Reading the Chunksters discussion

Ok, we're back at it...what did you think of this weeks section??

Wow! The first section of the second book and already the action is really picking up!

Hard to believe what happened to Ayumi, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Her favorite passtime certainly isn't the safest thing I can imagine... At least now Aomame doesn't have to worry about missing her when she changes her life. But I do wonder if someone figured out the connection between the two women and it's not just a coincidence.

And of course, Tsubasa is gone and for the second time in as many nights everyone at the Dowager's place has slept through some strange happenings...

Interesting to me that Tamaru mentioned to Aomame he looked at "the moon", not "the moons". Is she the only one who sees two? Then the whole conversation about Checkov at the end of the first chapter sounds like foreshadowing to me. Especially when she says "But this is not a story. We're talking about the real world." and he replies "Who knows?" Cue the suspenseful music!

And in Tengo's section, Mr. Ushikawa is just plain creepy, and knows more than he should. Certainly suspicious. And people have been bothering Komatsu as well. I hope Tengo is careful! I've come to like him despite his weird sexual mother dreams...

I am pretty sad about Ayumi... I too keep wondering if there is some kind of connection here. The plot thickens!

More interesting ripples of coincidence via Tamaru, as we learn of his background on Sakhalin Island (home of the Gilyaks!), and as he reintroduces Chekov to the story with the famous rule about what happens when a gun is introduced in a story.

Ushikawa is a puzzling figure. His knowing about Tengo's connection to Air Chrysalis could indicate a connection with Sakigake. But how could anybody hope to make a persuasive impression with such a shabby appearance ( clothes, teeth)? Granted that there may not be much he can do about his physical ugliness, but why accentuate it with such terrible grooming? Is he meant to be more of an archetype than a character?

Another death in a hotel, this time Ayumi's. It contributes to a general sense of menace, considered in the context of the earlier chapters, with the killing of the dog, the disappearance of Tsubasa, and creepy Ushikawa. Could Sakigake have something to do with this as well?

The ripples through the fabric of the novel are mesmerizing. I find it breathtaking how some allusions get a new voice in the other narrative. They are not exactly mirrored, but modified or alluded: Chekov, Sakhalin, and Ckekov's famous phrase about the rifle that should always be used in the story/novel/play. Are we really in the fictional universe of the story? And is it really the way we see it? We might assume that Tengo was editing the story while Aomame is acting and living in the universe of the story, but what if it is vice verse?
And finally, knowing the postmodern tricks in literature, what if all these allusions and cross-narrative referenced are just red herrings, and there is something very different that is going on?

Interesting, KC! I didn't notice that Tamaru's home was the same as the Gilyaks.

I'm not sure I still think Tengo is writing the story that Aomame is in, especially now that the connection between them has been verified by both of them in this section. They definitely went to school together and held hands for that brief moment, and have continued to think about each other ever since. I suppose he -could- be writing about her as a result of that but... it doesn't ring true to me at this point. I guess we'll find out!

That is a really cool idea that Tengo could be writing about Aomame. That would be an interesting twist.

I have reached the end of book 2 so I guess I'm ahead! I found the action really picked up in book 2 and it becomes hard to put down.

i think that each book gets better and spirals and pretzels and jumps in and out of timelines...for every question answered, two more pop up. it's fantastic!