Mimslob > Recent Status Updates

I was confused at first because I thought the book was going to jump right into some kind of love story. But now I can see a glimpse of where this is all going, and I don’t mind the first part, though—it’s very well written. Some parts remind me of The Trial by Kafka, with its workplace setting and especially the description of Raif’s family. Anyway, this looks very promising.

The Ferris wheel part is really weird and disturbing. It seems like Sumire is similar to the other side of Miu that’s missing. She’s full of desire and is the type of person whom no rules can restrain. And with what Sumire wrote earlier about people erecting walls to separate what we know from what we don’t, everything seems intertwined, but I don’t know how.

There was, surprisingly, an element of horror in the atmosphere when Miu found Sumire in her room. I don’t know why it never occurred to me that Sumire was going to disappear, since it might be the most Murakami thing ever. Anyway, I still have no idea what the protagonist could do on the island or where the story would go next.

Finally, it seems like the book is really starting to kick off. Interestingly, the protagonist is finally going to talk to Miu after hearing about her from Sumire all this time, even though I have absolutely no idea what they'll talk about besides Sumire. And I guess that'll be the moment when the book's main plot finally reveals itself.

That’s a really long first chapter for a Murakami book. So far, it feels a little so-so; not much has happened yet. I guess we’ll have to wait for the story to develop further.

And even though the protagonist is a woman, the book still reads like a typical Murakami book, which I suppose is because the story is still told by a man.

Damn, she really doesn’t like those carp at all. I thought that we were going to head in a different direction when the father fell into the sewer. But I guess that’s not what the book is aiming for. Still, seeing the protagonist tell her story from the perspective of her older self, I really wish we could at least see her as an adolescent. Also, I’m really curious about how this book will end.

Seems like this book might only focus on the protagonist’s very early years, which is kind of making me sad because I think watching her grow up would be interesting too.

Anyway, this seems to be more chill than I thought, which is fine by me, but I wouldn’t mind getting to see some action here.

Also, just to mention one small thing, I feel like she really became more normal as the story went on.

I didn't expect the first chapter to be that philosophical at all. But I can see that it will tone down as the story goes on and as the characters grow. Also, it's kind of interesting that we still don't know the protagonist’s sex. I understand that they’re a god or whatever, but I think it will eventually become inevitable to mention it as they continue to grow.

I didn't expect everything to go down so fast. Although Gatsby tried so hard to become successful and accumulate all this wealth, it seems like he still never reached the same level as Daisy. Not because of the amount of money he has, but because of the “purity” of the wealth he has gained. No matter how you look at it, it just seems like Gatsby's dream will never come true.

The book places a lot of emphasis on the somewhat disappointing feeling Gatsby experiences when he finally meets Daisy. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to be Daisy in this situation either; there’s no way anyone could live up to the expectations of someone who sought them out with such passion. But I think Daisy probably doesn’t care and is happy to receive this much affection and attention.

The relationship between Nick and Baker is surprisingly intriguing. They seemed mismatched and didn't have any chemistry when they first met, but then the author found the right angle and described their evolving relationship in a few paragraphs, making everything make sense. Suddenly, it feels believable for them to become something. And I think that is, undoubtedly, good writing.

I didn't expect the subtextual homoeroticism at the end of Chapter 2 at all. I think it would be really important to keep this little detail in mind as we go on with the book, since it may suggest different meanings in the relationship between Nick and Gatsby once they get to know each other better. And I'm pretty sure that’s intentional, because the way the author put it in there feels too overt to ignore.

In the first chapter, we observe all the characters through Nick's eyes, which seems fitting since he describes himself as “inclined to reserve all judgments” on the first page of the book. I really like how he contrasts people from the East and the West in terms of how they spend their evenings; it’s a subtle but distinct way of showing how privileged their lives are.