“On Meeting My 100 Percent Woman One Fine April Morning” by Haruki Murakami

Science is no doubt the most influential force which takes over almost everything in the world. It seeks to explain the unexplainable, to prove how everything existed, and to provide answers to all the questions one may think of. However, what science has left unexplained until now is the concept of love.

What is love? Is there such thing as “destiny” or “fate”? What does one mean by “100% woman”, or a “perfect” man/woman? Since science still can’t find answers to these questions, several love-story writers often play around with the world of love. They either attempt to provide an explanation for love, or use its “unexplainable effect” to create a story.

In the story “On Meeting My 100 Percent Woman One Fine April Morning” by Haruki Murakami, the author creates a story which attacks the reader’s emotions and experiences in love. Notice that the first description of the “100 percent woman” the narrator provided was, “She wasn’t an especially pretty woman.” True enough, one always notices the physical appearance of the opposite sex first. In addition to that, beauty is always the first reason why one was attracted to the opposite sex.

“Was she a beauty?” “No, it wasn’t that.” “Oh, she was the type you like?” “That I don’t remember….” In this set of conversation, the author uses the mystery of love as a way to catch the attention of the readers. This made the readers wonder why the narrator knew that she was the “100 percent woman.” But again, because of the fact that love is unexplainable, readers accept this false logic and continue reading the story.

Of course, the author will not forget to mention the hesitation of a guy to speak to a girl! Crazy “techniques” like asking, “Excuse me, is there a twenty-four hour cleaning shop around here?” just to be able to talk to the girl is a natural phenomenon. The fear of ignorance was there. The fear of negligence was there. The fear of being “dumped” was there. Again, there are no scientific explanations to these feelings. It is a “natural” human condition.

The last concept the author used was the idea of “destiny.” What is destiny? How does one couple know that they are destined to be with each other? Given no clear answers to these questions, the plot of the story escapes logic and reasoning. The illogical plot is given logic by destiny, and because of destiny, this story makes sense.

This story puts onto writing the natural phenomenon of love, how love circles around human emotions, and how it influences lives of men and women. It characterizes destiny as a magical power which makes a couple feel that they are for each other. The story also narrates the natural feeling of a guy falling in love with a girl, his hesitations and what he thinks of.

If one would stick to logic and reason, then there would be a lot of questions which one could think of – like how would a guy notice a girl 50 meters away and is among a crowd? However, it is interesting to point out that no one questions these. It simply proves that one’s personal experiences on love provide answers to these questions. (Take note, not facts, but experiences.) When it comes to the concept of love, there are neither facts nor clear explanations to it. One just, feels it!