false 106484 0679743464 9780679743460 1397 194 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1203130138m/106484.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106484.Hard_Boiled_Wonderland_and_the_End_of_the_World 3354 Haruki Murakami 104037 11412 4 0 true Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 12:44:41 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 22:44:50 -0700 2008 course the protagonist would create a world within his mind that has absolutely nothing to be done; everything is done because it passes the time and people want it to be done, rather than some kind of necessary task that has a place and a function within society. Because of this, he sacrifices true happiness for the comfort of monotony. There is some existential stuff talked about, but nothing too deep: it's described that because there is no happiness, there is no sadness and vice versa. And it's weird how, in the end, the protagonist chooses to leave the outside world behind and instead wants to lose his sense of self in the world he created. Though, on the outside, was it really so different? On the outside world he had no deep relationships; he has a job that makes him faceless and nameless and his life seems incredibly repetitious. So maybe the bottom line is that life shouldn't be some kind of futile task, something where you go through the motions of it because it's comfortable and you're able - rather you should do something that you love and risk the pain and unpredictability of it all, if only to find yourself having small, ecstatic moments.]]>