Greetings!
For anyone who has stumbled across this site from the wide world of intertubes, this is an online book club of the read-a-book-and-talk-about-it variety (not the columbia-house-buy-ten-for-one-dollar variety). Every month we'll be reading a book and generating online discussion and debate.
Let's get things started in style: post-modern Japanese fiction! Woo. First up, we have Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. I'm reading the Vintage copy, translated by Alfred Birnbaum. Written in 1985, this book contains two intertwining narratives: that of the Hard-Boiled Wonderland and, of course, that of The End of the World. Although belonging more to magic realism than science fiction, HBW&TEW does employ many elements of "dystopic future" sci-fi and creates for us a new world (or worlds) with which we must familiarize ourselves. In the first chapter we are immediately hit with some of Murakami's most prominent themes: magic realism, the everyman narrator, sexuality, (un)spoken language, and the physicality of communication.
Murakami writes in what the internet calls a "post-war mindset", using narrators that question and subvert established orders, critiquing (seemingly omnipresent) societal norms. In many of his works, the different modes of communication used -- varying through combinations of spoken, heard, written, read, electronic, past or live -- carry different emphases and different nuances that he uses to rework our expectations of human interaction.
What I love about his writing is the honesty of it. His narrators take things as they come; they act, react and respond. They don't spend a lot of time whining about what could be, or wishing "if only x, y, z" hadn't happened. They are curious, and often go to great lengths to observe things, but they are still ultimately realistic.
I also appreciate his rather dry sense of humour as well. "A hallway as long as Marcel Proust?" (10).
All right folks!
Tune in mid-way through June for the my discussion topics, but feel free to leave comments/thoughts/questions before then.
~Laine
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11 comments:
Ok, after reading the preview, I'm curious to start reading the book. So which one of you stole it from Mills? *Shakes fist :)
not me!
Elaine and I bought it the other day and I've started reading it. I am so confused but intrigued at the same time.
I have been to 4 used bookstores ... no luck so far. I have one day left before it is June! Maybe it is time for me to get a library membership ... I did have an interesting conversation about Japanese literature with one of the bookstore owners :)
This is promising to be more engaging then I could have thought :D
I got mine from chapters - though it was the last copy in stock. I just finished reading the Shadow chapter (ch.4?); this Calcutec business is quite intriguing.
Yey! the book came back to Mills, so I could get it. Ok, I have to say- Chp 4 with the eyeballs-thing- UGH! I'm so grossed out with anything to do with eyes!
I was a Shoppers yesterday and they had the Sedaris book that we are reading for August on sale for 25% of paperback price ($17.99). I am not sure if it is a local thing, but I just thought I pass that along!
Allright, I just have a few more chapters left :D And I just learned that "Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is actually a song. I can't believe that I hardly know any Bob Dylan songs :S
Laine, I stole your introduction for a welcome message, so that as we move along it will always be on top ... hope that is cool :D
Oh, and if someone has time and any ideas for a header, we should make one!
Hey all!
Hope you have had a chance to start the book, maybe even finish it! Anyways, since it seems that time is moving faster than the speed of light, I am thinking that sometime soon, we should get a discussion going, before we know it is July!
Anyways, as Laine suggested we could start discussing at any time, so I thought I do so with some first impressions.
1. What the hell?
2. I still hate pink.
3. Poor unicorns.
4. INKling? I cannot for the life of me imagine what they look like ...
Your thoughts?
Haha.
I'll be posting my thoughts on Tuesday (haven't had a moment yet to sit down and write everything out).
But yes, poor unicorns :P
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