[elemenoP]

I just finished it. I really enjoyed the ride, but I have to say that I liked Parts 1 and 2 better than Part 3. Spoiler below [are we supposed to hide spoilers or not?]

Spoiler:

In Part 3 it became clear to me that all of Part 3 was going to consist of Tengo and Aomame narrowly missing each other, over and over again. I thought, if the book ends with Tengo and Aomame getting together on the last page... like a... like a.... ROMANCE NOVEL, then I might throw the book across the room. (Don't worry, I was reading the hardcover, so it wouldn't damage my reader!) And that is NEARLY what happened, so I'm not sure what to think. I mean, it ended up as a big love story, right? And I thought the chapters with Ushikawa only served to slow down the story.

So I'm not really sure how I feel overall, now.

And also, are there any more Japanese readers on this board/this thread? I am very curious about how Murakami is regarded in Japan. I was really struck by how most of the cultural references in the book were Western (Sonny and Cher??). There is an epic poem that Fuka Eri recites, but not many other Japanese cultural reference points, either pop or classic. I understand that this is common to his other works, but how do people in Japan feel about it?

eP