Waiting Read: Murakami [Birthday Girl]

This was a while back.

On the morning of April 28th, I headed down to Dpulze to watch Avengers Endgame. I hate spoiler so I knew I had to be fast about watching the movie before some asshole could ruin it for me. Because of how immensely popular the movie franchise was (and still is), I could only manage to buy ticket for 4.30pm show. I had to either go home and come back or kill my time at the shopping mall for 5 hours. Before I can make that decision, I went to MPH to look for some worthwhile reading material. Lo and behold..

What a pleasant surprise. I am easily intrigued by anything Murakami. And this is talking as someone who still struggles to finish 1Q84. Birthday Girl is a short story. It doesn't even follow the typical novel or pocket book size which makes it seem like a children book rather than an adult read. I wanted something longer to kill my hours but there was no other Murakami on the shelves so I settled for the short story. Was it less confusing than Murakami's other books? You would wish that.

Though it was more grounded than most, its main topic remained a mystery until the end. The story follows a woman recalling her 20th birthday. Due to series of coincident and mishap befalling people who work at a restaurant with her, she was tasked with serving its mysterious owner his dinner. This had never happened before and shouldn't have been her task because she was not supposed to be working on that shift.

Probably her birthday was working its magic on her or maybe it was all a coincident, but she ended up meeting the mysterious man. Even more surprising, the man was rather fond of her and offered to grant her a wish. The wish itself was never revealed and the girl left after making her wish. The man said the wish had been granted and they never met each other again.

The girl grew up into a woman who is now telling this story to her companion.

Now this is me spoiling the story but even with that much information, you can't really make out anything from the book. This is how Murakami writes his stories. It was a good read. But don't expect to have anything explained to you.

I finished the book very quickly. As with any other Murakami, I was left with wanting more so I went back to the bookstore and bought a classic, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Half through the book, I had to go watch Avengers Endgame. Have I finished reading HGTTG? Nope. The story is interesting, I just lack persistence.

So that's it. I'm currently reading Murakami's After Dark while setting aside HGTTG. I know, I shouldn't do that but this is Murakami we're talking about. Until next time, take care.

Adieu