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mbahnaf's reviews
280 reviews
Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami
4.0
“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s like musical chairs.”
A little rough around the edges, and heavily influenced by Kerouac(i.e. On the Road), Hear the Wind Sing is Murakami's first ever novel. The novel tells the story from the perspective of an unnamed narrator as he writes down the events of the summer vacation of 1970 that he spent at his hometown on the seaside. The story introduces some of the most notable Murakami characters, like Rat and J, and introduces the setting of the J's bar which makes multiple appearances in the his writing. The book is the first part of the Rat series.
A little rough around the edges, and heavily influenced by Kerouac(i.e. On the Road), Hear the Wind Sing is Murakami's first ever novel. The novel tells the story from the perspective of an unnamed narrator as he writes down the events of the summer vacation of 1970 that he spent at his hometown on the seaside. The story introduces some of the most notable Murakami characters, like Rat and J, and introduces the setting of the J's bar which makes multiple appearances in the his writing. The book is the first part of the Rat series.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
3.0
What I really enjoyed about this book was the strong, vivid descriptions of the gothic architecture and all these sights around the world. I also enjoyed the folklore and mystery surrounding Vlad III of Wallachia which subsequently gave rise to the Dracula story. However, all that did was try to make up for a very thin and shallow plot that didn't really interest me as much. I'd recommend it more for updating your TripAdvisor as opposed to reading it for the fiction.
Two-Minute Apocalypse by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Rachel Herzig
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Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl
1.0
Switch Bitch is a collection of adult short stories published in Playboy in between 1965 and 1974. Those of you who are fans of politically correct literature and love Dahl for writings like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can stop reading the review here, for it is not a children's book. The stories have a strong underlying theme of misogyny, lewd humor and dark sadistic sexual fantasies, with stories about predatory seduction, revenge sex, wife-swapping etc.
By now, you get the big picture.
For instance, in the very first story("The Visitor"), we have Oswald Hendryks Cornelius stranded in Cairo when a Syrian businessman picks him up by the side of the road and offers him a room for the night in his desert mansion. While there Oswald meets the man's wife and eighteen-year-old daughter, both of whom are extremely beautiful. Oswald decides to repay his host's kindness by planning a tryst with the daughter....
"And the beautiful Princess is imprisoned within its walls by her strict and jealous father, King Abdul Aziz, who refuses to allow her the pleasures of masculine company. But watch out, for here comes Prince Oswald Cornelius to the rescue! Unbeknownst to the King, he is going to ravish the beautiful Princess, and make her very happy."
....only to later settle down for seducing the wife.
"There and then. Prince Oswald Cornelius decided that he cared not one whit about the beautiful Princess who was held captive in the castle by the jealous King. He would ravish the Queen instead."
Each of these stories have sick, twisted endings. The apex of the abhorrence for me was the detailed account of revenge-sex in form of rape of a menopausal woman by a gynecologist. These tales weren't meant to be erotic, rather to be representations of sick, dark humor.
Verdict: Read at your own risk.
By now, you get the big picture.
For instance, in the very first story("The Visitor"), we have Oswald Hendryks Cornelius stranded in Cairo when a Syrian businessman picks him up by the side of the road and offers him a room for the night in his desert mansion. While there Oswald meets the man's wife and eighteen-year-old daughter, both of whom are extremely beautiful. Oswald decides to repay his host's kindness by planning a tryst with the daughter....
"And the beautiful Princess is imprisoned within its walls by her strict and jealous father, King Abdul Aziz, who refuses to allow her the pleasures of masculine company. But watch out, for here comes Prince Oswald Cornelius to the rescue! Unbeknownst to the King, he is going to ravish the beautiful Princess, and make her very happy."
....only to later settle down for seducing the wife.
"There and then. Prince Oswald Cornelius decided that he cared not one whit about the beautiful Princess who was held captive in the castle by the jealous King. He would ravish the Queen instead."
Each of these stories have sick, twisted endings. The apex of the abhorrence for me was the detailed account of revenge-sex in form of rape of a menopausal woman by a gynecologist. These tales weren't meant to be erotic, rather to be representations of sick, dark humor.
Verdict: Read at your own risk.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
A runaway fifteen-year-old.
A mysterious phenomenon in the woods.
An old man who can talk to cats.
A search for a lost mother and sister.
An Oedipal curse.
Kafka on the Shore is comprised of two interrelated plots.
Kafka Tamura is a fifteen-year-old who runs away from his father. After a series of adventures, he finds shelter in a quiet, private library in Takamatsu, run by the distant and aloof Miss Saeki and the intelligent and more welcoming Oshima. And then, things start becoming a bit more complicated, as he tries to shake off a curse from the past.
Meanwhile, there is the story of Nakata: an old simple-minded man with a gift that allows him to make a living searching for lost cats. Then one particular cat-case brings him out of Nakano Ward in Tokyo, travelling for the first time. On the way he meets a truck driver called Hoshino, who becomes his sidekick on his adventures.
Dark, yet funny, and also deeply thought-provoking at times, this is the book that actually made me truly appreciate Murakami's brand of surrealism. Oh and there's talking cats and fishy precipitation. Can't top that!
Happy reading!
5.0
“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”
A runaway fifteen-year-old.
A mysterious phenomenon in the woods.
An old man who can talk to cats.
A search for a lost mother and sister.
An Oedipal curse.
Kafka on the Shore is comprised of two interrelated plots.
Kafka Tamura is a fifteen-year-old who runs away from his father. After a series of adventures, he finds shelter in a quiet, private library in Takamatsu, run by the distant and aloof Miss Saeki and the intelligent and more welcoming Oshima. And then, things start becoming a bit more complicated, as he tries to shake off a curse from the past.
Meanwhile, there is the story of Nakata: an old simple-minded man with a gift that allows him to make a living searching for lost cats. Then one particular cat-case brings him out of Nakano Ward in Tokyo, travelling for the first time. On the way he meets a truck driver called Hoshino, who becomes his sidekick on his adventures.
Dark, yet funny, and also deeply thought-provoking at times, this is the book that actually made me truly appreciate Murakami's brand of surrealism. Oh and there's talking cats and fishy precipitation. Can't top that!
Happy reading!