Showing posts with label Magical Realism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magical Realism. Show all posts

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Current Treasures: The perfectly magical realism of Woody and Haruki


Left: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Right: The Purple Rose of Cairo by Woody 

„We think it's only natural to get rice pudding after we put rice pudding mix in the microwave and the bell rings, but to me that's just a presumption. I would be kind of relieved if, every once in a while, after you put rice pudding mix in the microwave and it rang and you opened the top, you got macaroni gratin. I suppose I'd be shocked, of course, but I don't know, I think I'd be kind of relieved too. Or at least I think I wouldn't be so upset, because that would feel, in some ways, a whole lot more real.“

This is one of my favourite quotes from Haruki Murakami's masterpiece The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. It is in many ways essential to the book, reflecting on our society's view on reality and wrapping up the mysticism of the whole story. You could also go as far as saying it's the essence of the book, but then again... there is something about the way the main character cooks spaghetti.