• 63 Posts
  • 363 Comments
Joined 2 年前
Cake day: 2023年6月10日
  • alyth@lemmy.worldOPtoBooks@lemmy.world•Bored of Kafka on the Shore in the last quarter, is the ending worth continuing?
    1·
    6 天前

    Well, I had a 6 hour train ride ahead of me so I decided to finish the book and I’m glad I did.

    spoiler

    I still stand by my criticisms of the book, which are:

    • The cheap “deus ex machina” in the form of Colonel Sanders giving Hoshino all the answers, and Nakata always knowing where to go. It takes the suspense out the plot.
    • The overdone sex scenes. Of course there’s the motive of the Œdipus myth, but this goes overboard. Teenagers don’t usually end up sleeping with whatever woman crosses their path and I certainly don’t need elaborate descriptions given the age of Kafka and the young Ms. Saeki.

    Nakata’s passing surprised me. After Colonel Sanders’ appearance, I’d thought the characters are invinicible. But now Hoshino is thrown into cold water and we get some suspense back.

    I think the book gives a deserving end to both Nakata and Ms. Saeki. Until their meeting I hadn’t noticed just how strongly they complement each other with both of them being empty in their respective ways. Their end seems to match the theme of closing what was opened after they have undergone their respective journeys.

    But one of my favorite parts of the book is in the last chapter: When Sada asks Kafka if he’s seen the soldiers. Up until that point, I’d made a distinction between two worlds. There’s the real world where we have the library, the cafes, the motorway stops. Then there’s the dream world where Kafka meets young Ms. Saeki or where we find the village in the forest. Sada comes into the novel as a more or unless unrelated character dwelling in the real world. With this one simple question he provides (to my judgement at least) the first hard evidence that there is no such distinctions. Both the tangible and the intangible dreams are part of the same reality.

    Oh, and Hoshino is just delightful! I wish him well. :::spoiler–___

  • alyth@lemmy.worldtoLemmy Be Wholesome@lemmy.world•You really do
    7·
    2 个月前

    This sounds like a positive message for people who question their self-worth. However, you will run into people in your life who try to take advantage of you because it’s easy. Loving everyone without questioning what you get out of the equation entails a risk of becoming a doormat. So please look out for yourself too.

  • alyth@lemmy.worldOPtodepression_now!@lemmy.world•Full CircleEnglish
    2·
    10 个月前

    Hi Zerlyna!

    I really appreciate you commenting to check on me. It honestly made me feel very cared for and I’m immensely grateful - thank you!

    I’m very happy to report that life has gotten a lot better since I made this post.

    1. I stopped talking to and caring about my ex. When the relationship ended, I felt like I woke up in a new world which I hated at first, but now I’ve grown to love it.

    2. I made a very close friend. I used to think I could never trust anyone this deeply again. But it turns out I met a new person and we care about each other a lot. I really enjoy every exchange we have and I’m so glad that the feeling is mutual.

    3. I can hardly believe it - but I have a crush (a different person than 2). Like 2, she’s also someone I met recently and our daily conversations are so fun and effortless. I’m expecting a no when I ask her out, but that’s okay! Merely knowing that I’m capable of these feelings again shocked me.

    4. I’d been talking about interpersonal improvements so far, but for myself, I realized that I don’t care about spending the rest of my life here anymore. I need to go on an adventure. I feel like I’m finally able to focus on spending the time I’ve been given on this earth on my own journey.

    To summarize, I think I’m finally learning the art of letting go and I’m building up meaningful relationships.

    That’s enough yapping from me! I almost feel bad for talking this much about myself. I’m sorry to hear about your bad day. Please feel free to share if there is anything on your mind, you are always welcome to . If you’d rather not, that’s just as fine and I genuinely hope that positive things are just around the corner for you too. Thanks again for your check-in and good wishes, I genuinely appreciate you a lot and wish you just the same.