1Q84 – Haruki Murakami

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 — “Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.”

Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s — 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Publisher:  Random House
Year: 2011
Rating: 4/5

I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this novel by the crew over at Random House. Not only is it always cool to be sent book to review, but I am a huge Murakami fan, so getting this gem in the post was exciting!

This novel may be the most anticipated book of the year. Murakami has a large international following and the hype surrounding the release of this book was pretty intense. For months now I have seen this book talked about all over the bloggersphere and that is something. You know you have made it as an author when people are talking about your book before it has even been released.

As stated in the blurb this book follows the intertwining stories of Aomame and Tengo. Two lost souls who first met in elementary school, and shared one intimate moment, but have long gone their separate ways.

Raised in a religious cult, Aomame has left her roots behind and now works as a fitness trainer by day, and an assassin by night. Sounds pretty ruthless, right? Despite the nature of her job, Aomame could be said to have noble intentions behind her work. She is employed by an old dowager who runs a house for battered women and helps out by ridding the world of the men who hurt them. 

We meet Aomame as she is on her way to a job. She gets stuck in the traffic on the expressway and is worried about not being unable to complete this assignment. Lucky for her, the taxi driver suggests a way in which she can keep her appointment, But her warns her,

And also, the driver said, facing the mirror, "please remember: things are not what they seem."

The driver chose his words carefully: "It's just that you're about to do something out of the ordinary. Am I right?"

"Right. And after you do something like that, the everyday look of things might seem to change a little. Things may look different to you than they did before. I've had that experience myself. But don't let appearances fool you. There;s always only one reality." - Page 9

Reality is a big theme in this book. After Aomame takes on the driver's suggestion things do start to look different and certain aspects of the world have changed. Is Aomame going crazy? Or has the world really changed? What exactly is reality, anyway? 

Aomame dubs this new world 1Q84 and struggles with the fact that she seems to be the only one that can see the changes. Little does she know, someone else has entered this world too. Tengo, the boy she hasn't seen since elementary school is now also all grown up and strange things are happening for him too. 

Tengo works as a maths teacher at a local cram school and harbours dreams of writing novels for a living. Too bad he can't seem to get published. That is until his publisher friend approaches him to rewrite a novel called 'Air Chrysalis', written by seventeen-year-old Fuka-Eri.

Fuka-Eri's novel contains a fantastic story but it is poorly written, so the plan is to have Tengo to fix it up. This basically amounts to literary fraud but Tengo is drawn in by the story and agrees; against his better judgement. By doing this, he soon finds that the world seems different. Things have changed. What is going on? Could the fantasy world created by Fuka-Eri be real?

1Q84 is a big book. At 925 pages and three 'books' which make up the story, this tome made for a lengthy read. In my honest opinion, this novel was too long. I feel like a traitor to the Murakami Army by saying that, but it really could have done with some heavy handed editing. 

The whole novel we follow the parallel stories of Aomame and Tengo, just waiting for them meet up again. This is something that was dragged out through the book and I was a little annoyed by it by the end. You know it is going to happen, it just doesn't, not for 895 pages anyway. I guess some people may enjoy this 'will they or won't they' theme, but I just found it trite.

My only other criticism is the romance aspect of this novel. My opinion may be coloured by the fact I am not really a fan of those sorts of stories to begin with, but I found it unbelievable. Call me cold hearted, but I just didn't feel the love. Can two people really have one 'moment' when they are 10, never see each other again, then still be in love with each twenty years later? Maybe. I don't see it, but I kind of wish I did.

Despite these aspects, I enjoyed this book. It was well written and thoughtful. I enjoyed Aomame's relationship with the dowager, Fuka-Eri's strange personality and felt akin to Tengo's literary ambitions. The story in 'Air Chrysalis' was interesting, and some of the secondary characters were well played out.

Like all Murakami novels, questions relating to human nature and the world are raised, which left me pondering for a long time after the novel had been put down. That is probably the thing I love most about Murakami's work. His ability to make you think about things that you maybe wouldn't have thought about before.

Overall, this was an enjoyable novel. Definitely not Murakami's finest work, but good enough to cement his place as a great modern literary figure.

Have you read 1Q84? What did you think? Are you with me, or do you think this is Murakami's great masterpiece? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Look what I got....

Yup, that's right! 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami! The crew over at Random House were nice enough to send me a review copy! I can't wait to sink my teeth into this one :)

The Devotion of Suspect X – Keigo Higashino

Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor. Overhearing the commotion, Yasuko's next door neighbor, middle-aged high school mathematics teacher Ishigami, offers his help, disposing not only of the body but plotting the cover-up step-by-step.

