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Neobična i neuobičajena ljubavna priča između umirovljenog srednjoškolskog profesora i njegove bivše učenice. Zapravo i sama definicija ljubavne priče odgađa se skoro za sami kraj.
Pripovijedanje trideset osmogodišnje Tsukiko u prvom licu polako nas vodi kroz uobičajene i neuobičajene događaje, njihova susretanja, piće, jelo, svakodnevicu, njezine neodlučne osjećaje, pa sve do ostvarene ljubavi. Pripovijedanje je toliko nježno, suptilno, lijepo kao sporo slikanje kistom, nježnim vodenim bojama u japanskom stilu. Slike koje Kawakami stvara upečatljive su, jedinstvene, zanimljive.
Ovaj roman se stalno igra s našim očekivanjima, ostavlja nas da promatramo puni iščekivanja, željni smo da doznamo što se krije iza svega toga, ostavlja konstantan dojam da tu postoji nešto čudno, nadnaravno, fantastično što će nam uskoro biti objašnjeno. Čekamo neko iznenađenje, neki šokantan događaj, kao u prilikama šetnje šumom i branja gljiva, prilikom njihovog boravaka na čudnom mjestu na obali na kojem se samo pojavljuju iznenada ljudi i sake, kao i putovanje na neobičan otok.
A ono što se događa među njima i s njima istovremeno jest i nije nešto začudno, neobično, nadnaravno – to je ljubav, ljubav koja ispunja sve te kategorije u potpunosti, koja se ne dade definirati, odrediti, samo osjetiti. I to je točno ono što nam ovaj roman ostavlja – osjećaj. Ljepotu, smirenost, tugu, sreću, sve pomiješano zajedno.
Cijeli roman oda je užitku: gurmanskom, hedonističkom pristupu jelu, pijanstvu – često neumjerenom piću, polaganom promatranju prirode i okoline, međusobnom upoznavanju, prepoznavanju i razumijevanju.
Koliko god uživanje trajalo i jest i nije dovoljno, bilo ono vrlo kratko ili vrlo dugo. Bitno je jedino da se ono dogodilo, makar kratko i makar ostavljalo za sobom prazninu kao u profesorovoj torbi.
An unusual and an extraordinary love story between a retired high school teacher and his ex-student. We are not sure if it is a love story at all until the very end.
Our narrator is a thirty-eight year old woman, Tsukiko, who slowly leads us through unusual events, their accidental gatherings, dates, eating, drinking, everyday life, her undecided feelings right up until their declared love to each other. The story unfolds so delicately, subtly, beautifully and slowly as you could imagine it being painted with a paintbrush with water colours Japanese style. Kawakami creates unique, enticing and striking images.
This novel constantly plays with our expectations, we are constantly waiting for something unusual to happen, waiting to find out what strange, fantastic, otherworldly things lie beyond what we are seeing. We are waiting for a surprise, for example during their walk in the woods and mushroom picking, during their visit to the unusual place on the coast where people and things appear and disappear, during their stay on the island.
Indeed, the things that are happening between them are unusual, uncanny and surreal – because it is love. Love that is all of it, hard to define, you can only feel it. That is exactly what this whole novel is like, it gives you pure emotion, beauty, tranquillity, sadness, happiness, everything mixed up together.
The whole novel is an ode to pleasure: a hedonistic approach to food, drink, often too much drunkenness, slowly observing nature and all their surroundings, getting to know each other, understanding and realization of the other.
Regardless of how long the pleasure lasted, it can never be enough. It is only important that it happened – even if it left behind an empty space, a void like in the teacher’s briefcase.
A Literary Snob 