27 posts tagged “literature”

Synopsis: "Like many of Murakami Haruki's English reading fans, I read A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance without knowledge that the former book was the third in a trilogy and that the latter book was an addition that came a few years later. However, if the reader pays closer attention to A Wild Sheep Chase one can really see that the characters within the book seem to be established and that they already have their personal histories which are not coming completely new from the pages of A Wild Sheep Chase. Almost a year after picking up A Wild Sheep Chase for the first time, I read Jay Rubin's highly informative book Haruki Murakami & the Music of Words and learned about Murakami's first two novels: Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 both of which had been translated into English by Alfred Birnbaum.

Hear the Wind Sing begins with the narrator, aged 29, talking about writing and how difficult it was for him to finally put down words on paper. It took him eight years in fact to put down his thoughts on the summer of 1970 and the people he was involved with during that year. Why 1970? 1970 was the year after the student activist group the Zenkyoto was forced out of the building they had commandeered and soon afterwards those who had been its greatest supporters were sucked back into the system to become automatons of mainstream society. For Murakami, the destruction of the student movement left a deep wound in his being and it pained him to see his fellows go to a more conservative, rightist path.

However, within the being of the narrator it might be hard to find a politically charged individual. This is instead found within the being of the narrator's best friend the Rat. Yet, the Rat's sense of aggravation towards modern society is quite impotent, so he instead fills his emptiness with beer and liquor. The Narrator, a more introspective fellow, spends his time consumed in the books of dead writers, the memories of his dead girlfriend, and pursuing the girl with four fingers on her left hand.

At the time he wrote this thin tome, Murakami owned a jazz bar called the Peter Cat and had little time for actual writing so his sentences within this volume tended to be quite pithy. Also, the short, pithy styles of Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan influenced his writing. The book itself is more a collection of vignettes than one coherent novel and the order of the book was originally quite different that the final version.

While it does not hold a candle to some of his later works, Murakami's first novel is quite important in his body of work and it shows his early interest in such subjects as language, memory, China, and the student movement. Definitely a book worth seeking for the Murakami fan, hopefully, one day, along with Pinball, 1973, it will be given a wider release to Murakami's English reading fans." (by Michael W.)

Rating: 5 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: "Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901) was a leading figure in the cultural revolution that transformed Japan from an isolated feudal nation into a full-fledged player in the modern world. He translated a wide range of Western works and adapted them to Japanese needs, inventing a colorful prose style close to the vernacular. He also authored many books, which were critical in introducing the powerful but alien culture of the West to the Japanese. Only by adopting the strengths and virtues of the West, he argued, could Japan maintain its independence despite the "disease" of foreign relations.

Dictated by Fukuzawa in 1897, this autobiography offers a vivid portrait of the intellectual's life story and a rare look inside the formation of a new Japan. Starting with his childhood in a small castle town as a member of the lower samurai class, Fukuzawa recounts in great detail his adventures as a student learning Dutch, as a traveler bound for America, and as a participant in the tumultuous politics of the pre-Restoration era. Particularly notable is Fukuzawa's ability to view the new Japan from both the perspective of the West and that of the old Japan in which he had been raised. While a strong advocate for the new civilization, he was always aware of its roots in the old." (from back of book)

Rating: 2 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: "Oe, who won the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature, was just 23 in 1958, when he published this wrenching first novel in Japan. From the opening paragraph's description of a river "bearing away at tremendous speed the corpses of dogs, rats, and cats," it is clear that this is a story of innocents?or at least relative innocents?carried violently by forces beyond their control. In the waning days of WWII, a group of Japanese reform-school boys are evacuated to a remote village in a densely wooded valley. The villagers treat the teenagers horribly, making them bury a mountain of animal corpses, locking them into a shed for the night and feeding them raw potatoes. The unnamed narrator?one of the group's leaders?discovers that a plague is ravaging the valley. When a couple of people are infected by the disease, the villagers panic. Believing the boys to be infected, the villagers remove themselves to the other side of the valley and block the only road out of town. At first, the boys can think only of escape, but then, like the boys in Lord of the Flies, they start to make the village their own: they bury the dead humans and perform a sort of sacrament; they care for an abandoned, infirm girl; they hold a hunting festival to ensure continued abundance. The narrator becomes the girl's lover; his younger brother adopts a stray pup; an unexpected snowfall sparks a midwinter celebration. But each pleasant turn, every apparently liberating step away from unremitting brutality, serves to make the characters' inevitable future suffering even more painful. The end arrives with the suddenness and fury of a tornado, as disease and war catch up to the boys. Oe is considered by many to be Japan's greatest postwar novelist. It's easy to see why. Here, his writing is crisp and lovely and gruesomely perfect." (from Publishers Weekly)

Impressions: Humanity infects its children.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: "Seventeen is a novella in size. Its seventy-three pages may not be tedious to read, but the concepts are overwhelming. Simply, the narrative consists of a first person narrator taking the reader with him through a few months of his life. The events can be broken into two phases: phase one is before he enters the right wing party, and phase two consists of his life after he joins. Phase one begins (and thus the entire narrative begins) with the narrator announcing, "Today is my birthday." (1) And in this empty statement, the entire novel is hashed out. "Seventeen," as is the only name for the speaker throughout, has little interaction with anyone on an emotional level except for the reader. We become a type of confidant as we witness his ritual masturbations, his anger against his indifferent family and the alienation he feels from his peers. His most intimate externally generated experience is with a cat named Gangster who comes to visit him in the "ship" he has made in the shed, a place where Seventeen can sleep, think and experience fear in private. Gangster licks saliva from Seventeen's lips, but once he is done taking what he needs, he'll dart off.

The second day of the narrative begins as Seventeen is late for school. When he arrives, he finds that he is late for exams. He feels he has done poorly on the morning ones and winds up feeling defeated for the afternoon physical exam portion as well. He is required to run eight hundred meters and upon completion, urinates all over himself.The second phase of the narrative begins when a classmate, Shintoho, invites him to go to a right wing rally. He agrees to go, and winds up standing up to dissenting party opinions vocalized by some bystanders. This throws him into the world of the right and thus begins a new course of his life. Seventeen takes on the party identity, and while at first we see him as being fairly similar to his original characterization, over time a metamorphosis takes place. Seventeen becomes a confident, yet brutally violent young man. One decisive event in this transformation is his outing to a bathhouse where a young woman masturbates him, he ejaculates in her face and thereby feels power over her. From here, he beats down party antagonists without shame, guilt or weakness. To him, he has become a strong individual. The narrator finally tells us that he is, "...the one and only blissful Seventeen." (from http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/OePage.htm)

Impressions: I had had a different impression of what Oe's Seventeen & J would be about going into the book. I started reading it a long time ago and had actually only finished it just recently given enough free time. I didn't like Seventeen or J as much as Oe's later works after A Personal Matter. Even though Oe's use of the dark erotic-grotesque literature genre appeals to me, his much more confessional and mythical works later on rotating around mental dysfunction (vis a vis his son) and sexual perversion from a married life, or an adulterer, seems more... sincere(?)... than the confessions of Seventeen. I can understand the death threats that  Oe received during the time of this publication, phew! I sure wouldn't have liked to have been in his situation at such a time. 

In A Silent Cry it is the townsfolk and the grassroots community that provide the mysticism and history behind the character. In A Persoanl Matter, the mature protagonist must battle himself but he relies upon another woman to comfort him during the birth of his defected son. His weaknesses, when shared with another human being, strike me as more human than the approach that Seventeen had. Although I can't say that I liked the dramatic conclusion of A Personal Matter, in truth what other realistic (or rational, I should say) alternative is there? In Seventeen, I just don't see the ending as making sense. Either Seventeen will die very young or... I don't know..that sort of life just can't be lived, I imagine.

J was perhaps the more interesting read. I was amused by the idea of a chikan club. The old man and J and the young man presented a sort of perverse trio of deviants. I didn't quite understand how the young man's death, the series of events leading to it, came about. When he coerced the young girl to follow him to the train tracks, did he change his mind at the last minute and try to save her and kill himself or did he fully intend to molest her and die the ultimate sinner/chikan along with her on the train rails. I wasn't quite sure. The old man, a politician, was a great addition to the troupe. Way to go Oe for putting in Japanese politics into such a scandalous area of society. J was much more a self-concious being than Seventeen, and pragmatic (or rational?), that for this reason his choice of being who he was and how he managed such a life was much more agreeable and understandable. Of course no life for any one person can be understood by any other one person in all instances, but for me this was the case.

Unfortunately I have almost exhausted all of what has yet been translated into English of Oe's works but I did just begin Somersault, and so far it is very interesting.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: "Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world, and this tenth anniversary edition, with a new introduction from the author, will only increase that following. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts." (from back of book)

Impressions: A good read! A nice travel fantasy. Santiago was knowledgeable and mature for his age. He had a good head on his shoulders. Was able to handle himself. His encounters were very interesting. I liked the king the most. I questioned the alchemist's true ability to perform miracles. He seldom revealed his powers-- Instead allowing others' imagination and curiosity to create his mysticism. I think my Personal Legend is the same as Santiago's. It doesn't involve buried and forgotten treasure in the Egyptian desert but the voyage through exotic lands and places is definitely what I want to do in the future. People who settle down and stop seeking out their Personal Legend, humph! I can't do that for too long, my body and mind start to itch. Being in one place for extended amounts of time is unbearable. I really want to travel soon. The deserts and oases and camel expeditions and tribal wars and the beautiful desert woman, Fatima, made it all the more enticing. A very dangerous quest, to be sure, but exciting.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.


This guy, sacrificialtotem, mixed the chill music of Aphex Twin's Windowlicker with old stag films. And Susumu Yokota. They go together so well. It's dreamlike.

Synopsis: "America's first psychological novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a dark tale of love, crime, and revenge set in colonial New England. It revolves around a single, forbidden act of passion that forever alters the lives of three members of a small Puritan community: Hester Prynne, an ardent and fierce woman who bears the punishment of her sin in humble silence; the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a respected public figure who is inwardly tormented by long-hidden guilt; and the malevolent Roger Chillingworth, Hester's husband--a man who seethes with an Ahab-like lust for vengeance. The landscape of this classic novel is uniquely American, but the themes it explores are universal--the nature of sin, guilt, and penitence, the clash between our private and public selves, and the spiritual and psychological cost of living outside society. Constructed with the elegance of a Greek tragedy, The Scarlet Letter brilliantly illuminates the truth that lies deep within the human heart." (from back of book)

Impressions: What a story! I know that this will sound cheesy, but this book was captivating! The plot, the twits, the turns, the surprises. I was seldom able to imagine what was just around the bend. A very tormenting storyline. Just makes you want to think time and time again about what Oe means by "Teach Us To Outgrow Our Madness"! Damn you societal expectations!

Rating: 5 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: "Part exuberant celebrator, part human Murakami encyclopedia, Rubin, a Harvard professor of Japanese Literature and a Murakami translator, puts about the author's life and writing under a microscope in this homage to all things Murakami. The internationally bestselling Murakami began publishing at age 30, while he and his wife ran Peter Cat, a Tokyo jazz club, and, as the title of this volume suggests, Murakami's writing is filled with musical references. Rubin starts by introducing the reader to "The 1963/1982 Girl from Ipanema," "one of Murakami's most musical stories." Rubin delves into Murakami's obsessions, from animals (particularly cats) to detachment, sex and hunger, by breaking down many of Murakami's stories and all of his novels. Rubin's plot summaries can go on too long before he gets to his critique, but his analyses are colorful and heartfelt, opening new ways of understanding the coolly surreal Murakami. Only in a few instances does Rubin point out a misstep, such as in Sputnik Sweetheart. Quips Rubin: "In one of the worst lines of the book, the narrator actually thinks to himself: 'Sumire went over to the other side. That would explain a lot.' Indeed it would, just as the existence of gremlins would explain how my glasses moved from my desk to the dining-room table." While Rubin states this book is for other Murakami fans, casual Murakami readers and those baffled by the writer's works could gain something from this volume." (from Publishers Weekly)

Impressions: Good book. Good insight. Much of the information I already knew or had picked up. Not much added to my knowledge of Murakami. To other readers, though, probably lots of new info. Not really an autobiography. More a bunch of info about the author and various quotes from interviews. A little bit about his wife who keeps even more private than himself. Interesting.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: "In the prologue to his latest novel, Nicholas Sparks makes the rather presumptuous pledge "first you will smile, and then you will cry," but sure enough, he delivers the goods. With his calculated ability to throw your heart around like a yo-yo (try out his earlier Message in the Bottle or The Notebook if you really want to stick it to yourself), Sparks pulls us back to the perfect innocence of a first love.

