Flying into Hamburg, Toru Watanabe hears the Beatles song Norwegian Wood  & begins to muse on the memory of his first love, Naoko. So begins the novel Norwegian Wood by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami.  

The book is set in the student world of 1969 – 70, a time of unrest & revolt. Narrated by Toru, who is studying English literature, it is essentially a love story, charting his passage through adolescence with the choices this entails. It features themes of sex & death, of past & future. Toru has to break away from the mentally disturbed Naoko if he is to cement his relationship with Midori, a fellow student.

I had expected Murakami’s work to be more Japanese, although I am uncertain what that means. He describes emotions more than physical places, so the reader is not given a stong sense of Japan as a country. There are hints of Japanese culture, a home Buddhist funeral shrine & brief references to the imperial past for example, but the narrative has a western feel to it.

Murakami’s style made it possible for me to connect with the student world being described. Memories of my own time at university 30 years ago kept surfacing. The memory of two colour slides I have came to the fore. They both show a student group on the beach at Swanage in 1979. I took one & am in the other. Hating being photographed I am partially hidden in the back row. Like me the boys are covered up, only the more extrovert girls changed into their swimming costumes. Now I regret that being so shy, I was unable able to join in the fun as much as I would have liked. I regret what I didn’t do, not what I did.

What lies behind this photographic memory & the fact that my memories are being filtered through remembered photographs, rather than through the images themselves or direct recall? It could be the recollection of Penelope Lively’s novel, The Photograph, a book that explores the archaeology of memory revealed in a discovered photograph.

Norwegian Wood is a deceptively simple story that engages with our past memories & regrets at many levels. Drawing on Murakami’s own past it has an autobiographical feel that draws out personal autobiography.

Excerpt from Murakami Haruki’s novel “Norwegian Woods”
p.342

Midori : “Like my hairstyle?”

Watanabe : “It’s great!”

Midori : “How great?”

Watanabe: “Great enough to knock down all the trees in all the forests of the world.”

p.304

Watanabe : “You’re really cute, Midori “

Midori :”What do you mean really cute?”

Watanabe : “So cute that the mountains crumble and the oceans dry up.”

Dialogue between the main character Watanabe and Midori, a girl that he kinda like.  I wonder how the original sentences would be like in Japanese. Actually this is my second time reading “Norwegian Woods”. The first copy of “Norwegian woods” I read was a Taiwanese Chinese translated version. So now that I’ve read the Chinese and English version, I think I wanna read the original Japanese copy too. It will take me some time though, coz’ for me, reading Japanese will still be slower compared to reading English and Chinese. When I have mastered Korean language, I would love to read it in Korean too. * getting a little bit too ambitious * It would be interesting to compare the differences in translations. Darn! I should have studied linguistics in University.

If you have not read Murakami Haruki books but would like to give it a try, you might wanna start from “Norwegian Woods” or “Kafka on the Shore”. I really enjoyed reading these 2 books.

p/s: “Norwegian Wood” will be made into a movie! The film will be directed by French-Vietnamese Tran Anh Hung and to be release in 2010..

English :  Norwegian Woods
Japanese :  ノルウェイの森 ( Noruwei no mori )
Korean :  노르웨이의 숲  ( Noreuwei e  sup )
Chinese : 挪威的森林 ( Nuo wei de sen lin )

Haruki Murakami é um escritor japonês contemporâneo altamente influenciado pela cultura ocidental. Seus livros tem uma mistura de realidade e fantasia. Bom, pelo menos os dois que eu li tinham essa atmosfera. Não vou fazer uma análise sobre a obra de Murakami.

O meu intuito nesse post é dizer que tanto “Kafka à Beira Mar” quanto “Norwegian Wood” foram alguns dos melhores livros que li nos últimos anos. O mistério que envolve as histórias, a escrita fluida, as referências pop (outras nem tanto), tudo isso e mais alguma coisa tornam essas duas obras muito interessantes. Eu estava viciada, queria saber o que iria acontecer nos próximos capítulos. Não conseguia parar de ler. Acho esse o grande encanto de Murakami. Você fica preso a história.

Pelo menos foi isso o que aconteceu comigo. E eu cá estou para recomendar os livros desse japa. Vale a pena.