When the body turns up and is identified, Detective Kusanagi draws the case and Yasuko comes under suspicion. Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko's manufactured alibi and yet is still sure that there's something wrong. Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa, known to the police by the nickname Professor Galileo, went to college with Ishigami. After meeting up with him again, Yukawa is convinced that Ishigami had something to do with the murder. What ensues is a high level battle of wits, as Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, who faces his most clever and determined opponent yet.

Genre: Fiction, Japanese, Crime, Mystery
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Year: 2011
Rating: 3/5

There is not a whole lot I can say about this book.  The blurb above sums up the story pretty well, and although an enjoyable enough read, there wasn't anything really special about this book.... no wow factor.

It was a quick read. A good way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The sort of read that once you are done, it's pretty much gone out of your head the next day. That isn't meant as a criticism, just because this novel wasn't memorable doesn't make it a bad book.

I'd recommend this book if you are looking for something that is easy to read, something you can devour in one sitting and not have to think too hard. I guess you could liken it to watching CSI, fun at the time but not something that is going to make you question your life, floor you with observations or distract you later, while driving. 

The characters aren't going to get under your skin, the prose isn't going to make your heart ache from it's beauty, and you sure aren't going to hug this book to your chest with tears in your eyes when it's done. But you know what, that is ok! Where would we be if all books affected us so profoundly? It wouldn't be good for the soul... sometimes, we just need something light and fun. Something to distract us from our work and woes, and this book will provide just that. 

Want to grab a copy? Try Book Depository!

After the Quake – Haruki Murakami

The economy was booming. People had more money than they knew what to do with. And then the earthquake struck. For the characters in After the Quake, the Kobe earthquake is an echo from a past they buried long ago. Satsuki spent thirty years hating one man: a lover who destroyed her chances of having children. Did her desire for revenge cause the earthquake? Junpei's estranged parents live in Kobe. Should he contact them? Miyake left his family in Kobe to make midnight bonfires on a beach hundred of miles away. Four-year-old Sala has nightmares that the Earthquake Man is trying to stuff her inside a little box. Katagiri returns home to find a giant frog in his apartment, on a mission to save Tokyo from a massive burrowing worm. 'When he gets angry, he causes earthquakes,' says Frog. 'And right now he is very, very angry.'

This new collection of stories, from one of the world's greatest living writers, dissects the violence beneath the surface of modern Japan.

Genre: Fiction, Short Stories, Japanese
Year: 2000
Publisher: Vintage
Rating: 3/5

After the Quake is a collection of short stories by Haruki Murakami. Each story deals with the situation of a different person, which is loosely connected to the Kobe earthquake. 

I must begin by saying, I am not a big fan of the short story format. I struggle with reading short stories in one sitting as I have issues with jumping between characters and plots so quickly. I much prefer a novel where I can sit down and immerse myself in the one world, with the same characters. That said, I think I have pretty much made my way through all of Murakami's novels and I do want to read all of his translated work, even his short stories. 

These stories are about people, not the quake. They deal with people who are trying to come to terms with something in their past and work out their future. I quite liked 'Honey Pie', a tender story about a writer who has spent years loving a woman he can not have, his friendship with her estranged husband and his relationship with their four-year-old daughter, who he tells stories to. This story was moving and thought-provoking. Well worth the read.

This book is quite thin (only 132 pages) so I was able to read it quickly. The stories in this collection were interesting, full of the surrealism, pondering on human nature and the dark depths of the human soul, that I have come to love in Murakami's work. This collection would be a great introduction into Murakami's style of writing if you wanted something short to begin exploring his writing. 

Have you read any of Murakami's short stories?

Sputnik Sweetheart – Haruki Murakami

Twenty-two-year-old Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. But whereas Miu is glamorous and successful, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel. 

Surprised that she might, after all, be a lesbian, Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire and should she ever tell Miu how she feels about her. 

Frustrated in his own love for Sumire, K consoles himself by having an affair with the mother of one of his pupils. Then a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek island and asks for his help, and he discovers that something very strange has happened to Sumire. 

Genre: Fiction, Japanese
Year: 1999
Publisher: Vintage
Rating: 5/5

As my regular readers know, I am a huge Murakami fan. I love his works. Murakami has a way with words.. as a quote by Independent on Sunday says on the back of Sputnik Sweetheart; 

"How does Murakami manage to make poetry while writing of contemporary life and emotions? I am weak-kneed with admiration"

Me too good fellow. Me too.

