1Q84: Books 1 and 2

“According to Chekhov,” Tamaru said, rising from his chair, “once a gun appears in a story, it has to be fired.”

You throw a stone into a deep pond. Splash. The sound is big, and it reverberates throughout the surrounding area. What comes out of the pond after that? All we can do is stare at the pond, holding our breath.”

Mephistopheles,”

“It’s just that you’re about to do something out of the ordinary. Am I right? People do not ordinarily climb down the emergency stairs of the Metropolitan Expressway in the middle of the day – especially women.” “I suppose you’re right.” “Right. And after you do something like that, the everyday look of things might seem to change a little. Things

When he tried to think, reality hovered nearby, then retreated into the distance.

eschewing

He had never been interested in high places. He wondered why not. Maybe it was because he had lived his whole life looking at the ground.

Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.

And where there is room for interpretation, there is always room for political persuasion.