This is one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching stories ever written. It's an almost indescribable story, and even the publisher chose not to deThis is one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching stories ever written. It's an almost indescribable story, and even the publisher chose not to describe it on the dust jacket, instead saying "we think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about." And there I will leave it to the next reader to choose to read it.
I got this book as a gift, not really one I would have picked out. There were some interesting tidbits inside, but in general, only mediocre in this gI got this book as a gift, not really one I would have picked out. There were some interesting tidbits inside, but in general, only mediocre in this genre....more
Sent to me as a gift by a bookcrosser in Michigan. The book started its travels in South Africa, then to the UK, then to Michigan, and now to me.
In mSent to me as a gift by a bookcrosser in Michigan. The book started its travels in South Africa, then to the UK, then to Michigan, and now to me.
In many reviews that I read, the reviewers said their favorite story was "Honey Pie". It is the most accessible story in the book and the least surreal. I loved this story also, it had many memorable lines: "The gears of life had moved ahead a notch with a loud ker-chunk, and Junpei knew that they would never turn back again." Most of the short stories in this collection have typical Murakami attributes -- a blend of humor and the surreal, themes of sadness, alienation, or loneliness. It is a bit unusual for him to write in 3rd person, and unusual also to have fantasy elements (like, say, a giant talking frog).
It was interesting to me that while this collection has a common theme running through it of people's reactions to the devastating Kobe earthquake, none of the people really experienced the earthquake themselves. Instead, the earthquake served to shake their inner foundations a bit, upsetting each character emotionally for reasons unique to them.
The translation seemed particularly adept to me. The stories felt as natural in English as a Japanese story can. Japanese does not really translate directly very well, so I have much admiration for the translator here. All in all, a good collection and certainly evocative of life in modern Japan and the Japanese psyche. ...more
I enjoyed this story. It never felt dated even though the book was first published in the 1950's. The story takes place in New York around 1925 and foI enjoyed this story. It never felt dated even though the book was first published in the 1950's. The story takes place in New York around 1925 and focuses on one family, a poor Jewish grocer and his wife and adult daughter. The economy is bad, so times are tough, and the grocer has never been a particularly inspired businessman. Under strange circumstances he takes on an assistant he really can't afford. The relationships that develop between this assistant and the grocer's family is intense, in both positive and negative ways, and transformative for all involved. I was satisfied with the way the story ended also. Elements of the story include the religious biases of the time between Jew and non-Jew, the economic struggles in the poor economy, the disappointments borne by the daughter who is in her twenties but without prospects, the disappointments of the grocer who has struggled all his life with nothing to show for it, and the internal struggles of the assistant with himself regarding the kind of person he is and how he always manages to ruin his luck. There's a great deal going on in this tale. ...more
I was ready to put this book down unfinished several times, but the recommendation by Charles de Lint kept me going, wanting to find out what he had sI was ready to put this book down unfinished several times, but the recommendation by Charles de Lint kept me going, wanting to find out what he had seen in it. I found the main character, Mitch Helwig, to be sympathetic and interesting enought, just could not see where the story was going or how anything fit together until literally page 170. That's 100 pages from the end! Anyway, all in all, an interesting near-future cop story, but I hope the author's future books begin to make sense a bit earlier....more
"K" was a fun mystery, maybe the only one so far that left me feeling like I needed another chapter at the end. It did not detract from the story at a"K" was a fun mystery, maybe the only one so far that left me feeling like I needed another chapter at the end. It did not detract from the story at all, but there were so many characters, suspects, and unknowns in this book, and I wanted to see a few more pieces of info, that's all. A really good read, and Kinsey definitely got involved with some characters in this tale of the nighttime world.
