Story of the day: On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning

I've been making several visits to Kinokuniya these past weeks. Armed with my envelope of 20% discount coupons (it's a little depleted since my father returned from a vacation and I had to split the horde with him), I waltzed in and out of the store's sections - literary fiction, Chinese literature (okay, I've only checked out the Jimmy Liao books), children's books (Lemony Snicket, The Princess Bride), comics (Hellboy, Chobits), grammar (nice to see the CUP books I used to have on my desk), magazines (I still look at In Style's Wedding issue even though I'm done with mine!).

On one visit, I noticed a pile of books by Haruki Murakami near the cash registers at the front of the store but didn't pay much heed. On a subsequent visit, I stopped to look more carefully. His name was familiar but I couldn't figure out why. The cover of Norwegian Wood, the novel that brought him great renown the world over, was certainly something I'd seen before. Alas, I've arrived a little late to Mr. Murakami's colletion of writings. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood seem to be the most popular titles, but I chose his collection of short stories instead - The Elephant Vanishes.

The book hasn't left my bedside table, unless it's accompanying me on my long MRT rides. Heady stuff - surreal, Carver-esque, and thoroughly addictive. The startling little piece - "On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" - was so lovely I had to read it twice. And a few more times afterwards. It's a bit funny, poignant, sad. A five-page story that has the ability to hit me right there.

A man tells of how meets his 100% perfect girl on the street, and about the story he should have told her. Simple, beautiful premise. Spare prose. A wonderful last line.

The other book I picked up was Haruki Murakami And The Music Of Words by Jay Rubin, one the the translators of Murakami's work. Murakami opened and ran a jazz bar in Tokyo for a number of years and has amassed some 6000 records - this guy loves his music, and it shows in his writing. Many of his stories feature characters who know and love jazz, pop, or classical pieces.

On another note, I've just learned that my public reading has been scheduled for October 22. I'm not going to think about it (read: get nervous) just yet. What to read, what the weather will be like, who to invite, who to thank... .

I had my first reading at Michigan State University a few years ago, but the first time almost happened at secondary school. I had written a story about a girl and a strange creature, got a little prize (which I've since lost and can't remember what it was anyway), and was asked to read it before the entire school. I was fifteen and I was terrified. I told my teacher that I couldn't do it, that my throat wasn't up to it. She was extremely disappointed in me but I was secretly pleased with myself to have escaped. The other girl who won, Aileen Chew, bravely read her story, and she read it well. But I was still pleased I didn't have to be up on stage.

This time, it's "read, or you don't graduate."

Posted by Monoceros at June 19, 2004 4:35 AM