(2.5 stars) I've been looking forward to reading this all year and really, really wanted to love it. Which is why I'm so very frustrated to report that(2.5 stars) I've been looking forward to reading this all year and really, really wanted to love it. Which is why I'm so very frustrated to report that, surprisingly, I just really did not.
On the surface, this book sounds like it was written for me: a slice of life literary translation about a quirky 36-year old woman still working part-time at a convenience store while trying to navigate social interactions that she just does not understand. Yes, I really enjoyed the first half of the book, which focused primarily on the details of day to day convenience store work and on Keiko's observation of her fellow employees. And yes, I also enjoyed the frank (if a bit exaggerated) examination of society's obsession with certain markers of making "progress" in your life.
On the other hand, I really did not enjoy Shiraha. He felt slimy and gross and just really put me off. But what I really had a hard time with was the fact that Keiko so very obviously had some sort of mental health/personality disorder. It's not normal to think about stabbing a baby with a butter knife or to think of inviting a man to your house as keeping a "pet." And I personally couldn't brush off those traits as Keiko's personality "quirks."
Convenience Store Woman is a well written quick read (seriously, I read it in a grand total of 2 hours). But it just wasn't the read for me....more
A very quiet, simple novel about the everyday. Full review HERE, but for now I will just say that this is book is just SO JAPANESE.A very quiet, simple novel about the everyday. Full review HERE, but for now I will just say that this is book is just SO JAPANESE....more
While I definitely don't know if I should say I enjoyed reading such a grotesque and twisted collection of stories, I was completely blown away by whaWhile I definitely don't know if I should say I enjoyed reading such a grotesque and twisted collection of stories, I was completely blown away by what Oe can do with language. ...more
It occurs to me that if this was written by anyone other than Murakami, then I might have found Hajime to be a very frustrating, annoying character. BIt occurs to me that if this was written by anyone other than Murakami, then I might have found Hajime to be a very frustrating, annoying character. But Murakami's writing is so skillfully crafted and beautiful that he somehow manages to capture Hajime's extreme listlessness in a way that is so compelling I could hardly put the book down. Every couple of pages was a passage that I marked as something I wished I could share with the entire world.
For a novel where not a lot happens, South of the Border, West of the Sun is a highly compelling and enchanting read. I would highly recommend this if, like me, the only other Murakami you've read is Norwegian Wood....more
First of all Murakami's writing is absolutely beautiful. For lack of a better way to describe it, it has quiet, calming qualities that remind me of whFirst of all Murakami's writing is absolutely beautiful. For lack of a better way to describe it, it has quiet, calming qualities that remind me of why I like Kazuo Ishiguro's work. Although a shockingly explicit book, this is an amazing tale of coming to understand yourself in relation to the world and people around you. Being the age of both Toru and Naoko, I really connected with their awkward struggles as young adults and saw myself in the novel multiple times. Overall, an amazing read!...more
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