All Things Lead to the Present Moment

The novel establishes its governing perspective early, by beginning with Chapter II, rather than Chapter I, implying that there is no real beginning to anything and that every occurrence is dependent on every miniscule event that has proceeded it, tracing back for centuries and further. In the opening chapters of the novel, the natural world appears to have been arranging itself for the arrival of the grandson of Prince Genji for many years. The wind, the light, the position of the trees, and the patterns of birdsong are described in ways that imply long preparations rather than coincidental alignment. These descriptions suggest that every current configuration of the world carries within it the full weight of all previous states, creating the conditions that bring the grandson to this place at this time. The natural world shapes his passage through processes...