older man, I was seeing through his eyes and therefore saw the man as a romantic partner. But since she appears so ..."

Well said, Laura.