Norwegian Wood, Melancholy Whores and Brothers…

For those of you who may have been looking for some titillation please stop reading now. This is a book review post and not the intro to a weird porno. For those of you who actually like books…please continue reading

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

I read this bestseller right after finishing Desai’s “The Inheritance of Loss”. The stark differences in style captivated me from the first page. Where Desai forced me to form my own attachment to the characters Murakami’s prose drew me into the lives of Toru, Naoko, and Midori. Toru Watanabe for me kept drawing the parallel of Sisyphus in his daily struggle and his continued efforts where those around him gave in to the depths of despair and sought to end their existence. The flawed characters provide a wonderful literary balance of enabling you to identify with them either through their flaws or redeeming qualities and leave you feeling quite bereft with their exits from the narrative.

On the whole this is a book I would wholly recommend but with the warning that it may leave you feeling quite depressed with how it turns out especially if you are an emotional reader like me.

Memories of My Melancholy Whores - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Now having prepared myself for angst and melancholy with Murakami I was all prepared to ride out the despair with this book. I was brought up short. Marquez’s charm lies in his subtlety, in as much what he doesn’t say as what he does and as such I did this book injustice as i continued to hunt out greater emotions and did not give it the fair reading that was its due.

The book begins and ends on a whisper as a man contemplating death on his 90th birthday instead finds a renewed vigour and zest when he finds and falls in love for the first time.

A book i will definitely revisit.

Brothers - Da Chen

This book i picked up on a whim from the library and found it a very engaging read. The story revolves around 2 brothers - one legitimate and born to a life of privilege and the other a bastard whose struggles at various points shapes his life to come. The story is set against the backdrop of China’s cultural revolution. The lives of the brothers overlap at many different points but each remains ignorant of the other as they grow up. The many interesting and historic changes that marked the annals of Chinese history are seamed into the story effortlessly and bring this dynamic saga to life.

A must read if you like epic movies and have an appreciation for dramatics.