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  1. The New YorkerHaruki Murakami9/30/1932 min
    9 reads6 comments
    9.7
    The New Yorker
    9 reads
    9.7
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    • Pegeen
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      2 years ago

      The way Murakami stitches events together really carries me through the story. There’s an unlikely thread that I find compelling. And he always makes me reflect on the subject matter - namely, in this case, my father who was also a source of mystery and heartache.

      • SEnkey2 years ago

        I love stitching of events together too!

        I wonder if any of us really understand our fathers.

    • sjwoo2 years ago

      I've read many of his novels, but this is the first time I've heard him speak of his life. He wrote the running book a while back, and the sarin gas attack book even further back, but this is quite an illuminating memoirish piece.

      Reading Murakami always imbues me with two emotions: wonder and melancholy. No exception here. He's absolutely spot on about the accidental nature of life. It's all an accident, and we humans have the unfortunate need to gather various narratives to try to form some kind of meaning to what is very much a meaningless existence...

      • SEnkey2 years ago

        Melancholy is spot on. I found myself sitting here thinking of my own past experiences with fondness, regret, joy, sadness, and longing but also contentment. Wonderful writing to inspire those emotions.

    • SEnkey2 years ago

      Beautiful.

    • DellwoodBarker2 years ago

      This. Is. Excellent!

      He related matter-of-factly how the execution had taken place. Though the Chinese soldier knew that he was going to be killed, he didn’t struggle, didn’t show any fear, but just sat there quietly with his eyes closed. And he was decapitated. The man’s attitude was exemplary, my father told me. He seemed to have deep feelings of respect for the Chinese soldier. I don’t know if he had to watch as other soldiers in his unit carried out the execution, or if he himself was forced to play a direct role. There’s no way now to determine whether this is because my memory is hazy, or whether my father described the incident in intentionally vague terms. But one thing is clear: the experience left feelings of anguish and torment that lingered for a long time in the soul of this priest turned soldier.

      😳 😮Whoa 😮 😳