gorgeous. Best murakami has been. stunning side characters.
throughout the novel he explores some consistent “something” inside people. when reading murakami, you also have a consistent something inside you as a result of how abstract he approaches his story telling and ideas without ever explicitly saying what he is telling us.
also love where you feel that multiple characters are in some way connected verging on being versions of the same person. this combined with the idea of the collective unconscious are really fascinating ideas he touches on without ever saying explicitly. in the end everyone will have their own theories on what X meant bc he doesnt say it himself but that’s part of the fun
and no, I don’t mind that his protagonist is always just some guy that likes beer and cats. I’m him, too