Dance, Dance, Dance: Final Discussion

So we are finished with Murakami, the Sheep Man, and our protagonist and his particular world and "friends". 

What were your thoughts when reading  the last page? Were you expecting that end? Do you feel everything gets connected? Or maybe you were not waiting for any particular connection... And at the end of the day, do you think you will be reading another Murakami soon?

We would love to hear from you!

Dance, Dance, Dance: Chapters 23 - 32

Things have been busy during the holidays so this post is coming a few days later than scheduled. However, it seems the reading has been good and fast for many of you. Great!

In these chapters we get to know more about Yuki "skills" and the relationship with her particular family. What do you think about them? What about Dick? What is the purpose of his role in the story, if any? And what about the trip to Hawaii? How do you feel about the evolution of the relationship between Yuki and the protagonist? Is it everything clear and clean in it?

Worth mentioning too is the bizarre persecution of Kiki and the elements of classic mystery novel in that persecution that, in Murakami's hands, are at the same time not classic at all. And again, is it all in the protagonist's mind or is it real? Will we know as we keep reading? Looking forward to find out.

Dance, Dance, Dance: Chapters 11 - 22

The Sheep Man arrives to the scene, what does this mean? Dance, dance, dance? Our hero, if we can call him like that, however seems to be finding his way. Is it all in his head? Is the writer playing with us? What could be the story behind the Dolphin Hotel?

Dance, Dance, Dance: Chapters 1 - 10

Acclaimed Murakami takes us to Sapporo, a city that sounds exotic to those of us non Japanese because it's not Tokyo or Kyoto, and for that original setting, we already start to like the book. So we enter the world of a lonely freelance writer that lives in a, surreal? fantasy? setting around the memories he has of the Dolphin Hotel.

And he decides to go back to chase his dream, is it the girl he mentions, Kiki? is it the insatisfaction with his current life?

The Dolphin Hotel is there, but has undergone major plastic surgery, it only has the same name, but where is its spirit? Why the same name? The shiny, rejuvenated Dauphin Hôtel presents new characters, the nice-glasses receptionist, the nervous manager, but mainly we are looking for what is not there, and then, everything is pitch black! What does this mean?

Our Winner: Dance Dance Dance, by Haruki Murakami

Let's get ready for a Nobel prize-to be author and a "tense, poignant, and often hilarious ride through the cultural Cuisinart that is contemporary Japan".

In which language are you going to read it? Maybe the original Japanese version "Dansu Dansu Dansu"?

Suggested reading schedule coming soon.