Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami

Joe, if you're reading this, just wanted to let u know that it'z coz of you I'm reading his book haha I remember you told me about him before...about one of his books, can't remember the title exactly, but I stumbled on this book at a book fair. So I thought of trying him out.

This book is a compilation of Haruki's 25 short stories. I read 2 of them last night...The first one was the title story. If anyone of you habe read that story in this book, could you enlighten me pls on what's the author trying to say? I m still lost....

I kinda liked the 2nd story...'The Birthday Girl'. It tells of this waitress, who had the opportunity of delivering dinner to the owner of the restaurant she's working at. This job, is usually done by the manager of the restaurant. But because he was down with a stomach flu, she had to assume the responsibility. Coincidentally, it was her 20th birthday. And it was this special day that the owner of this restaurant gives her a free wish, with the promise that it'd be granted. Many years later, she shared this story with her friend, who asked her if her wish was granted and if she ever regretted making that wish. Then the protagonist asked her friend too, that if she was ever given a chance to make a wish, what would she wish for...and the friend who has never given that a thought,...couldn't give an answer...and the waitress said, 'That's because you've made the wish...'

As I completed the last sentence of that story, and closed my eyes to sleep...I asked myself, what would I have wished for if I were in a similar situation, and what was the author's message?

Hmm....i think this story is opened to interpretation....As I'm new to his works, and so far, I don't get what he's been trying to say in his first two stories, and feel utterly very stupid about it...I begin to think to myself, does everything in life has to be explainable? I've always searched for explanations and answers to everything that happens around me - why this, why that?

Maybe life, like his stories, is meant to be felt and not explained? Maybe I should just enjoy his stories and embrace his style of ambiguity....