Some musicians would be satisfied just to perform the music the Beatles gave us. But for Peter and Jim Mayer, they had to do more. They had to EXPERIENCE it. Enjoy the collection of videos that led up to Peter’s new album. And watch closely. If you know who and what to look for, you will see that J. L. Jamison in one of the videos. Only the most astute of Parrotheads know who I’m talking about. Enjoy…

Reread all of this book today during school. Felt a sudden urge to do so after reading the story Firefly in Haruki Murakami’s collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. May be falling in love with Murakami all over again. If you haven’t been graced by the multifaceted greatness of his writing before, go do so immediately. Here. He is, without a doubt, my favorite author. Let’s put it this way — I worship Murakami as Thomas does Chuck Palahniuk. As for this particular novel, we look to Wikipedia for a quick synopsis:

Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森, Noruwei no Mori) is a 1987 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The novel is a nostalgic story of loss and sexuality. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a freshman university student living in Tokyo. Through Toru’s reminiscences we see him develop relationships with two very different women — the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and the outgoing, lively Midori.

Two words: Good shit. So good, in fact, that a film adaptation is in the works. Up ’til now there have been no real successful attempts to adapt Murakami for the silver screen — a task that has, in fact, been deemed impossible. The probability of failure is immense; most directors would end up mangling his work. But Oscar-nominated Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung, the man behind The Scent of Green Papaya and Cyclo, has taken up the challenge. The film will be released in the fall of next year, and I am anxious to see how it will turn out.

If the casting is any indication, this is no meager amateur production. The emotionally fragile Naoko will be played by Rinko Kikuchi (right), who acted in Babel and more recently The Brothers Bloom — a very fitting and promising matchup. Turns out, she’s the only living Japanese Oscar nominee for acting. Her polar opposite, the infectiously cheerful Midori, will be played by model Kiko Mizuhara (left), who I know nothing of. Looks like this will be her acting debut.

Caught in the middle of these two is Toru Watanabe, who will be played by Kenichi Matsuyama, who played L in the Death Note live action movies. ’nuff said. What’s even more exciting is that the film will be scored by Oscar winner Ryuichi Sakamoto, who did the heartending music for the condom commercial I was so hooked on earlier this year. In fact, he actually scored an earlier adaptation of Murakami’s short story Tony Takitani. At the moment, that’s all we know… the project, much like Murakami’s latest novel 19Q4, is being kept up in wraps. I for one will be closely following the film’s development, will update you guys as I discover more.

Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) by The Beatles (download)

Hibari by Ryuichi Sakamoto (download)

my current read.

It seems that French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung is going to film “Norwegian Wood“ , casting Matsuyama Kenichi (well-known for playing “L”  in  ”Death Note” the movie ) as the male lead and  Kikuchi Rinko ( Babel ) as female lead.

I have not seen any of  Tran Anh Hung’s movie before but it seems that his work have won awards from Cannes film festival and also been nominated in Oscar before in the best foreign film category …

I’m excited to see how the movie will turn out. 

Don’t know who is Murakami Haruki? Click here or  here.

English :  novel
Japanese :  小説　( しょうせつ・shou setsu )
Korean :  소설 ( so seol )
Chinese :　小說　( xiao shuo )

“4^th Time Around” is an easy song to forget about, coming towards the end of Side Three* of Blonde on Blonde, sandwiched between two more up-tempo, absurdist numbers, “Absolutely Sweet Marie” and “Obviously 5 Believers.” On an album as groundbreaking and epic as Blonde on Blonde, “4^th Time Around” is something of a throwback: a breakup song set in simple waltz time.

*It’s a little odd that we still refer to “sides” of albums that originally came out on vinyl, even though hardly anyone still listens to it regularly in that format anymore.

This song is often compared to The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” with some going so far as to call it an “homage” or “parody” of John Lennon’s tune. Lennon himself even implied as much in interviews. Such comparisons are probably a stretch—I don’t think Dylan was ever concerned with responding to The Beatles the way The Beatles were concerned with responding to Dylan—but there are a lot of similarities in the songs: the waltz time, conversational lyrics, etc. For The Beatles, though, such a song was a notable step forward—for Dylan it was more of a return to form.

