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Dec 26, 2018tjdickey rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A stunning and engaging read, even on a superficial level. But scratch the intellectual surface, and Murakami engages his readers on so many different levels, (but somehow without becoming mired in atifice). Killing Commendatore is steeped in philosophical discourse about artistic creation, whether that is portrait painting, representation vs. abstract concept, or translations between national styles (Japanese or Viennese, both painting and music), or the use of blank space in pictorial narrative, or even Theolonious Monk's seeking the tones between piano notes. Colors (white, green, orange) speak loudly behind the story, as does the absence of color or other sensory input. So much of the power here lies on the boundaries between "presence and absence," between perception and reality, and ultimately between possibility and human decision. To finish this heady concoction, Murakami also layers in homage to Mozart, and to Strauss, and to Scott Fitzgerald.