It's hard to believe this book was written from the perspective of a 20-year old boy because Wattanabe feels significantly more mature than I am (barely 21), and even though a lot of things in his life are unstable, I always trust in his actions and see him as a role-model in terms of the way he lives. I was expecting more of a love story, but was glad that in the end it wasn't. My main takeaway from it was just understanding the simplicity and meaninglessness of life, but in a totally optimistic way. I feel like everything I did or worried about after picking up this book throughout the day just felt trivial. It was also interesting to get such a strong glimpse into Japan and its different terrains, university lifestyles, and areas (I also couldn't help but Google 'how common is suicide in japan' after reading this). To describe this book in two words, I'd say it is melancholic and introspective, and I've finished it feeling almost speechless. I'm excited to try out more of Haruki Murakami's books, but also unsure of how I feel about his unique perspective and this sort of 'dreamlike' fiction. There are a lot of odd characters that seem like figments of poetry or something -- characters that you won't expect to find in real life. The dialogue in this is as casual as it is strange and as gentle as it is crass. Murakami produces some strange reads, from what I hear, but this is a relatively straightforward one that still effectively makes you feel a certain kind of way.

“I have a million things to talk to you about. All I want in this world is you. I want to see you and talk. I want the two of us to begin everything from the beginning.”

“I really like you Midori. A lot."

“How much is a lot?"

“Like a spring bear," I said.

“A spring bear?" Midori looked up again. "What's that all about? A spring bear."

“You're walking through a field all by yourself one day in spring, and this sweet little bear cub with velvet fur and shiny little eyes comes walking along. And he says to you 'Hi, there, little lady. Want to tumble with me?' So you and the bear cub spend the whole day in each other's arms, tumbling down this clover-covered hill. Nice, huh?"