Bryan’s Reviews > Kafka on the Shore > Status Update

Well before Freud shined a light on the workings of the subconscious, darkness was obvious to people. It wasn't a metaphor, even. Until Edison invented the electric light, most of the world was covered in darkness. The darkness of the outside world has vanished, but the darkness of our hearts remains, virtually unchanged. And that estrangement sometimes creates a deep contradiction or confusion within us.

"I've experienced all kinds of discrimination. Only people who've been discriminated against can really know how much it hurts. Each person feels the pain..each has his own scars... But what disgusts me more are people who have no imagination. The kind T.S. Eliot calls hollow men... Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Narrow minds devoid of imagination.

You have to look! That's another one of our rules. Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will be even worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open.

Film noir played by talking cats. Perfection.

Leading theories on Kafka's black outs: 1) Kafka is the Manchurian candidate; 2) the elementary school teacher is Powdering Tokyo; 3) sleep-drinking; 4) aliens.