This novel was a lot different to what I expected from the blurb on the back. I had been putting off reading this Murakami for a while as I expected long telephone calls. I am not big fan of overuse of dialogue in novels, but besides the occasional call, the novel was narrated from K's point of view. He told Sumire's story, Miu's story and gave some background on his own. This resulted in three realistic and interesting characters. 

Sumire is charming. She is an aspiring writer who loves nothing more than to immerse herself in novels or write everything that comes to her. She loves long conversations about profound topics and isn't concerned with money, fashion or appearance. All Sumire wants is to write a long novel that will be on par with the classics she reads. That is until she meets Miu and everything changes. Sumire falls secretly in love with her.

Miu is beautiful, wealthy and classy. She runs her own business importing French wine to Japan and organising concerts. To Sumire, she seems perfect. But Miu has a secret of her own. Something happened to her fourteen years ago which changed her life and turned her black hair, pure white. 

K, the narrator is in love with Sumire but she cannot return his love. He is frustrated by this and reacts by sleeping with a variety of women. Despite her rejection, K will do anything for Sumire so when Miu calls from a tiny Greek island and tells him that Sumire has disappeared, he jumps on a plane and arrives in Greece in record time. But when he gets there he finds a mystery unlike anything he could ever imagine. 

I loved this novel. Murakami's prose was wonderful.... flowing off the pages with beauty and grace. This novel was an absolute pleasure to read. 

I enjoyed Sumire's conversations with K about life. They talked about the difference between signs and symbols, sexual desire, the sense of isolation people can feel even if surrounded by others, and how life events can suck out our souls and leave us as nothing but empty shells. Husks floating through the rest of our lives... depressing topic I know, but Murakami delivers it in such a way that although it is sadly pensive, it still a wonderful read.

"So that's how we live our lives. No matter how deep and fatal the loss, no matter how important the thing that's stolen from us - that's snatched right out of our hands - even if we are left completely changed people with only the outer layer of skin from before, we continue to play out our lives this way, in silence. We draw ever nearer to our allotted span of time, bidding it farewell as it trails off behind. Repeating, often adroitly, the endless deeds of the everyday. Leaving behind a feeling of immeasurable emptiness."

The mystery in this novel was creepy... yet interesting. I love how subtle Japanese horror can be. It's psychological and relies on the reader to work it out... thoroughly creepy.

Sputnik Sweetheart is now one of my new favourite Murakami's. It is right up there with Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. I highly recommend this book to all Murakami fans. I cannot wait to read my next Murakami!

The Housekeeper + The Professor - Yoko Ogawa

The Housekeeper + The Professor is another of my First Tuesday Book Club finds. It has been on my TBR list for ages and although I am glad I read it, I wasn't overly excited by this novel. In fact, I am slightly disappointed.

Genre: Fiction, Japanese
Publisher: Vinatge
Year: 2003
Rating: 2/5

Each morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are reintroduced to one another, a strange, beautiful relationship blossoms between them. The Professor may not remember what he had for breakfast, but his mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. He devises clever maths riddles - based on her shoe size or her birthday- and the numbers reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her ten-year-old son. With each new equation, the three lost souls forge an affection more mysterious than imaginary numbers, and a bond that runs deeper than memory.

The premise for this novel was interesting, as was the developing relationship between the Housekeeper, the Professor and her son, Root (nicknamed so by the Professor who upon meeting him each day, declares that his flat head reminds him of the square root sign). Unfortunately I found this novel and it's characters hard to connect with. 

I blame the math. I do not like math. I am not a fan of numbers. Give me living, breathing words any day. To me, numbers are flat. Considering that the Professor was a mathematician, this book is full of equations. Ogawa uses plenty of math terminology to create the world of the Professor and to give the reader some insight into his mind. I found this made the book terribly slow.

The Housekeeper and her son find the Professor's love of numbers intriguing and his number games beautiful. They are quickly drawn into his world and are keen to solve his equations. I get the feeling Ogawa wanted the reader to also be drawn into this world and feel just as passionate about numbers are the characters were. Not me. Sorry. I really don't enjoy math.

I also had a problem with the baseball. I am not a sporty person. I do not follow any sort of sport, let alone baseball which isn't widely played in Australia (I don't even think it is played professionally here, correct me if I am wrong). So all the long-winded descriptions of games, Japanese players batting averages and their careers just didn't interest me. 