The central story of “4^th Time Around” is about a relationship gone wrong thanks to the singer’s unwillingness to give himself up to the demands of his lover. When she tells him that, “Everybody must give something back for something they get,” he responds by “gallantly” offering her his last piece of gum. Just as important as the worthless and condescending offer, though, is the lyrical buildup that works toward it, that gives the sense of him actually trying to think of something to offer.

There are holes in the story that allow the scene to take on an archetypal form, but at the same time Dylan offers us details that color it with a specificity. The image of the singer standing alone in the hallway trying “to make sense out of that picture of you in your wheelchair,” before she returns and interrupts his train of thought is as puzzling to the listener as it is to the singer. That parts of the story are as impenetrable to the listener as the themes are relatable gives the song an air of realism.

Finally, the last stanza of the song is really just a touching, straightforward summation of the themes of the song. Dylan is known for obscure, often abstruse lyrics, but he also knew when simple lines like, “you took me in, you loved me then, you didn’t waste time” could have their maximum power. In general, “4^th Time Around” is a great example of Dylan embracing the power and impact of simplicity.   

Jeg har hatt en ganske koselig helg. På fredag dro jeg på biblioteket.

Etter at jeg nærmest sov meg igjennom After Dark, som ikke var en dårlig bok, bare kjedelig som fy, bestemte jeg for å gi Haruki Murakami en ny sjanse. Etter å ha lest på coverene til alle bøkene biblioteket hadde av Murakami falt valget på Norwegian Wood.

Bare for at jeg skal lære meg noen nye morsomme og stilfulle teknikker på sminkefronten.

Dette, mine venner, er offisielt min nye favorittbok. Jeg har ikke fullført den ennå, jeg har ikke kommet halvveis en gang, men jeg elsker den. Når jeg er ferdig med den skal jeg tilbringe resten av livet mitt med å spre den ut i verden til alle de som i likhet med meg, fram til nå,, ikke har funnet den perfekte boken.

Nå skal jeg sove. I morgen skal jeg jobbe fra klokken to til klokken halv elleve. God natt og ha en fin dag!!

“Se eu relaxar agora, eu me despedaço. É assim que sempre vivi e que deverei continuar a viver. Se eu relaxar por um minuto nunca voltarei à condição original. Eu me despedaçaria e os fragmentos acabariam sendo soprados para algum lugar”
(Naoko, em Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami)

Photo credits: Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami

I read today like I used to read as a girl. I had some hundred odd pages left and wanted to finish the book in one go.

The book definitely has the flavour of a love story but to me its more than one love story. Toru Watanbe had several women in his life. Each of them knew that he was an innately decent guy. He lived his life with honesty and that was what they were looking for. To me that is enough reason to be with a man. Intellectual honesty.

There are parts of the book where just like in real life you can’t express why you did a particular thing, and in such parts things were left hanging to the reader’s imagination. Further, one could see Toru maturing and reaching a stage where he could understand himself and express the understanding with precision. The book started when he was seventeen and went to on when he was 20-21.

His greatest trait was that he accepted all persons with their limitations, their ugliness and their weaknesses as a matter of fact. The limitations were emotional – like Nagasawa, psychological -  like Naoko, physical – like Reiko with her age and her wrinkles and also sociological like Midori’s.  It was obvious he loved Midori, but never made his move on her till she was with someone else. He did not sleep with her till Naoko died.

What one may call his stubbornness, is really his strength.

To me “Norwegian Wood” is like a painting. A picture that depicts the life altering years of one man.

I loved it and would recommend it to everyone, age no bar sex no bar.

My husband read this book and told me its nothing like Wind-up Bird Chronicle, that one wouldn’t know unless told that it is the same author.  The truth is, this book may be far out from the league of Wind-up Bird Chronicle, but it is the same style. He expresses the philosophy of the protagonist through the voices of others, during their conversation with him. The randomness of the conversation with strangers and the ease with which he slips into deep conversations with certain people. The style is pretty much the same. The protagonist surprisingly doesn’t talk much. Just observes.

Also his rendition of college life is so real. I have lived in a hostel myself and know that I had left my parents far behind while I was trying to sort stuff out in my head. He never once mentions Toru’s parents or his relationship with them. Its not that Toru is dysfunctional socially or a sociopath, just that the years of his life being described have nothing to do with his social connections to his parents or others.

