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“Is it possible in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another?
We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person’s essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?”
After reading these paragraphs from Haruki Murakami’s book The Wind-Up Bird chronicle, I was left thinking about this rather provocative articulation. As a matter of fact - how much can one know about oneself. We try to understand ourselves, or may nthink we understand ourselves, yet we may not find a symbiotic coherence in our own actions. But still we try to seek out and understand others.
A friend from Sydney, who I met randomly in Cannes, introduced me to Haruki Murakami’s work. I find it very hard to put this book down. I find myself getting entangled into ‘The Wind up Bird Chronicle’. It leaves me with a lot to think about. Haruki writes about urban alienation and journeys of discovery into oneself. It is the work of a genius – very provocative, powerful and philosophical.
Shrenik
Edinburgh, 7th November 2007
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