**SPOILER ALERT** I had wondered whether something might happen between Kinsey and Cheney........more
This book was unlike any other I've read. It is a memoir written by a man who has been an alcoholic most of his life. He quits and relapses many, manyThis book was unlike any other I've read. It is a memoir written by a man who has been an alcoholic most of his life. He quits and relapses many, many times, and it is a bit painful to read. The main subject of the book is his relationship with his dog, Martin. It's a story of the love between human and dog, and in this case it's about the redeeming nature of the relationship. The relationship between the author and his dog probably saved the man's life. The story is rather sad - the author gains some enlightenment along the way, but he's by nature a very simple man and rather lonely....more
Another fun and easy Kinsey Millhone mystery. Wendell Jaffe committed suicide 5 yrs earlier, but the insurance company still isn't convinced he is deaAnother fun and easy Kinsey Millhone mystery. Wendell Jaffe committed suicide 5 yrs earlier, but the insurance company still isn't convinced he is dead. This is the first time I'd heard the word "pseudocide". Kinsey explores the circumstances leading up to Wendell's pseudocide and the effect it had on his family. At the same time, she discovers, with mixed feelings, some family of her own. Good tale, lots of action, some more insight into Kinsey's brain. Now on to "K"....more
This book was interesting to me in that it took place in a location with which I was unfamiliar, the Republic of Cape Verde, and it was a style of wriThis book was interesting to me in that it took place in a location with which I was unfamiliar, the Republic of Cape Verde, and it was a style of writing that I had not really read before. The first thing I had to do was to find out something about Cape Verde.
The Republic of Cape Verde is a group of 10 small islands in the central Atlantic Ocean about 350 miles off the coast of Western Africa. The islands are volcanic in origin. A few of them are fairly flat, and others are rocky with some vegetation, but in general they tend to be dry and not very verdant. The native language is Portuguese, and this book was originally written in that language and translated into quite a few other languages prior to being available in English.
The islands were uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in the 1400's and became central to the African slave trade. The islands were also popular with pirates and were visited by Charles Darwin in 1832. I wonder if he found any interesting species there, as the islands are so isolated from any other mainland. The islands have few natural resources, but overall the literacy rate is high, the economy and politics are stable. Tourism is a main industry. About 500,000 people, mostly of creole ethnicity, live among these islands today.
This story was not the most scintillating, but I enjoyed it while still wishing (just a bit) that I could finish it and get on to something else. But I learned so many things along the way, like where the Cape Verde islands are, and even what the word "creole" really means.
A creole language is a stable, full-fledged language that originated from a pidgin. So a Portuguese-based creole is based on Portuguese language originally, but has morphed over time to become a stable language of its own. Creole is also a word that describes the people living in a place like Cape Verde -- they are of Portuguese descent but were born and raised in the colony. I did not realize that creole had such a broad meaning. I had never heard the term applied to anyone but the Louisiana creole, but there are creole people and creole languages all over the world. The languages of Haiti, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Barbados. Liberia, and Papua New Guinea are all considered to be creole.
The story is humorous but also a little sad. Sr. Napumoceno did not have as fulfilling a life as he could have, and never was able to find a wife. I think he was not craving children, but he did think a great deal about getting married. I found him to be an odd duck, a person who spent much time thinking but little time sharing his thoughts with others or developing close relationships. Much of this comes out in his lengthy last will and testament.
This story was densely packed, tons of content, lots of activity, character and plot complexity, politics, religion, family dynamics, and love. I realThis story was densely packed, tons of content, lots of activity, character and plot complexity, politics, religion, family dynamics, and love. I really enjoyed the story, but I can't even begin to understand how the author came up with the story lines and characters. It was essentially a story about families, spousal and child abuse, the law as it related (in the 1970's to 1990's) to abuse situations, and how people who are victims in those situations deal with them. It is also about law as a profession and about life with mental illness. Lots of content here to satisfy anyone, good story....more
"Vitals" started with an interesting premise and some promising characters. Hal and Rob cousins are twin scientists who are both engaged in trying to "Vitals" started with an interesting premise and some promising characters. Hal and Rob cousins are twin scientists who are both engaged in trying to unlock the secret to stopping aging in humans, the key to immortality. There are a bunch of other characters, many of them alternately lucid or crackpot. The twists, turns, and thrills of the plot stem from the fact that other people are also working on detecting this secret, including some people who have worked on it for 60-70 years. The plot gets pretty convoluted as the people involved get infected (tagged) and recover from bacteria developed for various purposes, and the bacteria make them hallucinate, forget, not care, or get violent or suicidal. Interesting, because they never know for themselves or others if they are "under the influence" or not.