On the whole, a very enjoyable reading experience. I would give the book – 5 stars.

review by Gabriel

Norwegian Wood is a novel about youth, love, and death, and the pain that comes from all three.  It’s unusual amongst Murakami’s work in that it is firmly grounded in reality, absent of his signature style of magic realism.  Nonetheless, the author is still instantly recognisable due to his distinctive first person narration and addictive readability.

Set in Tokyo in the 1960s, the story focuses on Toru Watanabe, a university student haunted by the suicide of his best friend, Kizuki, and dealing with the angst and ennui of late adolescents.  After a chance encounter on a train, Toru reignites his friendship with Naoko, Kizuki’s high school girlfriend.  Toru is indifferent to his studies and his future; the only thing he cares about is Naoko.  As their relationship deepens, it becomes apparent that Naoko is spiralling into depression.  When the two are separated, Toru loses himself in the repetition of his daily life and nights of casual sex, sustained by the hope that Naoko will recover.  But his life becomes more complicated when he meets the spirited Midori.

 The novel does not present a nostalgic picture of carefree adolescents in the swinging sixties.  Instead, it captures the confusion, egoism and melodrama of youth.  Each character suffers from an absence or loss that defines their lives.  They are frequently foolish or obnoxious, yet Murakami manages to make them likable through his sensitive depiction of their mindset – having the feelings and freedom of an adult, untempered by experience.  Naoko, in particular, is a tragically familiar character, with her dangerous combination of perfectionism, self-consciousness and hopelessness.

Norwegian Wood is a tragedy.  The character’s flaws and fates are apparent to the reader, and the conclusion inevitable.  Like all great tragedies, it draws you in despite the certain outcome.  It’s a testament to Murakami’s skill as a writer that he can create such a sad story and address serious themes while maintaining a compelling narrative.  I read the last hundred pages late into the night, without moving, hoping that events would not unfold as foreshadowed, sharing the character’s heartbreak when they did.  Which I hope is enough of a recommendation for anyone, really.

Mizuhara Kiko(Midori), Matsuyama Kenichi (Watanabe) và  Kikuchi Rinko (Naoko)

pic: japanese.joins.com

Đạo diễn của dự án phim chuyển thể từ cuốn tiểu thuyết nổi tiếng “Rừng Na-Uy” ( ノルウェイの森, 1987) của nhà văn Nhật Bản Haruki Murakami cho biết “Bộ phim sẽ trung thành với nguyên tác”.

Phát biểu bên lề của Liên hoan phim quốc tế Pusan của Hàn Quốc, đạo diễn gốc Việt-Pháp Trần Anh Hùng cho biết “Vâng, tất nhiên chúng tôi sẽ cố gắng càng bám sát (nguyên tác) càng tốt”, và từ chối tiết lộ chi tiết cuộc thảo luận với nhà văn Murakami.

“Tôi hy vọng đó sẽ là một câu chuyện hay, nhưng chắc chắn đó sẽ là một câu chuyện tình”, ông nói.

Bộ phim dự kiến sẽ ra mắt vào tháng 11/2010.

Chỉ ra mắt dàn diễn viên, hãng sản xuất Asmik Ace Entertainment vẫn giữ bí mật về bộ phim và từ chối các yêu cầu phỏng vấn. Diễn viên Nhật Bản Kenichi Matsuyama (24t) sẽ thủ vai chàng sinh viên đại học và Rinko Kikuchi (28), và Kiko Mizuhara (18) vào vai bạn gái của anh.

Đạo diễn Trần nổi tiếng với “Mùi Đu đủ xanh” và “Xích lô”, đã đoạt giải Sư tử vàng tại Liên hoan phim Venice năm 1995, và tạo tiếng vang lớn với “I Come with the Rain” tại LHP Pusan 2009.

credits to: japantoday.com

—————–

Chàng L của Death Note sẽ vào vai chính trong “Rừng Na Uy”? Lạ còn “trung thành với nguyên tác”? Hix >”<  Ôi~ L~

Haizzz… tình hình là đang mê dịch tin (luyện trans Eng. lun)… dần dần cũng dịch nhanh hơn nữa… nên càng mê…

ngày mai. hix. ngày mai nhất định cố gắng. hix. tạm thời “đọan tuyệt” Internet. còn phải sọan cv nữa. còn xin việc làm nữa…. >.<

ôi~ cơm áo không đùa với khách thơ~ (tuy mình hông phải là “khách thơ”)

I was reading my first Haruki Murakami novel recently – the events which led up to me purchasing the book were completely psycho-economic, but I’m gonna blog about that nevertheless.

