after the quake

What is the significance of the use of lowercase in the titles of the stories and the collection? How do the individual titles elucidate the themes in each story?

How does Murakami portray women in the collection? What gendered tropes are employed in the stories, and how do the representations of women compare to the representations of the men? Do the depictions of sexuality and gender roles perpetuate stereotypes or challenge them?

The stories take place in contrasting settings, from dense cities to remote mountains, from workspaces to the home, and from early mornings to late at night. What role do these contrasts play in highlighting the characters’ relationships to public and private spaces and to society and themselves?