Magical

This is how men are in India today. Though I guess it will begin to change soon as we ‘westernize.’

This is tangentially related, but what is it with these novels about people’s daughters? I’ve seen quite a few floating around.

It’s less India’s fault and more that pulp paperbacks no longer exist, because Wattpad and Scribd wiped them out. New novel platforms in Asia like Naver and Pratilipi also offer new ways to access written content by bypassing traditional publishers.

So publishers have basically turned to publishing less controversial and interesting books for guaranteed crowd-pleasers. And those can be priced higher.

That could have a lot to do with market demand. Not many people out there looking for dry political tomes.

I started reading this online, and it’s genuinely baffling how good it is. Thanks for commenting it.

I mean, they’re both stories in the pastoral tradition featuring girls. It figures they’d share some common features.

If you want a story in this vein that’s distinctly different, read Cold comfort farm by Stella Gibbons. It’s a hoot.

It’s about the journey, not the destination. Murakami’s prose is more about aesthetics and atmosphere than getting going with the plot.

I suggest you try one of his short stories first and see if you want to read more.