It's a very interesting premise for a not-so-well-written story. It's not that it wasn't interesting, but it was hard to follow. It was told from multiple points of view, with some overlapping time lines, an awful lot of auxiliary characters, and very many venues. The section of the story that takes place on the cruise ship is even more confusing and un-followable than the rest of the story. Maybe it's just me, but I think it could have been a bit less convoluted. After I wrote this I looked at other reviews, and it seems to be a common complaint.
I will say that it re-awakened my fears of biological warfare, which already, to me, seems so achievable. ...more
I found this book interesting from a historical perspective and also because the main character Hannah was a Marrano Jew. Marranos were originally JewI found this book interesting from a historical perspective and also because the main character Hannah was a Marrano Jew. Marranos were originally Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who had converted, or been forced to convert, to Christianity, some of whom continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret. The converts were also known as Cristianos nuevos (New Christians) and conversos (the converted). It's interesting to note that Marrano used to mean pig or filthy back in the 1500's. I couldn't help but feel a bit desperate for these families who always had to live in fear of being found out. Even the Protestants had it mighty bad during Queen Mary's reign, though. It is always amazing to me the horrendous acts that are done in the name of religion.
The story itself was compelling, lots of drama, emotion, fighting, backstabbing, and intrigue. I found a little bit of it tiresome, but I think that really is the way things happened at court in those days, seats of power moved back and forth, and nobody knew who they could trust.
Hannah was a sympathetic character most of the time, except during times she was flip-flopping so much that I wanted to slap her. But all in all a good tale! ...more
John Grisham books are totally a guilty pleasure for me. I know they are simplistic and the characters are caricatures, but the stories are fun and quJohn Grisham books are totally a guilty pleasure for me. I know they are simplistic and the characters are caricatures, but the stories are fun and quick and the drama is amusing. This was one of the better ones of late -- a very small and dysfunctional law firm gets involved in a tort case that it should not be involved in, and things get crazy pretty quickly. There is also a young lawyer who gets completely fed up with his current highly paid highly stressed job at a downtown law firm and winds up on the doorstep of this little firm. There are multiple law cases, multiple personal dramas, and some fun twists and turns. Great airplane reading. I read it from Florida to California :) ...more
Travel memoir, or memoir in general, is a genre that I have not previously read. I started reading Bill Bryson's books in the last year, and now it seTravel memoir, or memoir in general, is a genre that I have not previously read. I started reading Bill Bryson's books in the last year, and now it seems like half the books I read are memoirs of some kind, particularly travel (for my money he is the very best of the travel genre). I enjoyed this story for the most part; it is more memoir than travel memoir, as the author ends up in some unlikely places, but more of the story is about her relationships, her attempts to get employment, her childhood and parents, and various exploits inside Costa Rica and Colombia. It was an entertaining poolside read for my summer vacation. I could understand how some of the reviewers have mixed feelings about the book -- the decisions made by the author and her lifestyle (and her parents, OMG) can leave you feeling a bit breathless and glad to be safely where you are. ...more
I was hooked right from the first chapter. This is a pretty trippy story that keeps you wondering what is real and what is not. When anyone asked whatI was hooked right from the first chapter. This is a pretty trippy story that keeps you wondering what is real and what is not. When anyone asked what I was reading currently, I had a heck of a time explaining what this book is about. I think overall it is an interesting look at the allure and glamor of evil. "Evil" is just more glamorous and cool than "Good". Something interesting to think about. The main character, Jane Charlotte, is inherently not such a good person right from her childhood, and does not really do anything major in the story to redeem herself, and yet the tendency throughout is to like her character. The story moved along well and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I got a big kick out of the names of the various parts of the organization in the story ("Bad Monkeys" is one department name) This is my 2nd story from author Matt Ruff, so now I'll look for more....more
This book sat on my shelf for such a long time. Maybe I was holding off because I knew how good it would be. And it really was, so good. It's a sad buThis book sat on my shelf for such a long time. Maybe I was holding off because I knew how good it would be. And it really was, so good. It's a sad but hopeful story, set in Vermont like Chris Bohjalian's other books. The main characters are Laura and Terry, a married couple who have suffered some tragic losses. The other main character is Alfred, a young boy who needs a good home after growing up in a long string of foster homes. It's a great story, I don't want to give anything away. But there is love, tragic loss, grieving, hope, redemption, temptation, and growth. And some really awful weather....more
