UFO in Kushiro

I think that we tell stories in which bad things happen because those are the things that stick out in our minds when we are thinking about past experiences. Sure, we also think about beautiful moments in our lives, like great vacations with family or having a child, but those things stick out because they are a shift from the normal pace of life, a break in the routine. I think that those good moments pop out to us because they fill an absence of some good feeling. I think that writing about bad things that happen have a similar effect because in many instances those bad things create the absences in our lives. The loss of a loved one, as in UFO in Kushiro, creates a break in the main character's life and forces him to address issues he had not seen before. I think often times the absences created from the bad things that happen to people, and how people face those bad things, creates a compelling story because they either teach us how people act in certain situations or allow us to relate to those situations because we've been in them. If I read a story about how someone faced a situation like dealing with a bad roommate in college, I could relate to that character but I would also be interested in seeing how they handled the situation and learning whether they got a more satisfying outcome than I did. I think I'm starting to get lost in the stream of my thoughts here, but my point is that I personally find stories where bad things happen compelling because they show the reader how the characters affected by the bad thing reconciles or avoids the problem, whether they triumphantly conquer the obstacle, cower in fear of it, or fight it to the point that the winner in the story is up for interpretation. If I went on any of those three paths in a story (not that a story is completely limited to three all knowing rules from a Stanford undergrad, I'm of the mindset that there are an unlimited number of stories, all of which spawned from some original story like a narrative Big Bang) I would be intrigued and keep reading.

I think that in the story UFO in Kushiro the author uses mystery to focus the reader's attention away from the main character and the bizzare claims made by his companions. It works sort of like a one-two punch combination. The disappearance of the main character's wife, the secret box, the women's uncanny ability to recognize him despite him having the box in his suitcase, and the random trips they take are meant to confuse the reader like a jab to the face. The reader raises their literary guard, recognizing these mysteries as significant plot points that they think, and hope, will be resolved by the end of the story. What the author reveals to the reader is the uppercut. I loved how he used the random stories about the bear, UFO, and earthquake to try and get his main character laid. That totally came out of no where for me but I found it incredibly sexy, even this depressed protagonist couldn't refuse (though we interestingly don't get his verbal response). While I had my guard up against what I saw as the major mysteries of the story, that culmination of events snuck right under my guard and smacked me right in the chin. I did not expect that turn at all and really enjoyed being fooled, I see why this story is worth rereading. The elephant in the room I think is the ending to this story. I might have been physically drooling at the last line. How could they leave me hanging like that? If this was a novel, I would by every copy in my local bookstore and hand them out for free. People need to read this, and I need to read more of it! Thanks for staying with me this long, if you're still reading!