Reading the Chunksters discussion

This thread is for discussing chapters 14-17.

A lot of handholding is going n here..A. fell in love with a boy when she was ren. Dukakis-Eri is always holding hands with Tengo.

And now the dowager has A. meet a ten year-old girl, Tsubasa, who has had her eggs destroyed by the Little People. Aomame is alone in seeing two moons in the sky. The story Tengo has srewritten also has a scene with two moons, which he is asked to expand.

And as a child Tengo learned learned to play tympani in just days for a performance of Janack’s piece that was playing in the taxi scene that opened the book. .

OK. The Little People have me creeped out. What the heck is going on there with them destroying a young girls’ eggs? Who exactly are they? That’s my number one question at this point.

Also, the girl that Aomame meets, Tsubasa, is 10 years old just like the girl in the Air Chrysalis story. And remember - when Tengo is rewriting the story, he speculates that the girl is Fuka-Eri.

And now we have the two moons that Aomame sees, similar again to the Air Chrysalis story.

So there is overlapping events and characters in both reality and the story. Not to mention that Aomame feels that she is in a parallel world.

And I just have to say that the sex scenes and dialogue that go with are super cringe-worthy. 😬

Murakami is a regular nominee in the Bad Sex Writing competition.

Yes, I've heard that, Dan. I just can not seem to get used to reading it. lol.

Linda wrote: "And I just have to say that the sex scenes and dialogue that go with are super cringe-worthy. 😬"

Totally agree. Whenever Murakami starts writing sex, i roll my eyes and read as fast as possible to get to the next bit!

I've only read chapter 14, but there seems to be a lot of repetition in this chapter. We are revisiting Tengo's relationship with his dad yet again. Given how often I've seen mention of the subscription collector, Tengo's Dad, I'm beginning to suspect he will play a critical role, if not wider one, somewhere down the pike. Aomame read in the library archive newspaper something about a subscription collector getting into a violent altercation with someone.

EDIT: I came across this:
https://japantoday.com/category/natio...

But Tengo also wonders if he is someone else’s son. Murakami is filling in a mosaic - and mentioning thing he can weave into the story(s) to come.

I had also wondered if the inference was that the NHK collector at the centre of the news story A read was Tengo's father too. We seem to have three characters who have left home/experienced critical events as ten year old (A, T and Tsubasa). Not sure if that will be significant or not.

The two moons thing is interesting as so far it appears that only A can see two. I come back to the thought that maybe she is living in the story of Air Chrysalis - though Air Chrysalis is being presented as maybe a representation of Fuka-Eri's experiences.

I agree with the sex writing. It isn't great and there have been scenes where I am not sure what they have really added to the story so far. Though I agree with what someone said (I think in the last block we wrote) the whole incident where A suddenly has a hang over after seemingly having a 'wild night' with her new friend Ayumi makes me wonder if she was drugged too and where that story line is going.

The other thing t hat I am wondering about goes right back to the opening of the book and keeps getting mentioned with Tengo is his 'memory' of his mother which clearly can't be an actual memory as he saw this from outside himself when he was sleeping. So what does this actually mean and is meant to tell us about Tengo?

Good point about baby Tengo; he's asleep at the time. Now I really want to know who the taxi driver is.

Is it just me or is Aomame the only one who sees the 2 moons? She has asked the bodyguard and Ayumi and neither seems to notice that there are two moons. That seemed odd. I don't trust Ayumi. Aomame has to say that she doesn't want a physical relationship with her, but Ayumi seems to push it. Wanting to be held in bed...

I don't know why, but I thought the moment when A saw the two moons was so romantic. Maybe it is because she doesn't know yet that Tengo is helping with a story about two moons. It just seemed so real too. Almost like I could see two moons.

I think that the taxi driver is Komatsu, but that is a very random guess.

I thought the part about the little people was really creepy too, but it explains the increased risk for A's next mission. It seems like she is going to go into the commune at some point. Maybe the blind goat is some part of their new creepy religion?

Hi, everyone. Because life got in the way, I haven't been around to read or comment. But now I'm ready to resume. I'll read one or two chapters per day until caught up.

Chapter 15

I’ll have the mussels, the three-onion salad, and the Bordeaux-braised Iwate veal stew. How about you?” “I’d like the lentil soup, the warm spring green salad, and the parchment-baked monkfish with polenta. Not much of a match for a red wine, but it’s free, so I can’t complain.

Sometimes menu items are like book reviews, front loaded with adjectives accompanied by nouns working overtime as adjectives. At any rate, I'm a bit hesitant about tasting baked parchment-like anything. (I suspect that hyphen is working overtime.) I looked up "polenta" and my online dictionary, which I'm sure is wrong (and shame on it for that), called it a porridge (But, Hey! It said nothing about gruel -- thanks for that). LOL. Sorry couldn't resist.

PS: I once, when much younger and more foolish than I am now, went hunting in the sea for mussels near a lighthouse, and spent the afternoon cleaning and scrubbing the sand from them. Then I ate them. Must have been the mussels I scrubbed away, because the sand was there with a vengeance. Now whenever I see the word "mussels" on a menu I think of Lou Costello getting quirt in the face by a submerged renegade hiding in his soup. No thank you!!!!

PPS: Thanks for letting me have a little fun.

More Chapter 15

But if you can love someone with your whole heart—even if he’s a terrible person and even if he doesn’t love you back—life is not a hell, at least, though it might be kind of dark. Is that what you’re saying?” Ayumi asked.

Why is Aomame agreeing with this? Didn't she kill her best friend's husband for being like this guy? In fact, doesn't her profession involve them?

I think Ayume is filling the role of Aomame's dead best friend. I wonder how alike they are, really?