So there you have it.  I enjoyed the growing relationship between the three main characters and I felt this was a really tender, sad story that did a good job of showing how memory loss can affect a persons life, but all the math and baseball made it too difficult for me to read enthusiastically.

I feel like I have missed something really important because of this.. like my eyes were closed to something profound.. but I am not going to read it again to find out. 

If you enjoy math, baseball and stories about people then you may really love this book. It just wasn't for me.

South of the Border, West of the Sun - Haruki Murakami

As those of you who join me regularly know, Haruki Murakami is one of my favourite authors and I am slowly making my way through all of his books. My latest read was South of the Border, West of the Sun. 

Genre: Fiction, Japanese
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 1992
Rating: 3.5/5

Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present. 

This was a short, yet engaging novel. In true Murakami style, the story and characters in this novel are used to ponder life's bigger questions.  Such as, how certain is memory? Is reality just something we construct in our minds? Are facts only facts because we label them as such? How can our actions, whether deliberate or accidental, hurt those around us in ways which are irreversible? Murakami loves to give his readers something to think about. 

All of this is achieved through the character Hajime. Hajime seems to be going through some sort of midlife crisis. He has a wife who he loves, two beautiful daughters and a great job running a bar in a trendy suburb of Tokyo, yet he spends most of his time with his head in the past.

He analyses his past relationships, starting with his first true love, Shimamoto. He questions what could have been if he did not move away. He then goes on to think about his first steady girlfriend in high school, Izumi and how his betrayal of her hurt her deeply, having long reaching consequences on her life that he could not have forseen. 

Eventually, Shimamoto reappears back into Hajime's life. Shimamoto haunts Hajime with 'what if's' until he reaches breaking point, forcing him to make a decision between his wife and family or his past.

I must say that I found Hajime hard to sympathise with. I mean, he treats women like dirt all because he can't make up his mind what he wants from life. He is so focused on a childhood romance that did not eventuate, that he can not function normally in relationships. That's pretty messed up.  Which, I guess, is the point. Hajime is a character with issues but as a reader, I couldn't really 'feel' for him.

That said, I still enjoyed this book. It gave good insight into a how a person can struggle within themselves. I think Hajime knew he was a pretty poor excuse for a human being, yet his obsession with Shimamoto clouded all his decisions. This is more of a character study rather than a face-paced novel with a lots of  plot.

This novel does not contain the surrealist elements that we have come to expect from Murakami, it's focus is on human fault and introspection. Regardless, it did not disappoint. A must read for any Murakami fan.

Real World - Natsuo Kirino

Since I signed up for the Japanese Literature Challenge I have been looking for new novels to read. I really enjoyed the novels, Out and Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino, so I decided to read Real World.

Genre: Fiction, Japanese, Thriller
Publisher: Vintage Books
Year: 2003
Rating: 3/5

In a suburb on the outskirts of Tokyo, four teenage girls drift through a hot smoggy August and tedious summer school classes. There's dependable Toshi, brainy Terauchi, Yuzan, grief-stricken and confused, and Kirarin, whose late nights and reckless behaviour remain a secret from those around her.

Then Toshi's next-door neighbour is found brutally murdered and the girls suspect Worm, the neighbour's son and a high-school misfit. But when he disappears (having stolen Toshi's bike and mobile) the four girls become irresistibly drawn into a treacherous vortex of brutality and seduction which rises from within themselves as well as the world around them.

Like the previous two Kirino books I have read, this book did not hold back any punches. It was a raw, honest and chilling look at the darker side of Japanese society.

Toshi, Terauchi, Yuzan and Kirarin are typical teenage girls. Self-obsessed, struggling with their own issues - lesbianism, identity, the loss of a parent, the burden of being made to deal with adult issues before ready. Each of these girls is completely lost in their own world, oblivious to their friends suffering and believing that no one could possibly understand what they are going through.

When Worm murders his mother and goes on the run, each of these girls finds themselves drawn into his world. A world that he took control of and chose, rather than being stuck with the helplessness and loss that they feel. 

When Worm contacts these girls using Toshi's mobile, each one is enthralled in their own way. But the consequences of their decisions are something that they do not think of and before they know it, their lives are changed forever. 

I enjoyed this book. It didn't grip me in the same way Out did or leave me feeling as disturbed as Grotesque, but it was still a good read. 

I keep pondering over the title of this book. Real World. Is this really the real world? 

In one respect I think yes. The feelings these teenage girls displayed, their sense of loss, misunderstanding and hopelessness I think are all too common amongst the teens. Would that really lead a person to aid and abet a murderer? Possibly. I guess that would depend on the person. 

