1Q84

2nd short piece that I have read by Haruki Murakami thats available in The New Yorker. I can relate to this one better as I can someone identify with Tengo and his daddy issues. Tengo's father is never given a name, which I understand since he is a selfish and jealous man.

“Going to see his father was a depressing prospect. He had never much liked the man, and his father had no special love for him, either.” With that being stated I could understand the resentment, dislike, and anger that Tengo felt from his father. From the beginning Tengo felt out of place at home thus it trickled down to his every day life.

Tengo's father raised him alone since his mother “died” but Tengo doesn't believe that. Tengo believes that his mother left Tengo and his father and ran off. Based on Tengo's fathers attitude I could understand that, but not taking Tengo? Did the father threaten her? Make her feel as if he was the competent parent?

The final act in this short piece is what makes me give this a 4 star rating instead of 5. I don't like that the father's response was riddles, I don't understand why he could not tell his son the truth about his mother. Did he truly have no heart at all?

This piece is an excerpt from Haruki Murakami's novel 1Q84. Unfortunately its over 900 pages so I won't be reading it. I do want to know if Tengo ever finds his mother though.