"in this solitary state, the memory of the ocean meets i used to participate in when i was a kid came to me. on distance swims between two islands, i would sometimes stop mid course to look around. to find myself equidistant between two points gave me the funniest feeling. to think that back on dry land people were going about business as usual was pretty pecuilar too. unsettling, that society could go on perfectly well without me."
- haruki murakami
this is my favorite passage from the novel A Wild Sheep Chase by haruki murakami. i remember picking this book in the library and started reading it there every 5pm wen my schedule permits. wen i first read that passage above, i paused, it got me into some pondering about myself.. i copied the words and saved it in my emails drafts. do u think it has this nihilist tone? or maybe my understanding lacks in depth that i tend to confuse nihilism with pessimism. or low self esteem.
in fashion
how often do u encounter modern fashion inspired by japanese literature? rare."Loosely based on the book ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ by Haruki Murakami, the collection persistently gives hints on memorable costume references, which is written beautifully and elaborately, yet firm by the author."
buy it here: http://www.theblackmarket.sg/
I've read 2 Murakami books. I really love his writing :)
ReplyDeleteHi! I realize this is a few months old, but I stumbled upon it randomly and thought I'd comment. I don't believe that the passage is nihilistic in nature, nihilism is the belief in nothing. The belief that you have no meaning, society has no meaning, nothing has any meaning. I think that the passage is more existential in nature, the narrator feels unsettled thinking about how society can function without him, thus questioning the meaning of his own existence! Pessimism is seeing the negative in situations versus the positive. I don't really think that this passage reflects that either. Definitely existentialism, but you were close in guessing nihilism! :)
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