This connection is drawn partially subconsciously; during the conversation the stationmaster says, “‘One pianist who has six fingers said the extra ones get in the way…five is just the right number'” (229). share. best. Tsukuru did what he needed to do, what happens next is just gravy. Perhaps those are simply the places that can be reached directly via Shinjuku station. John Crace journeys to the bottom of his existential funk in only 700 words (2) Haida takes on Tsukuru’s sin and disappears, suggesting that Haida is associated with the death of “old Tsukuru” which occurs after his friends leave him. So as always, Haida did most of the talking, while Tsukuru sat back and listened. tracked her all the way to her home in Finland. There was thus no need to rejoin with the sixth finger as there was with the other four. How does he handle the deep depression he feels as a result of this rejection and how is he changed by this period of suffering? I do not have insight on why Tsukuru considered, in those last few pages, traveling to Matsumoto, or Kofu, or Shiojiri, or Hachioji in particular. (5) Haida is Aka’s homosexual shadow in Tsukuru’s life. These experiences are the same with Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki's. However, with some thought and insight from other readers *, I realized that Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is more complete than it initially seemed. However, ultimately, the meaning that can be derived from the symbols Murakami infuses into this narrative absolutely placate the urgency of the loose plot threads, by allowing us a glimpse of the complex reasoning behind his decision, and thus giving us a degree of closure. Shiro’s mysteries, however, were not as immediately related to Tsukuru’s own life as Haida’s. Haida’s feelings, assuming Haida had sex with Tsukuru, falls in between the two women’s. Yuzuki's descent into madness happens much faster, breaking the group apart. ( Log Out / Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Tsukuru is a vessel of his four friends’ problems, but he survives their problems more easily. If not, who else suffers at what is the cause? Tsukuru went to the college registrar’s office and learned that Haida had been granted a leave of absence. It's implied she's cheating on him, though. Tsukuru came violently, the semen copious. Haida becomes the vessel for Tsukuru’s struggle by swallowing Tsukuru’s semen and then vanishing to his death. Murakami solves loose plot threads not with action, but with symbolism. That is, Tsukuru wonders, “Had he been trying to relate something about himself, making it sound as if it had happened to his father?” It is possible that Haida possesses the death token. It would signify an unfinished piece. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/ColorlessTsukuruTazakiAndHisYearsOfPilgrimage. When considered symbolically, the importance of “What about Haida?” disappears. Sort by. Shiro’s mysteries, however, were not as immediately related to Tsukuru’s own life as Haida’s. So as always, Haida did most of the talking, while Tsukuru sat back and listened. What does the story teach us about belief and the power of persuasion? https://mrgriff2.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-and-his-years-of-pilgrimage-chapters-13-19/, Additionally, another interesting take on the book: https://www.reddit.com/r/murakami/comments/2dte48/spoilers_ending_discussion_colorless_tsukuru/ Part of the story i like is his years and moment with Haida. It is assumed that, as with the three friends he knew he would never meet again, Tsukuru will also never meet with Haida ever again. If not, who else suffers at what is the cause? She had a mental breakdown, was raped and traumatized, miscarried the child, developed anorexia, and became a recluse. He loses a lot of weight, and his face starts to look sunken and gaunt. Do you believe that their distress could have been avoided? And Murakami seems to pull us along with this assumption; even to 10 pages just before the end, Tsukuru sits at the station and considers boarding the train to Matsumoto, at the cost of missing his meeting with Sara. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the long-awaited new novel—a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan—from the award-winning, internationally best-selling author Haruki Murakami. Is he persuaded by Haida’s tale? It is generally accepted that Haida is the sixth finger of Tsukuru’s friends. Haida awakens something in Tsukuru, and it’s not his inner Sophocles. Haida tells Tsukuru the story of his father (or was it Haida himself? Contents Synopsis. He did not know why but did not question the caller. Here Haruki Murakami—one of the most revered voices in literature … Even though he doesn’t know why his friends left him, he chooses not to seek the answer. So as always, Haida did most of the talking, while Tsukuru sat back and listened. This is what he wanted to do in life so, while the others all decided to stay in Nagoya, their home town, for their