KITCHEN
BANANA YOSHIMOTO
Another first, from a well-known, much-respected writer. Yoshimoto's only the second Japanese writer I've ever read, and I'm far from disappointed.
Rather regret not having read her earlier. Have often picked up one of her books, read its synopsis, studied the author pic, and replaced it back onto the shelf. Quite out of character for me not to have given in to my fascination with that name. (Banana is a pseudonym, one she chose as being 'cute' and 'purposefully androgynous'; her real name is Mahoko Yoshimoto, and this is her official website.)
Lessons learned:
1. Kitchen has a lovely voice -- young, urban, feminine, quietly desperate. The themes are familiar: death, sleeplessness, loneliness.
2. This Japanese phase in my life might be boring, workwise, but it rocks literally.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
You really got a hold on me.
THE CEMENT GARDEN
IAN MCEWAN
McEwan's first. A tale of incest, death, adolescence, family, and Britishness, told in an oddly dream-like fashion by fifteen year-old Jack.
Just like its protagonist, the story has no great connection to time or place, instead, it's defined solely by its child characters -- four children who conceal the fact of their mother's death in order to keep from being split up and taken into foster care.
It's as thoroughly absorbing as a nightmare, full of twisted, morbid imagery. But it's written with all the control/ self-awareness of his later work. It's also a fairly short piece of fiction, almost like an expansive short story.
Enjoyed it much, given my fascination with first novels. After all, McEwan's widely considered to be one of the most perfect writers of our time.
Zadie Smith says this best:
I have often thought Ian McEwan a writer as unlike me as it is possible to be. His prose is controlled, careful, and powerfully concise; he is eloquent on the subjects of sex and sexuality; he has a strong head for the narrative possibilities of science; his novels are no longer than is necessary; he would never write a sentence featuring this many semicolons. When I read him I am struck by metaphors I would never think to use, plots that don’t occur to me, ideas I have never had. I love to read him for these reasons and also because, like his millions of readers, I feel myself to be in safe hands. Picking up a book by McEwan is to know, at the very least, that what you read therein will be beautifully written, well-crafted, and not an embarrassment, either for you or for him. This is a really big deal. Bad books happen less frequently to McEwan than they do to the rest of us.
IAN MCEWAN
McEwan's first. A tale of incest, death, adolescence, family, and Britishness, told in an oddly dream-like fashion by fifteen year-old Jack.
Just like its protagonist, the story has no great connection to time or place, instead, it's defined solely by its child characters -- four children who conceal the fact of their mother's death in order to keep from being split up and taken into foster care.
It's as thoroughly absorbing as a nightmare, full of twisted, morbid imagery. But it's written with all the control/ self-awareness of his later work. It's also a fairly short piece of fiction, almost like an expansive short story.
Enjoyed it much, given my fascination with first novels. After all, McEwan's widely considered to be one of the most perfect writers of our time.
Zadie Smith says this best:
I have often thought Ian McEwan a writer as unlike me as it is possible to be. His prose is controlled, careful, and powerfully concise; he is eloquent on the subjects of sex and sexuality; he has a strong head for the narrative possibilities of science; his novels are no longer than is necessary; he would never write a sentence featuring this many semicolons. When I read him I am struck by metaphors I would never think to use, plots that don’t occur to me, ideas I have never had. I love to read him for these reasons and also because, like his millions of readers, I feel myself to be in safe hands. Picking up a book by McEwan is to know, at the very least, that what you read therein will be beautifully written, well-crafted, and not an embarrassment, either for you or for him. This is a really big deal. Bad books happen less frequently to McEwan than they do to the rest of us.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Says she talks to angels/ They call her out by her name.
EATING WITH ANGELS
SARAH-KATE LYNCH
Chick lit, yes. Predictable, no.
Centred around a moderately happily married, slightly overweight restaurant critic in her mid-thirties, it deals with her great love for food, her losing battle with weight, and her warped relationship with her mother -- pretty standard fare for this genre of writing. But, about a hundred pages in, the book takes a sharp left from this all-too-predictable path.
Not that it's a life-alteringly new perspective or anything, just that it was a pleasant surprise to see a mainstream chick lit story shift gear, even if it's for a tiny little bit.
Lessons learned:
1. Beware of abandoning a book too early: surprises are everywhere.
2. Chick lit is good. But chick lit that cleverly combines food, Venice, and dysfunctional families is SO much better.
SARAH-KATE LYNCH
Chick lit, yes. Predictable, no.
Centred around a moderately happily married, slightly overweight restaurant critic in her mid-thirties, it deals with her great love for food, her losing battle with weight, and her warped relationship with her mother -- pretty standard fare for this genre of writing. But, about a hundred pages in, the book takes a sharp left from this all-too-predictable path.
Not that it's a life-alteringly new perspective or anything, just that it was a pleasant surprise to see a mainstream chick lit story shift gear, even if it's for a tiny little bit.
Lessons learned:
1. Beware of abandoning a book too early: surprises are everywhere.
2. Chick lit is good. But chick lit that cleverly combines food, Venice, and dysfunctional families is SO much better.
If she knew what she wants.
LUCIA IN LONDON
EF BENSON
It's a book (series, actually) that can only be described as the discovery of the year. Written in the 20s. Richly satirical. Set in provincial England 'society'. And as stunningly funny a collection of characters as Wodehouse would dream up.
Lucia, herself, is the most unlikely of heroines, being a scheming, manipulative social climber who redefines shallow with every passing chapter. Her 'friends' and neighbours aren't too far behind in the shallowness stakes, either, and are constantly trying to outwit her, even while armed with equally low intelligence.
The resultant escapades are hysterically funny, and this one, for instance, trips from ouija boards, to opera, to miniature golf, to museums. It's a must-read for anyone who enjoys Wodehouse, and you wouldn't believe it was written close t0 ninety years ago.
I've managed to get my hands on the next book in the series, and will definitely hunt down the rest of the Mapp and Lucia books. It seems that Tom Holt has written two Lucia novels, as well, but those will have to wait.
Lessons learned:
1. Wodehouse has company.
2. There are no characters in fiction quite as eccentric as the English.
EF BENSON
It's a book (series, actually) that can only be described as the discovery of the year. Written in the 20s. Richly satirical. Set in provincial England 'society'. And as stunningly funny a collection of characters as Wodehouse would dream up.
Lucia, herself, is the most unlikely of heroines, being a scheming, manipulative social climber who redefines shallow with every passing chapter. Her 'friends' and neighbours aren't too far behind in the shallowness stakes, either, and are constantly trying to outwit her, even while armed with equally low intelligence.
The resultant escapades are hysterically funny, and this one, for instance, trips from ouija boards, to opera, to miniature golf, to museums. It's a must-read for anyone who enjoys Wodehouse, and you wouldn't believe it was written close t0 ninety years ago.
I've managed to get my hands on the next book in the series, and will definitely hunt down the rest of the Mapp and Lucia books. It seems that Tom Holt has written two Lucia novels, as well, but those will have to wait.
Lessons learned:
1. Wodehouse has company.
2. There are no characters in fiction quite as eccentric as the English.
Monday, July 17, 2006
He was a boy/ She was a girl/ Can I make it any more obvious?
DANCE DANCE DANCE
HARUKI MURAKAMI
Sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase. And just as perfect.
Lessons learned:
1. Fantasy, when blended this effortlessly with reality, is much more entertaining than straight fiction than can ever be.
2. Somehow, I'm getting less and less time to read -- a fact that annoys me even more than reading less in the first place.
3. With all due respect to blogging, it's time to write, as well.
4. I've joined a Japanese company. My principal client is Japanese. I'm reading more Murakami than ever. Is this a sign?
HARUKI MURAKAMI
Sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase. And just as perfect.
Lessons learned:
1. Fantasy, when blended this effortlessly with reality, is much more entertaining than straight fiction than can ever be.
2. Somehow, I'm getting less and less time to read -- a fact that annoys me even more than reading less in the first place.
3. With all due respect to blogging, it's time to write, as well.
4. I've joined a Japanese company. My principal client is Japanese. I'm reading more Murakami than ever. Is this a sign?
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Every day/ Is silent and grey.
DANCING WITH MULES
MORAG PRUNTY
Irish chick lit. (Guess I'm in the mood to travel.)
Not as good as Fielding. About on par with Weisberger and Keyes. Better than Ahern.
Lessons learned:
1. It's only the names that make chick lit differ from country to country. London's Bridget is Dublin's Clodagh. (Is Bombay's Arti.)
2. Why do all chick lit novels look the same? Funky typography. Fashion illustration-type women doing one of the following:
a. gossiping,
b. reading,
c. balancing toddler on hip,
d. sipping coffee,
e. drinking copiously at a bar.
Is there some sort of template they hand out to chick litterateurs?
MORAG PRUNTY
Irish chick lit. (Guess I'm in the mood to travel.)
Not as good as Fielding. About on par with Weisberger and Keyes. Better than Ahern.
Lessons learned:
1. It's only the names that make chick lit differ from country to country. London's Bridget is Dublin's Clodagh. (Is Bombay's Arti.)
2. Why do all chick lit novels look the same? Funky typography. Fashion illustration-type women doing one of the following:
a. gossiping,
b. reading,
c. balancing toddler on hip,
d. sipping coffee,
e. drinking copiously at a bar.
Is there some sort of template they hand out to chick litterateurs?
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Now, the sun's gone to hell/ And the moon's riding high.
Finished The Murder Room 30,000 feet above the Madras-Bangalore flight path (make that 20,000: it was an ATR, and I'm not very good with numbers).
Lessons learned:
1. Love James. For being -- like Wodehouse -- a writer first, and a master of the genre in which she writes later.
2. When will I ever stop trying to outguess a murder mystery?
Lessons learned:
1. Love James. For being -- like Wodehouse -- a writer first, and a master of the genre in which she writes later.
2. When will I ever stop trying to outguess a murder mystery?
Monday, July 03, 2006
So, I/ Should have realised a lot of things before.
THE MURDER ROOM
PD JAMES
British classic crime interlude. This is another incredibly reassuring genre of books for me, and James is an old favourite.
Set in England. Featuring well-read Detective Inspectors. Dealing with regular, garden-variety murder. As opposed to obscure, psychopathic killers who need to be 'profiled' by the FBI before they can be caught.
Written elegantly. Never to be confused with the thriller-to-be-read-on-a-flight made popular by the Americans. I've heard this quality described as 'not dumbed-down', but it's a little more than that, I think. A book like this is clearly crafted to be a novel first, and a detective story second.
This one, for instance, takes you to an invented London museum devoted to war memorabilia. And stars mild-mannered, poetry-writing Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh.
A hundred pages in, and loving this familiar feeling.
PD JAMES
British classic crime interlude. This is another incredibly reassuring genre of books for me, and James is an old favourite.
Set in England. Featuring well-read Detective Inspectors. Dealing with regular, garden-variety murder. As opposed to obscure, psychopathic killers who need to be 'profiled' by the FBI before they can be caught.
Written elegantly. Never to be confused with the thriller-to-be-read-on-a-flight made popular by the Americans. I've heard this quality described as 'not dumbed-down', but it's a little more than that, I think. A book like this is clearly crafted to be a novel first, and a detective story second.
This one, for instance, takes you to an invented London museum devoted to war memorabilia. And stars mild-mannered, poetry-writing Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh.
A hundred pages in, and loving this familiar feeling.
Blackbird singing/ In the dead of night.
STRANGE BEDPERSONS
JENNIFER CRUSIE
Chick lit interlude. Crusie's one of the funniest. And romance novels have always been a staple of my literary diet, even back in the days when I read Sartre and Shakespeare more regularly.
Lessons learned:
1. You are more like the 19 year-old you than you'd like to believe. At least, I am.
2. And that's not a bad thing.
JENNIFER CRUSIE
Chick lit interlude. Crusie's one of the funniest. And romance novels have always been a staple of my literary diet, even back in the days when I read Sartre and Shakespeare more regularly.
Lessons learned:
1. You are more like the 19 year-old you than you'd like to believe. At least, I am.
2. And that's not a bad thing.
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