Question

One of these characters, who is the only named character in his novel, has his name changed in a dream in which the protagonist talks to The Chauffeur. In a story within a novel, a train-hopping young man hides from these characters in a bell tower while in a town filled with them. In another novel, a freezer full of the heads of these (10[1])characters, which are being used to create a magic flute, inspires a man to kill the murderous Johnnie Walker. In that novel, (10[1])an illiterate man uses his ability to talk to these (10[1])characters (10[1])for his job of finding them. While searching for one of these characters at his wife’s behest, the protagonist discovers a dried-up well in “The Thieving Magpie,” the opening section of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. For 10 points, name these (10[1])recurring pets in the novels of Haruki Murakami. ■END■

ANSWER: cats [or felines; accept kittens or kitty or kitties; prompt on pets or animals] (The first three sentences are from, respectively, A Wild Sheep Chase, 1Q84, and Kafka on the Shore.)
<TM, World Literature>
= Average correct buzz position

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Buzzes

PlayerTeamOpponentBuzz PositionValue
Andrew WangIllinois AChicago D6310
Annabelle YangWashU AIndiana A8510
Ned TagtmeierChicago AIndiana B9510
Neal JoshiWashU BMissoui S&T9610
Jay KimChicago BIllinois C13610

Summary

Great Lakes2025-02-01Y6100%0%0%111.50
Lower Mid-Atlantic2025-02-01Y1100%0%0%78.00
Midwest2025-02-01Y5100%0%0%95.00
Northeast2025-02-01Y3100%0%0%93.33