higher education, Tsukuru went to university in Tokyo, as that was the only place where he could study the design and construction of railway stations. The most pressing loose ends were: Who raped Shiro and who killed her? Kuro says that she believes an evil spirit had inhabited Shiro, and as Tsukuru is leaving her home, Kuro tells him not to let the bad elves get him. Like Kuro, he needed to walk away. I think so. Tsukuru admits that “Something in Haida’s brain surged forward, outpacing Tsukuru, but what sort of thing that something was, he couldn’t say” (122). As promised, I am posting the questions Random House gave us for the purpose of discussing Haruki Murakami’s latest book, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Tsukuru only makes one friend during his decade of exile, a young man named Haida, whose name appropriately refers to the color gray. summarized in Upon closing it, my primary thought was, “What about Haida?” And I couldn’t sleep. After leaving for college, all of his friends from high school mysteriously stopped talking to him. What might this teach us about the purpose of storytelling? What do you think Sara would have said to Tsukuru on Wednesday? Nevertheless, as Tsukuru considered traveling, there was a sense that he needed to go somewhere, that there were still threads left loose, still people to reconcile with. This is because, midway through the novel, Tsukuru realizes, while swimming behind a man with Haida’s feet, in a moment of impactful insight (“a sudden thought struck him”) “Haida is also one of the things that’s blocking me inside” (247). Tsukuru is a maker of concrete things, while Haida is a ponderer of abstractions. “I’ve been a carver all of my life – for almost 39 years. I think that is why Haida left. For example, Shiro and Kuro struggle with their sexuality, which is mirrored in Tsukuru’s struggle with his troubling erotic dreams, which he eventually overcomes. “he didn’t feel bitter about Haida abandoning him. All he knew was that, right after final exams, Haida had stamped his seal on the leave of absence form and the form to vacate his dorm. Haida’s mystery seemed, initially, to demand an answer. His own life struggles quietly mirror those of his friends; the difference is, the miniature manifestations of his friend’s struggles in his own life are more easily overcome. Yuzuki being raped by someone, then privately accusing Tsukuru as the culprit. Then he looked at Tsukuru. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (Audio Download): Haruki Murakami, Michael Fenton Stevens, Whole Story Audio: Amazon.com.au: Audible ( Log Out / It focuses on Tsukuru Tazaki, a man dealing with isolation and his adulthood. He was sacrificed for the function of his friends’ relationships. It's very possible, however, that Haida's reasons for leaving had to do either with his love for Tsukuru (we learn later that Aka went through similar shame at confronting his homosexuality) or even possibly with his shame at having assaulted Tsukuru (although I'm not entirely convinced the assault actually happened). All Tsukuru knew was “Haida had transformed his daily life into something much richer and more colorful” (132). It makes me … Haida loved him and decided to leave. I think Tsukuru's conclusion based on why Shima did what she did was probably the correct one. Haida to Tsukuru is like Midorikawa to Haida’s father. Perhaps it's not important to the story, overall, but I was left wondering. Why does Haida share with Tsukuru the story about his father and the strange piano player who speaks of death? But he does not. The Abenaki did not leave Topsham. The sixth finger is unnecessary, and indeed, Haida’s disappearance was not the same to Tsukuru as that of his other friends. He declares his love for her via phone call, but the story ends before she gives him a decision. Thus, in more ways that one, Haida is the embodiment of the death token. Evidence for this: Like the pianist with the death token, Haida bestows on Tsukuru a glimpse of enlightenment. I would like to quote this couple of meaningful messages by Fumiaki Haida: In his attempt to find the truth, however, he'll discover that there is more to them - and himself - than he ever realized. When he was alone, though, sometimes Tsukuru longed for a girlfriend. Do you believe that their distress could have been avoided? When he decides to move on, he lets his body recover. Is he persuaded by Haida’s tale? In high school, Tsukuru Tazaki belonged to an extremely tight-knit group of friends who pledged to stay together forever. