UPEP Reading Group IV: World Building Narratives discussion

We started where else, but at the beginning. The scene with the protagonist on the elevator (which spans quite a few pages) really hooked the group! And they were surprised by this. Murakami has a way of making the mundane enchanting. It really got into the minds of the readers.

We also talked about the severing from shadows that occurs in the novel. One reader brought up the Jungian implications of this. We talked about what the shadows "mean." One reader said they symbolize the awareness of what reality is, thus a severance from them throws one into a "non-real" world.

Finally, we talked about fairness and the battle within ourselves of what it means for something to be fair, and what our expectations are of fairness in life. Towards the end of the novel, the narrator gets fairly philosophical, which lead us to ask a question as a group: What would you do if you knew you had 48 hours left to live? Answers varied, especially when talking about if we would tell someone or not.

Oh, and before I forget, we loved the part where the narrator points out the difference between buying a fancy car and buying sofas that match a room. One just requires a lot of money, while the other requires experience and a philosophy. Overall, we enjoyed the book. It was a dreamlike and surreal departure from the hardcore SF we've been reading.

The discussion was cut a little short, as we had to vote on a filmed adaptation to watch, as well as the theme for our new book club!