firstly, Tengo's girlfriend is "irretrievably lost"??? WHAT. My blood just ran cold at that sentence

the story has been one of the most engaging ones I've read yet and I hope this keeps up for the rest of the book. I don't know where I'm headed but by golly this has been such a great ride

there's a lot to unpack, but for now--I really enjoy the running thread of how the choices that one's parents make can have massive effects on one's life. Aomame's parents were part of a cult and that's affected how she's grown up and still has ramifications on how she looks at herself

Tengo loathes the Sundays that he used to spend following his father around while he did his job that he still feels physically ill on them

even Tamaru too, despite being a fairly minor character. His being given away by his parents as a baby during a conflict has left him with one seriously hard knock life

then of course, the children of the Sakigake families. They have no choice but to follow the choices that their parents have made, and are going through a ton of suffering as a result

on Tengo and Aomame, it's clear that they know each other but at this point in the story, I wonder if the Aomame we're reading about is in the novel that Tengo writes? Or has she really been transported to the world that isn't here ie the world with two moons? I'M SWIMMING IN A POOL OF QUESTION MARKS

Murakami - or at least the translation of his works - has a tendency to run off on some serious tangents but here it's easier to keep up. And the callbacks to those tangents are clearer to follow too

like Tengo's girlfriend mentions the difference between insanity and lunacy (insanity=your mind is ablighted, lunacy=you were affected by the moon) which she learned in a literature class in uni in one chapter, and later on Aomame comments on how the two moons might be messing with her mind and physical state. Wow

Fuka-Eri is really endearing in her odd way too. I hope nothing untoward happens to her

the dowager is WAY COOL

and what is the air chrysalis and who are the Little People? I'm very staying tuned to find out

also lol at the story literally invoking Chekhov's Gun OTL I'm hoping that it doesn't actually see its use. Or that if it does, it's directed not at the intended target

I ended up not discussing the heavier and depressing topics that I warned for but god, this is not a book for if you're looking to have a happy time

I'd been taking my time with the book and progressing at a comfortable pace so I could follow the story that has unfolded so far, but I think today I might have been rushing through the bits I covered haha

Fuka-eri is cute. You can also tell she's kind of off but somehow her weirdness is endearing

oh my god, the thought that Tengo and Aomame left such a huge impression on each other that they still think of each other, still love each other, and that bond between them being so strong that Aomame is basically SUMMONED into the same time/space as he is

we got some explanation of what 1Q84 really is and I'm just a bit shaken

I just realised now what the story of the Town of Cats might have stood for - it's the learning of a new fact and not being able to go back to your old life as a result. It ties in with the recurring "the gears can only move forward"

I still haven't yet worked out what "it's the place he was supposed to get lost in" means yet.. but it might just be that Tengo and Aomame were called into 1Q84 and this world that isn't is the place they're supposed to get lost in (which would be pretty darn downer lol)

And also Tengo finally sees the extra moon! So it's clear that he and Aomame are in the same world

The chapter I'm in now finally touches on Air Chrysalis and I'm looking forward

Thinking about it, the conception of Air Chrysalis also has FukaEri in the role of the perceiver and her friend as the "receiver". FukaEri dictates, her friend receives and puts into words, Tengo perfects the message

Maza and dohta...mother and daughter..

IS THAT MYSTERY NHK COLLECTOR THE SOUL OF TENGO'S DAD..or is it the Little People masquerading him???? Gods

Also Aomame waiting for the real Tengo to appear again, not knowing he's in Chikura, while Tengo waits for the air chrysalis (ie not a real Aomame) to rematerialise, not knowing the real Aomame is waiting for him OTL aaah

"Suddenly anxious, Tengo looked around him. Was this reality actually real? Or had he once again boarded the wrong reality?" ahh the chills T_T

"They preached about God's kindness, but preached twice as much about his wrath and intolerance." Woah....woah

Tengo: I HAVE TO GO FIND A PLACE WHERE I CAN SEE THE MOONS
Tengo: goes to a bar first

you.....

AAAH the mystery NHK fee collector that may be Tengo's father's wandering consciousness is freaking me out

In the third part, the story switches not just perspectives but also timing. Which is just perfect for a story that keep asking if time really does move strictly in a straight line like we think it does

Damn! Tengo is weirdly stubborn. People give advice and he doesn't listen lol

1Q84..... Q___Q

I kinda rushed through the third part and regret it a bit. I gotta reread this one day