Unicorns?

So I haven't been able to write in a couple of days but I've been slowly progressing in Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It's been taking me a little longer than usual to get into it, something I wasn't expecting. Granted, me and HBWATEOTW (?!?!) haven't had a good history. When I started it, I immediately recognized the beginning handful of pages; I had started this book many times before but always ended up deciding not to buy it. But, I did buy it, so I'm giving it my honest best.

One thing that keeps me going with it is how some ideas presented in this novel seem like little seedlings of 1Q84. The biggest, most obvious connection is the image of a person separated from his/her own shadow. In 1Q84, The Little People (the enigmatic "force of will") would construct womb-like air chrysalises, where the shadow of a person lay...he called the shadow the dohta and the real person maza. It was very strange, especially because he never explained exactly what happened to separated mazas and dohtas. In fact, quite a few things were left hanging in the air. Anyways, in Hard Boiled Wonderland the "shadow separated from person" technique is applied much more literally, with a man physically cutting off your shadow, thus severing it completely. Sounds a bit like Peter Pan, but not quite. I couldn't picture this independent shadow, apparently with facial features and everything? Personally, I have a high tolerance for the far-fetched, but this whole novel seems too much to wrap my head around, because I haven't mentioned the unicorn hunt the protagonist is undertaking. I just wasn't expecting a novel about unicorns...and fat girls? It just seems like HBW etc. is too random. And considering I have a good, lengthy list of books I want to read (13 books long), I won't spend too much more time deciding if I should continue it or not.

It finally feels truly like the holiday season!! Best time of the year, as everyone will agree! It's also the best time for reading, with dark, cold days, a warm cup of hot chocolate and a nice sweater! Too bad it's not too cold here in Miami! Good reading, everyone!