Let me tell you all now - I am a massive fan of Haruki Murakami's work. I own a handful of his books, and without fail, all have captivated my heart. As Jay McInerney quotes:
'A remarkable writer... He captures the common ache of the contemporary heart and head'
The Elephant Vanishes is book of 17 mini stories, each of which I must admit did leave me thinking -
What the hell??
Murakami creates absurd worlds within each story, like the TV people who literally emerge from a TV, a dancing dwarf from a man's dreams who comes to life, and from my favourite story, the 100% perfect girl.
The irregularities in The Elephant Vanishes, how I see it, challenges the human mind and philosophical ideas, such as how do we know certain things aren't real when some people claim to be seeing them , or what is our purpose in the world? Etcetera etcetera. Deep stuff if you ask me.
I particularly enjoyed the mini story "On seeing the 100% Perfect Girl" (here's a link to the
story!).
(I would go all English-Lit-student mode and analyse every aspect of this story, but I won't)
One of the reasons I really like this story is because it's so simple, yet so true and realistic, and when you look at it, it's like a temporary disorder that brushes onto you. Infatuation - it happens to everyone all the time as the world spins, but when that moment comes, a perfect being enters your life, and you start to notice details (as Murakami very beautiful describes here) that are portrayed greater than the world.
"Tell you the truth, she's not that good-looking. She doesn't stand out in any way. Her clothes are nothing special. The back of her hair is still bent out of shape from sleep. She isn't young, either - must be near thirty, not even close to a "girl," properly speaking.
But still, I know from fifty yards away:
She's the 100% perfect girl for me."
Another reason why I love this story is because of the meaning behind it all. The story teaches us that we fall in love with a person for more than what you see on the surface. The imperfections of 'her' is what made her perfect for the narrator, so beauty is more than skin deep.
The other meaning behind the story is the fact that timings could go wrong if you don't take advantage of the opportunities, as the narrator shows in the story as he passed by without a word while creating an unrealistic world of 'her'. So when somebody you feel has '100%' qualities, it's important to take that opportunity as it comes, because it could slip away so easily and the chance wouldn't appear ever again.
Gather your confidence, don't be nervous, and in the name of G-Dragon, just be yourself.
