LoT Book CLub - Book 2 - Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

[Ghoulish Delight]

Okay I'm done. And since it's officially 4 weeks, shall we dispense with spoiler tags?

Regarding his passiveness, I'll concede that he's passive. But not in a "Oh well, what can I do?" kind of way. He never gives up on anything. It's more that he sits, fully analyzes a situation, and comes to the conclusion that the best course of action is inaction. He may not be doing much, but he does just enough to affect the flow of how things happen to him. He knows he can't change the course of the river, but if he puts a rock in the right place, it will alter the currents enough to suit his needs.

I don't know that I suspected that the "give me 10 minutes" woman was a manifestation of Kumiko, but I did suspect very early on that she was part of some sort of dream world. At least once, Toru had soemone in the house (Creta, if memory serves) when the phone rang. He let it ring, but Creta gave no indication of having heard it.

There are some very interesting simliarities between this and Hardboiled Wonderland. Certain particulars and parallels that cropped up in both. Definitely makes me want to read another to see if the trend continues.