While reading this book I got the feeling that these girls just didn't really think too hard about what they were doing, why they were doing it and the consequences of their actions. So in that respect, that is very 'teenage' behaviour. Of course I am not labeling all teenagers with this stereotype, but I feel that the emotions and issues raised in this book are more common than we realise. Not just in Japan, but all over the world.

This isn't a happy story. You won't put down this book feeling cheerful. You won't get an ending that is heartwarming. But you will see the world of adolescents in a different way. 

Although extreme, some truth lurks between these pages.

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

I am a big Haruki Murakami fan and am slowly making my way through all of his novels. The latest novel I have read is Norwegian Wood and like all Murakami novels, it did not disappoint.


Genre: Fiction, Japanese, Romance
Year First Published: 1987
Publisher: Vintage
Rating: 4/5

When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past. 

Norwegian Wood may seem like a love story of the surface but it is so much more than that. This is a novel about loss, about the fragility of life, the fragility of the human mind and how our choices can affect others in heartbreaking ways.

Toru Watanabe is a university student struggling to get by in a world full civil unrest. He goes to classes, works a few nights a week at a record store and spends his Sundays doing his laundry. His life is full of order. That is until both Naoko and Midori enter his life. 

Naoko was the girlfriend of Toru's best friend from high school,  Kizuki. That was until Kizuki killed himself when he was 17. No one can understand what happened, or why he did such a thing. Toru and Naoko find themselves bound by grief and their link to Kizuki. They quickly become good friends and spend days together walking around Tokyo. 

Just as Toru feels that Naoko is the one, she disappears from his life and the city. He later finds out that she is suffering from Kizuki's death much more than he realised and is staying at a retreat in the forest to try and recuperate. He visit her on occassion and also enjoys the company of Reiko, her room mate. He promises to wait for Naoko to recover so they can then start their lives together. 

That is until Midori steps into the picture. Midori is the opposite of Naoko, who is frail and emotionally troubled. Midori is strong-willed, outgoing and just a little crazy. Midori has had her own share of heartbreak in her life, but handles it in a very different way to Naoko. She won't let life get her down. 

Soon Toru and Midori have formed a bond, not based on grief or loss, but on mutual respect and friendship. Now Toru must choose between Naoko, who he made a promise to, a woman whose mind is on the verge of collapse, and Midori, the woman who makes him happy. 

This novel is very different to the other Murakami novels I have read. It is more "mainstream", less a metaphysical exploration of ideas but more an exploration of humanity and the faults of human beings. Just because it is different, doesn't make it any less worthy. This novel still has Murakami's trademark style of asking questions and encouraging his readers to think outside the box. 

"If you only read the books everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking" - Nagasawa to Toru on why he reads classic literature over contemporary literature

I can see why this novel is Murakami's most popular. It is accessible by a wider audience than some of his other works. I quite enjoyed it. This novel took a good look at how different people deal with grief and heartbreak. Toru, Midori, Reiko and Naoko all dealt with things in their different ways (or didn't deal) so it was a good character study. It looks at how people can so easily go from living, breathing human beings to nothing more than a memory... 

"I went to the hospital to visit the father of a girl in one of my lectures and ate some cucumbers in his room. When he heard me crunching on them, he wanted some too, and he ate his with the same crunching sound. Five days later, though, he died. I still have a vivid memory of the tiny crunching he made when he chewed his pieces of cucumber. People leave strange, little memories of themselves behind when they die." - Toru in a letter to Naoko.

I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't sure about Murakami but wants to give him a go. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is also a good place to start. It was the first Murakami I read and since then I have been hooked!

Update on my life, my absence and Japanese literature

Oh boy, what a week! Last week I started a substitute teaching position at a new school as well as my coaching work. So as you can imagine I have been run off my feet! 8am-7pm days (plus lesson preparation) doesn't leave much time for reading. I get up, go to school, finish there then go to my second job, come home, have dinner, do any lesson planning I need to do and then I try to read but I usually just end up falling asleep. I am so tired I probably wouldn't even eat if my wonderful fiance wasn't looking after dinner for me! I am very lucky to have him.

I am hoping that once I get into the swing of things I won't be as exhausted all the time and that I will still have time to maintain this blog with at least 2 posts a week. I will do my best.

I really do love teaching though and figure that all this hard work is worth it in the long run. Also, substitute work is hard to come by and I don't know how long it will last before I am looking for work again. So I will enjoy it while I have it! Plus, the mid-year holidays are in 4 weeks! That's two weeks of blissful reading time! Looking forward to that.