Dan Brown’s latest Langdon caper, ‘The Lost Symbol’ was released last month, a substantial gap of about 6 years after ‘The Da Vinci Code’. I am more or less a compulsive buyer of books – even if I feel a book is gonna be crap, I might buy it if its a high-profile release or if the author has written a good one previously – in this case, Angels and Demons.

Thus, I set out to buy the ‘Symbol’, but there is something quite unsettling about purchasing a Rs.600 book when you know its bound to be shite. And thats how I turned to Psycho-Economics, a non-existent branch of pseudo-science which deals with the intriguing study of how I justify wrong decisions.

As per Psycho-Economics 101, if I’m gonna buy a bad book for Rs.600, I can nullify the effect by buying 3 guaranteed good ones for a further Rs.600. So for Rs.1200, I’m getting 4 books out of which 3 are good – and psychologically I’m prepared to pay Rs.1200 for 3 good books. So, as per our unique branch of pseudo-science, I’m getting the bad book for free.

And thus, I chose a thin little copy of Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, a paperback copy of the oft-recommended ‘Tipping Point’ and Haruki Murakami’s ‘Norwegian Wood’.

I loved Wood. It was the closest I had come to realizing all my pre-purchase expectations from a particular book, in recent days. Since ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrell’ to be exact. Toru Watanabe’s tale of his student life in Japan, his first love Naoko and the vivacious Midori strikes all the right chords.

You love a book for several reasons. Generally, I suppose a story has to appeal to a particular emotion or maybe even to a whole gamut of them – a Wodehouse novel has me in splits while an Agatha Christie whodunit is pleasing to the little grey cells.  I loved Norwegian Wood for the atmosphere it created so effortlessly – a mixture of longing, angst and youthful promise.

Halfway through the book, I turned to the ever-reliable youtube for the Beatles’ track after which Murakami named his book – Naoko’s favourite song in the story.

And thus I read Murakami, heard John Lennon and thought of life. Bliss.

via smut-to-go

Here are some Pop MTL show suggestions for ya. There are so, so many awesome bands playing and they’re often playing at the same time (see Mavo, Brave Radar, the Reversing Falls, Clues, us all tonight etc)….

Thursday
1:30am – Balattou – Sister Suvi
11pm – Green Room – Nightwood (we’ll be at this one for sure)

Friday
7:00 – Musee D’Art Contemporain – Tune Yards
8:00 – Cabaret Juste Pour Rire – Shapes & Sizes
8:00 – Eglise St-Jean Baptiste – Ladies of the Canyon
9:00 – Green Room – Adam & The Amethysts
10:45 – Casa – Teen Anger
11:00 – Bar St Laurent II – Rah Rah
11:00 – Saphir – Gobble Gobble
11:20 – Il Motore – The Unsettlers
12:00 – O Patro Vys – Shapes & Sizes
1:00 – Divan Orange – Japandroids

Saturday
1:00 – Notman House – Cotton Mouth
10:00 – Les 3 Minots – Rah Rah

Sunday
3:00 – Phonopolis – Parlovr & Vincat

*******

This is us yesterday getting ready for the record launch tonight! We tailored Erin’s jumpsuit before heading to Fashion Pop (congrats to Norwegian Wood for winning!).

Photo by Mike Rollo, styling by Lara Kaluza

Folks! The nutty times of Pop Montreal are upon us! Our record launch is tomorrow and our tour is next week (Ontario! Secret shows! Etc!). Here is some festival stuff you might wanna check out….

Tonight: Two of us are gonna go check out Fashion Pop at 8:30pm! Check out the info on Worn Fashion Journal’s site, but essentially, we wanna go see what hot stuff Lara Kaluza and Norwegian Wood have whipped up (and many others!) for Tessa and other lovelies modeling.

