murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood

Sounds like Casablanca!" Reiko said with a laugh.
She followed "Norwegian Wood" with a few bossa novas while I kept
my eyes on Naoko. As she had said in her letter, she looked healthier
than before, suntanned, her body firm from exercise and outdoor
work. Her eyes were the same deep clear pools they had always been,
and her small lips still trembled shyly, but overall her beauty had
begun to change to that of a mature woman. Almost gone now was the
sharp edge - the chilling sharpness of a thin blade - that could be
glimpsed in the shadows of her beauty, in place of which there now
hovered a uniquely soothing, quiet calm. I felt moved by this new,
gentle beauty of hers, and amazed to think that a woman could change
so much in the course of half a year. I felt as drawn to her as ever,
perhaps more than before, but the thought of what she had lost in the
meantime also gave me cause for regret. Never again would she have
that self-centred beauty that seems to take its own, independent course
in adolescent girls and no one else.
Naoko said she wanted to hear about how I was spending my days. I
talked about the student strike and Nagasawa. This was the first time I
had ever said anything about him to her. I found it challenging to give
her an accurate account of his odd humanity, his unique philosophy,
and his uncentred morality, but Naoko seemed finally to grasp what I
was trying to tell her. I hid the fact that I went out hunting girls with
him, revealing only that the one person in the dorm I spent any real
time with was this unusual guy. All the while, Reiko went through
another practice of the Bach fugue she had played before, taking
occasional breaks for wine and cigarettes.
"He sounds like a strange person," said Naoko. "He is strange," I
said. "But you like him?"
"I'm not sure," I said. "I guess I can't say I like him. Nagasawa is
beyond liking or not liking. He doesn't try to be liked. In that sense,
he's a very honest guy, stoic even. He doesn't try to fool anybody."
""Stoic' sleeping with all those girls? Now that is weird," said Naoko,
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