I am lucky enough to have today off work though so I am planning on getting some serious reading done! I am currently reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I have only managed to read 120 pages in a week (pretty shocking, but that's how busy/tired I have been) but I am enjoying it nevertheless. 

It is the story of Toru Watanabe looking back over his days as a university student. He recalls his first love, Naoko and his newest interest, Midori.

Since I haven't read much of this book yet, I can't really comment on it. I have read it in bits and pieces so I am having trouble connecting to the story and characters but I am hoping that changes as I have the time to read for longer.

I love Murakami novels and Japanese literature. Some of my favourites are Kafka on the Shore by Murakami, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Murakami and Out by Natsuo Kirino. 

Do you read Japanese literature? If so, what is your favourite? What novels or authors would you recommend?

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami

Being a big Haruki Murakami fan I am trying to make my way through all of his books. Kafka on the shore is my new favourite so far! This novel is about two people, a 15-year-old boy named Kafka Tamura who runs away from home as he doesnt get on well with his father. When he was young Kafka’s mother left home with his sister and he never saw them again. His father also came up with a dark prophecy about Kafka which he sees as his curse and wants to escape. He ends up going to a private library in Takamatsu and befriends a transgendered hemophiliac named Oshima and the aloof Miss Saeki. Kafka’s story is told in the even chapters of the book.

The odd chapters tell the story of Mr Nakata. An old man who can’t read or write due to an accident he had as a child, but he has an ability to talk to cats. Because of this ability he works part-time as a finder of missing cats. One cat he is on the hunt for takes him on a journey he never expected, on a quest far from his home. He befriends a truck-driver named Hoshino who joins him on his quest.

Although Nakata and Kafka never meet in the novel, their paths do cross. They also take separate journeys that take place in both the metaphysical plane as well as in reality.This novel deals a lot with the metaphysical, metaphors, the human subconscious, the supernatural and parallel realities. Haruki Murakami himself, says:

Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren’t any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It’s hard to explain, but that’s the kind of novel I set out to write.

This novel sure makes you think! It is beautifully written, not at all hard to follow on the surface but keeps you questioning what exactly the meaning is behind certain things. The character of Oshima takes much about metaphor in famous literary works and in reality, how so many things said and done can be taken as metaphor.. really a different way to look at things.

Now that I have finished this book I want to read it again.. I feel like I have missed so much. There is so much in this book that is not explained which is a little frustrating. There were also a few scenes in the book which I did not like (I warn you that the cat killing scene was hard to take and a little upsetting) but it was used as a metaphor and does have a deeper reason for being there other than to just gross people out. I will definitely by buying this book and I will read it again at a later date. This one, like most of Murakami’s work, is highly recommended.

Rating 5/5

After Dark - Haruki Murakami

Being a Haruki Murakami fan after reading his novel, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I decided to expand my collection and read After Dark. 

This novel is set over one night in Tokyo and revolves around Mari, a 19-year-old student who is spending her night sitting in a Denny’s reading a novel. There she meets Takahashi, an old high school acquaintance who plays the trombone in a band and has had a crush on Mari’s beautiful sister Eri since high school. Over the course of the night Mari also meets Karou, a retired female wrestler and manager of Alphaville, a love hotel, where a young Chinese prostitute has been attacked by a client. Meanwhile, Maris sister Eri is at home sleeping, a deep unnatural sleep and someone sinister is watching her.

The midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home.

Later, Mari is interrupted again by a girl from the Alphaville Hotel; a Chinese prostitute has been hurt by a client, and she needs Mari’s help.

Meanwhile, Mari’s beautiful sister Eri sleeps a deep, heavy sleep that is ‘too perfect, too pure’ to be normal; she has lain asleep for two months. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00, a hint of life flickers across the TV screen, though the television’s plug has been pulled out.

Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night?

This novel is set somewhere between reality and a dream. It is written as though we are watching a film, each scene taking place from a camera view, which makes it quite an interesting narrative. It also has a ‘real-time’ timeline, taking place in one night. Each chapter is quite short making it quick and easy to read. The parts involving Eri are very creepy in a Japanese horror film kind of way, but you just have to keep reading to see what is going to happen next.

Like all of Murakami’s books that I have read, I really liked it. It was interesting, different and each page just flowed into the next. I will definitely be adding more Murakami books to my bookshelf in the coming years.

Rating 4/5

If you liked this book you may like: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami