Andrew Markham > Recent Status Updates

Tengo arrived at the cram school and is told he has an unexpected visitor looking to speak with him about an important matter. The man identifies himself as being the director of an arts and culture institute and wants to award Tengo a grant for his work. Tengo senses something fishy about the grant and spends time investigating the strange man.

Young Victor contrasts himself to his siblings where they are more interested in the beauty of the alpine countryside and he is more interested in discovering the secrets of nature. He reads lots of Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus, but is eventually implored to ignore their works as “unfounded and based in demonology”, but is still drawn by the idea of creating an elixir of life.

Switching from the letters, we learn the upbringing and family history of young Victor. He speaks of his parents feeling a very strong obligation to look after the kid they gave life to. While on holiday with his family in Italy, his mother adopted a daughter, Elizabeth, who Victor is immediately connected very strongly to.

The arctic expedition is trapped by ice for a few days. On the first day they see a very large figure on a sledge racing across the ice. The next day they find a man who also had a sledge but has lost most of his dogs. The ship takes the man in and Robert Walton begins befriending the strange man who claims to be chasing someone who escaped him and that he will tell the full story over the next few days.

We begin the book with two letters to a Mrs Saville in England from her affectionate brother Robert Walton in St. Petersburg, Russia. He describes an upcoming adventure of his to the North Pole to discover “the secrets of the magnet” and potentially and new trade route to the new world. He also admits he feels very lonely without anyone to call a friend on his ship.

Aomame returns to the Dowagers’ compound and learns the the Leader of the Sakigake cult has abused at least four young girls. The Dowager then convinces Aomame to kill the Leader and in return, she could have the Dowager’s fortune. On her way out, Aomame has a strange conversation after asking Tamaru for a gun.

Tengo finds a tape from Fuka-Eri in his mailbox saying that she is okay and trying to lie low for a little while. Komatsu calls Tengo later that day to discuss the strange nature of her disappearance. While with his girlfriend, Tengo tells her a little about his new book and declares that he wishes he could rewrite the past and that is perhaps why he is a novelist.

Aomame and Ayumi go out on the town again and exchange information about their childhoods and habits. Ayumi says she’s learned more about the Sakigake cult and that there is likely more to them than they seem. Tamaru calls and sets up a meeting with Aomame for the next day and lets her know the guard dog, Bun, seems to have had a ‘silent explosion’ originating from her stomach and is dead.

Book XXIV: Achilles greets the suitours in the heavenly asphodel meadows where their ghosts will stay. Odysseus reunites with his father, Laertes, before they begin another fight with the families and friends of the slain suitors. Athene gets Zeus’ permission and eventually stops the fight.

Book XXIII: Penelope is told by the nurse that Odysseus has indeed returned and slain the suitors. In disbelief, Penelope goes to meet Odysseus and listens to all of his tales of woe from the past two decades. The next morning, the reunited family leave the city with the swineherd and neatherd.

Book XXII: A fight ensues between Odysseus and the suitors.

Book XXI: Telemachus returns to the feast and declares a challenge to the suitors that he who can shoot an arrow through the head of a dozen axes can lay claim to Penelope. When Telemachus and the rest of the suitors fail to complete the task, Odysseus reveals his true identity and looses a shot that cleanly goes through the heads of all 12 arrows.

Book XX: Odysseus spends the night in the entrance hall subjected to more verbal assault by the suitors. The next evening at yet another feast, Telemachus becomes more bold in speaking back to the suitors and demanding they treat him and the house with respect. One of the suitors throws a cows hoof at Odysseus’ head which nearly causes Telemachus to snap and begin the slaughter of the suitors.

Book XIX: Odysseus tells Telemachus that now is the time to hide the weapons of all the feasting suitors and repeats the rationale to use to convince them of this. Still-disguised Odysseus is cared for by his own nurse who feels a scar on his chest that instantly makes her realize his true identity. Odysseus tells her to keep the secret from Penelope.

Book XVIII: Another beggar arrives at the feast and challenges disguised Odysseus to fisticuffs over the right to beg at Odysseus’ house. Odysseus easily defeats the other beggar and flaunts it over him a little. Antinous tries to stoke some guile towards disguised Odysseus, but eventually the suitors are convinced to leave the feast and return home to sleep.

Book XVII: Telemachus returns home and meets Penelope and a disguised Odysseus arrives shortly after. Odysseus begins begging for food around the feasting hall and is obliged by all, except Antonus. Antonus is offended by the beggar and throws his footstool at him below the right shoulder. Penelope denounces Antonus and prays that Odysseus and Telemachus will slay all of them and retake the house from the suitors.

Book XVI: Telemachus arrives to the swineherd’s house and after sending the swineherd to tell Penelope the news of her son’s return, Athene removes Odysseus’ disguise and the father and son have a reunion to plan how to take back their house. The herald from Telemachus’ ship arrives at the house before the swineherd and publicly declares the return of Telemachus. The ambush ship also returns to Ithaca.

Book XV: Athene tells Telemachus that he and Nestor must return home to protect his wealth from the suitors who plague his house and warns of the party coming to slay him. Odysseus asks the swineherds whether he is welcome to stay longer to which they oblige him. Telemachus returns to Ithaca and sets out from his ship to the swineherd Athene has directed him towards.

A disguised Odysseus gets taken in by one of his own bondsmen, a swineherd. He is treated very kindly and generously by the swineherd who appears to be taking great care of his absent master’s livestock. Odysseus claims to be one of his comrades and prophecies that Odysseus is not only alive but shall return home before the next new moon.

Tengo returns to his normal routine of teaching, writing, reading, and meeting up with his older girlfriend in order to lay low while Air Chrysalis is selling like hotcakes. A few weeks into Air Chrysalis being sold, Komatsu calls Tengo to say that Fuka-Eri has been missing for a few days. Tengo says he doesn’t know where she is and worries heavily about her for the next three weeks until she finally calls him.

Aomame continues her research into Sakigake and the related Akbono cult, discovering one member escaped during the gunfight. She decides to call Ayumi to ask her if she can find anything out about them through the police records. Ayumi discovers the cult is buying up lots of land directly surrounding the compound and in cities across the country as well as a pattern of strange behaviour from Sakigake kids at schools.

Book XIII: The Phaeceans finish listening to Odysseus’ tales and successfully return him to Ithaca and drop him off while he’s still sleeping. On their way home Poseidon exacts his revenge against the Phaeceans and crashes their ship into the shore just before arriving home. Athene reveals to Odysseus that he’s been returned home to Ithaca and helps him with a plan and disguise to restore his house.

Fuka-Eri has fallen asleep in Tengo’s bed so he’s stayed up writing more of his story with pen and paper. Fuka-Eri eventually wakes up late in the night and comes out to main area where Tengo is working. Tengo reads a section of Anton Checkhov’s Sakhalin Island to put her back to sleep. Tengo questions what the true nature of his relationship with Fuka-Eri is after she falls back asleep.

We learn the young girl’s name is Tsubasa who, like Fuka-Eri, was abused by ‘the Leader’ and fled the Sakigake cult. The Dowager and Aomame agree that it would be best if he were to ‘pass on to the next life’ at some point in the next few months. Aomame returns home and falls asleep to then have a dream of the Little People emerging from an asleep Tsubasa’s mouth and begin working on some project.

We pick up after Fuka-Eri’s successful press interview where Komatsu is guaranteed to be a bestseller with how much hype it is generating. At a lunch with the three original conspirators and the Professor, they discuss how to handle the media wanting to inevitably find out more about Fuka-Eri, her parents, and the Skigake cult. They decide to try to lead the media to learn more for them about her parents and cult.

Aomame begins to fret more and more about the apparent changes to the world around her, most recently the moon. She gets called by the Dowager for another massage and dinner which Aomame accepts. At the end of the dinner, the Dowager takes Aomame to meet a mute 10 year old girl living in the adjacent abused women’s shelter who claims “the Little People” have destroyed her uterus.