Friday Poll: You want to talk about a wind-up?

Haruki Murakami is generally considered one of the greatest novelists living on the planet. His dreamlike work is, on a superficial level, generally concerned with isolated young men who encounter mysterious women and the hijinks that ensue. Cats, jazz, cooking, and running usually feature heavily.

But despite the apparent magical realism, what his books are actually about is often much more difficult to pin down. What most critics consider his masterpiece, 1997’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, is 607 pages that cover a man’s cat and wife disappearing, a supernaturally-predative brother-in-law, a pair of psychic sisters, an alternate world set in a hotel, revelations in wells, a boutique spa in a haunted house, a teenager who’s grieving in a very strange way, and a secret mission to Manchuria during World War II, among other things. It’s goddamn brilliant and you should read it.

I can say this because I’ve now read it three times over the past twelve years. And every time I’ve read it, I’ve found so much of interest that I missed before. Heck, I’m probably going to reread it pretty soon. It’s that good. Even so, though, I still can’t figure out what the book is actually about. As I outlined above, the plot is defined, albeit inexplicable, but the actual meaning in the book is unclear. I’ve more or less settled on the explanation that it’s about how people cope with pain and/or grief, but I’m not sure enough to say that’s really the central theme.

What does this have to do with Fiorentina, you ask? Well, have a look at how it all ties together right below.

Here’s your weekend thread to talk about whatever’s on your mind. Stay loose.