Midwestern Monologues: Haruki Murakami

{Brian Kvidera}

I love books.  I'll never own a Kindle or a Nook or download books to my iPhone. There is something so classic and comfortable about the glue-bound, dog-eared pages of a book.

 

{via}

As if the story weren't enough, I love a book that has personalized character.  A book that says something about the person who read it before me. I love those underlined passages, a highlighted quote, a hand-written "!" or "??".  I write in all my books and I'll also write in books that people lend me (I know, I know. I shouldn't do this).  In most books I borrow from friends, I'll also leave a note in the cover for them.  No one has ever found these notes (or those underlined sentences), but I like knowing that maybe one day, just by chance, someone else will see me in that book.

Which brings me to my current read.  Last night, I started a new book that I had purchased used, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by one of my favorite Japanese writers, Haruki Murakami.  In the cover, a note was scribbled from Christmas 2002: to Brian; Love, Matt & Mariam.  Eight years later, this book fell asleep with me.

Here is one of my favorite Murakami short stories.  Let's personalize this story, shall we?  A boy sent me the story, "On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning."  His note said, "This makes me think of you."  This boy was a gentleman I dated for three years.  We broke up over five years ago.  He sent me the story one year ago.

"A sad story, don't you think?"

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularly sometimes. I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin