Reading Murakami's Kafka On the Shore last night, I was struck by some of the images in the book. I'm only a couple chapters into it and it seems like such complex and creative thinking goes on inside his head.

An image unrelated to the content of the book came to mind... the genie in a bottle story. Its such a popular image, that some wanderer/explorer happens upon a special bottle (usually gold and ancient). The genie materialises by rubbing the sides and the discoverer is granted three wishes.

Amid the three wishes are complexities with grandiosity and endangering others, selfishness and altruism. There is always a villain that either wants to steal the bottle, steal a wish, or corrupt the wisher into doing something altogether bad.

What I actually asked myself last night was "is the genie simply a metaphor for the spirit inside us?" And yes, I think most likely it is. In our adolescene (or later) we tend to find our inner strength and creativity, or we come to feel/know a divine spirit... and the worlds' doors are opened to us. But not without some consequence and responsibility (adulthood).

What interpretations do you guys have of this traditional storyline?