In 1958 Landon Carter is a shallow but well-meaning teenager who spends most of his time hanging out with his friends and trying hard to ignore the impending responsibilities of adulthood. Then Landon gets roped into acting the lead in the Christmas play opposite the most renowned goody two-shoes in town: Jamie Sullivan. Against his best intentions and the taunts of his buddies, Landon finds himself falling for Jamie and learning some central lessons in life." (from Amazon.com)

Impressions: A bit too cliche. I was able to guess what was coming far too soon for the story to have any real jolt or impact. The characters are a little too unbelievable: There's always this one character like Jaime, no matter what. I liked Spark's small-town setting and community, though. Nice in 1958. Impressionable North Carolina, good country setting.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

Synopsis: Murakami's celebrated oeuvre falls into two easily distinguished categories: there are the broad-canvas epics (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 1997, for example), which meld genres, distort reality, and posit alternate worlds with abandon but do it all on the crest of an almost Dickensian tidal wave of story. And there are the small-scale, disarmingly intimate, almost tactile short novels (Sputnik Sweetheart, 2001, among others), jewel-like examinations of loneliness and secret selves. His latest effort falls into the second camp: the action takes place during one long Tokyo night, from midnight to dawn, and centers on two sisters, one, Eri, a fashion model, does nothing but sleep (though she may or may not drift between worlds in the process); her college-student sister, Mari, on the other hand, refuses to sleep, spending the night first drinking coffee in a Denny's and then in a series of encounters with an ever-more-strange group of night people, ranging from an introspective jazz musician to a Chinese prostitute, to the earth-motherish proprietor of a "love hotel." The narrative flows like a jazz ballad, excruciatingly slow yet hypnotically entrancing ("Time moves in its own way in the middle of the night," opines a bartender. "You can't fight it"). Each character is unique in his or her form of loneliness, yet each possesses a capacity for momentary empathy that is both sweet and heartbreaking. Murakami's genius, on both large and small canvases, is to create worlds both utterly alien and disconcertingly familiar. (from Booklist)


Impressions: So I was finally able to devote a chunk of time to my own pleasures today and thus spent a good three hours reading Murakami's newest novella. It really is a novella. It is not a novel nor a short story nor a short-short story. The chapters are the hour and minute hands of a clock. Progressing through the story takes you through the strange and interconnected network that Murakami has created. A story all happening within 7 hours, and one that happens entirely during the night in a sort of alien dream-like city-world is exactly the type of story to set interested readers right at home with Murakami's style. The characters themselves do not posses much weight. They merely float around Mari. We never learn very much about Takashi's past beyond his upbringing. The assailed-prostitute is saved, but never revisited. The Chinese gang motorcyclist is a dark and dangerous element of the dream-world that we comprehend and must understand, but we (the readers) never feel in danger for ourselves or for Mari, Takashi, or anyone else, personally.

Nihilism, hope, danger, sleep, insomnia, darkness, and identity are the elements and themes that first come back to my mind when creating a memory of the story. Murakami once again creates this small connection between strangers that is understated and small in first appearance, but is so strong when understood that words can not express the extent. This feature was somewhat limited by the novella's length, but still apparent in Mari's movement throughout the neon-lit Tokyo back alleyways and convenience stores and love hotels.

The story was a little bit pessimistic. It did end with a small sense of hope that Mari's sister was beginning to stir next to her in bed, but for the first 190 other pages... the whole book was relatively dark. I don't really understand yet what the significance of the ending is because it is very strangely constructed. I won't transcribe it here but, I don't know, it is rather hard to comprehend.

In my own reading, I made a type of analogy as such: A drowning person is going to drown. There is no escaping that fact. Looking up through the dark and murky waters, the last rays of sunshine penetrating through the cloudy waters are the last things that the person will ever live/experience/see/have/posses. And yet, here comes this elemnt of hope, this tiny thing. And this tiny thing is just one more breath, one prolonged gasp, one last lung-full of oxygen. And that's all it is. Nothing more.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Here's my scan from the first edition. It is strangely exotic and appealing. It reminds of something like "acid bubble gum drop." I'm reminds of the late-night drunken pachinko parlor and convenience store-roaming in Roppongi and around Akihabara. Kind of dark and candy-like, luscious, tempting, and thirst-quenching.

Wow, that's a good advertising slogan...