Wistful Enigmas: Navigating the tale of Kappa Quartet
“What does it mean to be in possession of something nobody has seen before?” This is the question posed in the description of Kappa Quartet, a novel which delves into the titular mythos of Kappas, and explores how a chance encounter leads to a rippling effect towards a diverse cast of enigmatic characters.
Written by Daryl Qilin Yam, Kappa Quartet is an intriguing infusion between both Singapore and Japanese culture, harkening to Yam’s experience studying at the University of Tokyo for a year. Rather than following the perspective of a single character, Yam chooses to weave an overarching narrative amongst a wide selection of characters, set between both Singapore and Japan. In a way, the novel acts as an anthology, where each chapter serves as a character study where readers are able to peer into the hearts of the characters that Yam gives a brief window into. Though fleeting, I feel these snippets into a certain group of individuals are enough to give a good sense of each character’s motivations and feelings.
But before people wish to get into the “soul” of the book, there are some caveats about the author’s style that I should address for potential readers.
On the Murakami-ness (and other caveats)
Yes, it should be acknowledged that the narrative voice(s) of this novel does resemble Murakami’s style of writing. In particular, it is Murakami’s flair of interweaving motifs within a setting that mingles between the real and surreal that seems quite familiar within reading this book. However, to me, this seems to be the only resemblance towards Murakami and Yam’s writing styles. In Kappa Quartet, I find Yam’s approach towards infusing meta-textual references and recurring imagery that builds into this thematic throughline between chapters quite a stark difference to Murakami’s more abstract approach. While Murakami’s narrative worlds feel more like an allegorical set piece to evoke certain themes, Yam seeks to embody his novel’s themes throughout the semi-real setting and characters within his stories. While both do entwine certain mythological ideas in their stories, I find Kappa Quartet to have embodied them in a more realistic setting — a setting where Kappas are real, and intermingle regularly with human society — which I found helped to bring out Yam’s own unique perspective as a queer writer. As such, while Murakami fans may find some familiarity reading this book, in no means should people think that this is a Singaporean rip-off.
Another caveat that may turn off readers is how individuals from one chapter flit from narrative to narrative. As one character hints at the start: “Somewhere in there is a book, and in it I am a character. A few pages later I am nowhere to be seen.” Thus, this leads to a fractal effect where some characters who had made cameos in one chapter were then the main narrative voice much later. While some may find this a kaleidoscopic structure perturbing, I felt this embodied the themes of transience and emptiness which Yam was successfully able to convey for me. What’s certain is that readers should not come into this novel expecting to be able to follow the protagonists’ struggles and triumphs.
Lastly, I’d like to warn readers that this is one of those books that never truly resolves its mysteries. While Yam sets up some interesting thriller moments in some chapters, his intention is clearly not to evoke a spectacle out of it. As such, I suspect certain readers may find themselves quite frustrated (as I was a little bit) to find the narrative voice to have suddenly pivoted to another character after a tense moment. Although, after reading through it all, I felt that this was a deliberate action on the part of Yam, and in the grand scheme of things, something I appreciated. My advice is to go along with the ride that Yam has carefully crafted, and to do your best to keep a close eye on the characters and their relations.
Exploring the “Soul” of Kappa Quartet (without spoilers)
With all the caveats aside, I would like to discuss some key themes in this novel that struck me, which will hopefully convince some readers to pick up this book. Here, I would like to elaborate on the nature of Kappas, Souls, and Death within the novel.
Kappas, as noted in the titular title, are a prime focus within this novel. In it, they represent a form of Other, identified by the dent in their heads. Being mythological tricksters and stealers of souls, they are thus left to their lonesome, eating nabe and attempting to live out their lives as outcasts amongst humans. To me, I felt that Yam was drawing on his queer experience whilst introducing the mythos of Kappa, and it made me understand the impact of Othering certain communities, and appreciate the tender moments that can happen when we start to connect and recognizing them as our own: not just as monsters, but also human like us.
Tied with the mythos of Kappas is also the consideration of souls. Yam’s examination of souls in this novel seems to be tied with some notions from Western philosophy. In the novel, souls are discussed as being immaterial, yet still real. Additionally, it is the Kappas that are notorious for stealing souls from humans, particularly their shirikodama.Through the chapters, we find characters with bright, intense souls, and characters who are soulless and seething with desire. As such, Yam probes into the metaphysical nature of the soul, and subtly hints at the kind of emptiness we may feel in certain periods in our life, in the midst of going through the tedium of our lives. While not always explicitly explored within each chapter, dealing with the metaphysical soul is for sure one of Yam’s focuses within this novel.
Lastly, the least prominently explored but important theme is the concept of death. While an oft-discussed subject within literature, Yam brings his own thoughts and perspectives by tying this along with the ideas of souls and transience.
Recommending Kappa Quartet
Admittedly, this is one of my first Singlit books that I have read, but definitely not the last. Kappa Quartet is a brilliant piece that introduces our familiar Singapore setting while exploring meaningful themes of souls, emptiness, and outcasts. Fellow Murakami lovers will be sure to find this book both a familiar yet exciting foray into the realm of soul and kappas.
By: Natalie Lem
ReadNUS Editorial Team