• Point of interest: Lara styled our new press photos (pictured above and available here) and actually created the costumes we’re wearing, with the exception of the Norwegian Wood harness she lent to Erin for the occasion. Mike Rollo took the photos and incorporated old school techniques with a digital camera to achieve a ghostly transparency in the images. Some video footage of this session was shot by *safesolvent will become a music video in the future!

We’ll post some music/art picks tomorrow morning! So many to choose from!

• Point of Interest: Listen to our song Gretta at a Window and to some Pop MTL-focussed chat on today’s Midnight Poutine podcast!

Negli ultimi tempi mi sono avvicinato alla letteratura giapponese e, fra gli autori moderni, non potevo che appassionarmi a Murakami Haruki (o, per dirla all’occidentale, Haruki Murakami; qui accanto è ritratto in una posa che richiama alla mente il photoshooting del Bob Harris interpretato da Bill Murray in Lost In Translation).

Come molti, ho conosciuto il grande scrittore nato a Kyoto nel 1949 attraverso lo splendido Norwegian Wood (precedentemente uscito in Italia come Tokyo Blues, titolo originale Noruwei No Mori), un romanzo del 1987 “di impronta realistica e dai temi sentimentali” (come scrive il traduttore Giorgio Amitrano). Questa è certamente l’opera più nota di Murakami, ma forse non lo rappresenta in pieno, visto che l’autore nipponico, solitamente, narra di una “particolare dimensione in bilico tra realtà e irrealtà”, come nel successivo Dance Dance Dance (del 1988).

La sua è una scrittura molto viva, densa di particolari significativi, e personalmente tendo a leggerlo senza fretta, quasi in contemplazione, per immergermi del tutto nelle storie da lui raccontate. Generalmente i suoi romanzi sono piuttosto lunghi (400, 500 pagine o anche più), ma consiglio di non farsi spaventare e di addentrarsi fiduciosi nella lettura: la soddisfazione sarà garantita.

Because the box set is a little too rich for my blood, I’ve decided to pick up the remastered Beatles CDs a few at a time. So on the day of release I drove over to Best Buy on my lunch break and bought my three favorite Beatles albums: A Hard Day’s Night, Rubber Soul and Revolver.

I listened to Revolver first and I must admit I wasn’t completely blown away. I didn’t have my old CD handy for a side-by-side comparison, but I basically felt like I was listening to the same album I’ve known for two decades. I expected to feel as if I was hearing these albums for the first time. Fortunately, Rubber Soul came closer to giving me that experience and A Hard Day’s Night definitely had the wow factor.

I’ve also found that listening to the albums on headphones really highlights the differences, while my car stereo isn’t quite up to the task.

Rubber Soul, The Beatles sixth album, was the one that took them to another level artistically. The music was more complicated, the production more adventurous, the lyrics more introspective. They experimented with new styles and instruments.

Today’s song, ‘Norwegian Wood,’ is a perfect example, featuring the first use of a sitar by The Beatles (and, it is said, by any rock band). It’s a twisted folk song about an affair John Lennon had, though presumably the real-life encounter didn’t end with him setting fire to the place.

The Beatles and Bob Dylan were sort of circling each other’s orbits around this time and Dylan wound up writing Blonde on Blonde’s ‘Fourth Time Around’ as an homage to ‘Norwegian Wood.’ The songs are quite similar in sound in subject matter. That’s a fantastic song as well… it’s a nice thought that the finest songwriters of our time were able to draw inspiration from one another.

Norwegian Wood by The Beatles

Girl

Seen the news lately? Well, they all be talkin’ about (education) revolution, (homo sapien) evolution… (Monetary) regulation, (multicultural) integration, (Middle-Eastern) mediation, (Ban Ki-moon) United Nations, and (Gary Ablett) congratulations…!” It’s all political parades and public charades out there. And the show keeps rolling and the song remains the same…

They were talkin’ ‘bout all this back in the ‘6os though, babe. Yeah an’ the Fab Four took a spiritual (acid) trip to India in ’68 to find their voice; then a year on and we’ve got John Lennon and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band and a bunch of other kids with golden imaginations of a sunshine and lollypop society, all hollerin’ ‘bout peace and politics from the timber deck of Lennon’s New York City crib.

