Something I've continuously noticed through my readings of Murakami's novels is the similarity among his protagonists who all accept the magical elements around them at face value. The question of why is never as important as accepting the new reality as it is. A prime example of this can be found in A Wild Sheep Chase during Boku and the Rat's long waited meeting. The Rat exclaims that the Sheep is dead. Despite searching for this sheep the entire novel, once the Rat reveals this to Boku, Boku accepts this and proceeds to accept any and all details the Rat decides to provide him. Another example can be found with the introduction of the Ear Girl. The Ear Girl explains to Boku her need for killing/blocking her ears and vague notions of the ears' special power. Boku asks questions and wants to understand her further, but never does he question her credibility or the truth hood of her statements. He simply just accepts that he has just met and become intertwined with a magical Ear Girl. This radical acceptance is present in Boku in other novels as well. In Dance Dance Dance when meeting with the receptionist of the renovated Dolphin Hotel and listening to her story of the pitch black musty 16th floor, he accepts her story and not only fully believes her but proceeds to look for the altered 16th floor himself. But this quality of acceptance is not just found in Boku novels, but is a common thread among all his protagonist. In Kafka on the Shore its present in both protagonist and the characters around them. At the end of the novel when Kafka takes his long journey in the woods, he matter factly accepts the new reality he finds himself in and ready to become fully acclimated, until Miss Saeki snaps him out of this desire. Nagata's character is centric around radical acceptance. He self-admittedly does not wonder why (as Nagata is not very smart) but simply accepts all things around him. In extension, Nagata's helper Hoshino quickly comes to accept to stop wondering why and just accept the weird things that follow Nagata. In 1Q84 Tengo accepts all Fuka-Eri says at face value, taking her world as a near gospel to navigate the altered reality he finds himself in. Aomame also radical accepts many things. She is very quick to accept her "virginal" pregnancy and Tengo's paternity. She also quickly accepts her new reality of 1Q84. And while yes, the Q does stand for question and she actively searches out the reason she switched dimensions, the possibility of the shift is never questioned. Aomame knows she shifted dimensions and she knows that it's her new reality.
This acceptance of things is one of my favorite things about Murakami novels. As a reader it makes me also quickly accept these magical things as reality. It immediately takes away any issue with suspension of disbelief for me. I think this is why Murakami chooses to make his protagonist this way. It simply makes it an easier read. You don't have to worry about if this is real or not, is this actually happening or is it a delusion, or wondering about the reliability of the narrator. The things happening around the protagonist are real because the protagonist truly believes and knows that it is real.
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