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Haruki Murakami, 2014 Knopf Doubleday 400 pp. Murakami has a habit of making these interesting characters that are insignificant to the plot suddenly disappear. ISBN-13: 9780385352109 Summary Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the long-awaited new novel—a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan—from the award-winning, internationally best-selling author Haruki Murakami. and Why did Haida leave? ISBN-13: 9780385352109 Summary Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the long-awaited new novel—a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan—from the award-winning, internationally best-selling author Haruki Murakami. A little past 11 p.m. their conversation petered out and silence descended on the room. I realized a few decades ago that to really leave my mark here in Haida Gwaii, I’d have to start carving the totem poles. But he chooses not to go. * From the good people of reddit and others who inspired this piece: After meeting at a swimming pool, Haida and Tsukuru are for a time inseparable, eating together, talking about jazz, but things peter out soon after the ejaculation. The only closure I wanted that I did NOT receive was where Haida ran off to. Now, Tsukuru himself, is a sixth finger of sorts, an odd one out, a sore thumb. “Tsukuru loved [Years of Pilgramage], for it connected him to Haida, and to Shiro. Do you believe that their distress could have been avoided? Why does Haida share with Tsukuru the story about his father and the strange piano player who speaks of death? Shiro loses to the demons, Haida runs from them, and Tsukuru confronts them. Why did Midorikawa so carefully place that bag on top of the piano? How does he handle the deep depression he feels as a result of this rejection and how is he changed by this period of suffering? People in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki disappear mysteriously, like Haida; there are fingers in jars, erotic hallucinations, and an unconfirmed third-hand story (obviously inspired by Death Note) involving the person-to-person transfer of spiritual enlightenment (followed by imminent death). Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Tsukuru is colorless, while Haida is a neutral color, gray. Like a sloppy weaver, Murakami measures out several plot threads only to leave them coyly dangling. Oh and... insane plot twist. Both serve as vessels, of sin, to suffer in place of other people. Elsewhere in the story, the piano player asks Haida’s father whether he believes in a devil. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki reminded me of how viscerally comforting fiction can be. Well, except for Tsukuru, hence the “Colorless”. Is Tsukuru the only character who suffers in this way? He wanted to hold a woman close, caress her body, inhale the scent of her skin. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is Haruki Murakami’s thirteenth novel. ( Log Out / After being rejected by his friends, Tsukuru spends a year practically dying. 7. Hamamatsu, where Shiro last lived, likewise does not even share a prefecture with the cities Tsukuru considered. We know that Tsukuru didn’t leave for the reasons he floated, and wait patiently to hear why he was. Tsukuru begins to have erotic dreams about his old friends and this new one. It offers the reader a beautiful mystery in the simultaneous cohesiveness and randomness of existence, and I look forward to Murakami’s explanation. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Tsukuru Tazaki with his four best friends, with Sara and with Haida. If not, who else suffers at what is the cause? Yuzuki told the group that Tsukuru had raped her, even though everyone knew it couldn't have been possible. Did Tsukuru actually attack Shira in some somnambulistic fugue state? (3) Haida is an intermediate between Shiro (whose name means “white,” who was afraid of intimacy and accused Tsukuru of raping her) and Kuro (whose name means “black,” who loved Tsukuru, but was afraid her feelings would not be returned, and so cut him off). He was, of course, Haida the son, but Haida the father had been his same age in this story, and so the two of them began to overlap in Tsukuru’s mind. His experience with Haida allowed Tsukuru to also experience, briefly, Aka’s fear of being homosexual. Haida is shy—it’s not a surprise he doesn’t say anything directly. https://www.reddit.com/r/murakami/comments/2gikct/thoughts_about_murakams_tsukuru_tazaki_spoilers/ What does the story teach us about belief and the power of persuasion? Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. How does he handle the deep depression he feels as a result of this rejection and how is he changed by this period of suffering? The cover of English the edition of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki features a hand, with a finger in each color (red, blue, white, black, and “colorless” (a railway map)) on a gray background. The reason why death had such a hold on Tsukuru Tazaki was clear. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is a great quarter-life crisis book. ( Log Out / Why does Tsukuru wait so many years before attempting to find out why he was banished from the group? I don't know why, but books which leave me hanging with no sequel are quite appealing to me. Thirteenth novel Tsukuru spends a year practically dying together at a local pool and discuss philosophy asterisk *. 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