But forty years on and Lennon’s been shot and dead for two point five decades, and red-winged politics and ‘peace please!’ and all in ‘tween are still ideals yet to be realized and, to this day, still drum keen debate for hipsters, hacks and all the other hoi polloi.

And down here, ‘Down Under’, in down town Melbourne, we too’ve got our own proper problems and strife and the like.

So that’s why on this day of September, sitting cross-legged on an Indian rug, is another gentleman called John, too with fair intentions and a pleased smile, and too a peep of the politically inclined. We’ve got here Premier John Brumby, and he’s looking to spread a similar message to the great ‘Imaginer’ himself. All in all the two men move(d) to different beats – Brumby hardly sitting here on the brink of self-realization by shunning the ‘top job’ of this great state of Victoria, for an enlightened existence of 2-week bed-ins, nude art and dope. But alas, he’s doing what he can, promoting the cause.

Victorian Premier John Brumby

John Brumby’s taking a leap of faith into cultural empathy and he’s wandered himself down to the Victorian Sikh Temple in Blackburn. He’s taking the sunken eyes and learning to see, babe, and is looking more like a Sergeant Pepper protege today than a Labor wig. But he’s going all the way – Indian style.

Here we got a necklace of flowers around the neck, kind of affair; a blue headpiece on the cranium, kind of affair; a bowing, kneeling, praying and smooching the ground, kind of affair. And what a way to juxtapose the sharp suit and neat necktie and a swish ol’ polly comb-over generic. This was never gonna be a run of the mill PR doo for a politician on the back foot, after all. No, this would be a coup in the name of value and diplomacy, cooo-eeeee!

‘Cos the Indian folk living here in the nation’s multi-cultural melting pot have had enough. Xenophobia! They’re shouting it from the tramlines of Flinders Street. Xenophobia!! They’re shouting it from televisions in New Delhi. Xenophobia!!! Oh that splash of evil that’ll tarnish our great diverse city and all her good-minded ‘citizens’. Oh and the headlines, read them and weep: “Melbourne attack reignites Indians Fears” says the ABC; “India Fury on student bashings” drums The Age; “Australia, Land of Racists” an Indian newspaper announces in bold font.

Alarm bells are ringing and so here’s our man Brumby, down here at the Sikh Temple in Blackburn, doing what he can to calm the calamity of this racism beast. He’s talkin’ bout  ”long, enduring and strong relationships” between Victoria and India, and pushing for “the harmony of (our) society and the security of our community…”

Thus Victorian Premier sits here on the rug, and isn’t it good (Norwegian Wood)…  But his little adventure down to Blackburn aint gonna do much in the way of taming the thugs. The show just keeps on rolling and the song remains the same…

… vado in libreria. Per me è un appuntamento fisso, un rito da ripetere all’infinito, un modo piacevole di impiegare il mio scarso tempo libero. E ce la metto davvero tutta, credetemi, perché di solito i propositi sono buoni: entro, butto un occhio alle novità ed esco in punta di piedi, come a non voler disturbare quel mondo fatto di colori e profumo di carta.
Come se la mia presenza lì, in fondo, fosse inopportuna. 
Peccato che questo non succeda mai se non nella mia testa. La verità è che mi capita raramente di uscire senza aver comprato nulla. Mi piglia come un raptus, una mania da shopping compulsivo impossibile da ignorare, difficile da mettere a tacere. Mi viene sete. Sete di sapere. E più bevo, più ne voglio. Ecco perché in questo caso di tornare alla tana con me è toccato a loro. C’avevo sete di Oriente.
Esbat l’avevo già adocchiato da un pezzo, ma a convincermi è stata l’autrice in un modo del tutto indiretto. Ho scoperto il suo blog e quello che ho letto mi è piaciuto molto.
 Per Murakami era solo questione di tempo. Non riuscivo a decidermi: Norwegian Wood o Kafka sulla spiaggia? Alla fine hanno prevalso i commenti su aNobii, davvero uno strumento eccezionale per questo genere di cose. Non mi ha mai tradito eccetto che in un’occasione spiacevolissima, ma sono certo che il paragone proprio non si pone. D’altronde per arrivare a quei livelli, non smetterò mai di sottolinearlo, ci vuole sprezzo del pericolo e un impegno non comune. A scrivere coi piedi.