(continued from Part 1)
Aside from the Bloody Jack series, I was able to work in a few more serious reads in April.
Earth Abides - George R. Stewart (1949)
"When the opportunity was at your hand, you did not dare to seize it. When the opportunity was lost, it became precious."
This classic post-Apocalyptic fiction novel is probably a must-read if you're into that genre at all. One element that makes this book stand out from others in its genre is that man-made structures, cities, and the earth itself are described throughout the book as they go through the various stages of deterioration and change after the near-annihilation of mankind. The main character of the book is a fairly brooding, analytical figure; some might find him (and thus the book in its entirety, since a lot of the book is dedicated to his thought process) depressing. Overall, I actually found the book strangely satisfying, at least as compared to similar books that I've read.
Related Reads:
Alas, Babylon (Pat Frank)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter Miller)
Anthem (Ayn Rand)
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2002)
(Translated from Japanese to English in 2005 by Philip Gabriel)
"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
I'm fairly certain this is the first (translated) Japanese-language novel that I've read. I found the novel interesting as well as unexpected - it changes between narrators throughout, and I thought the overall story was going to go a completely different way when I started the book. In many ways it's quite different than your usual American novel; I think it's helpful to have at least a smattering of knowledge of Japanese culture, history, and overall philosophy going into it. By the end of the book, I was left with the feeling of having several unanswered questions, but this is almost certainly by design.
Although I'd say I found the book an intriguing read and I'm interested in reading more by the author, there were a few content notes that I feel should be mentioned. First (related to the Oedipal nature of the main plot point), there are a handful of fairly explicit sex scenes. Second, there's one chapter in particular that fairly graphically details the torture and murder of animals (cats), made worse by the fact that one character can communicate with cats like people. Both of these points are related to the overall story and plot and are designed to evoke emotion, thus they don't offend me by their mere presence or strike me as unnecessary. It's just that reading such scenes make me uncomfortable, personally - but your mileage may vary.
Related Reads:
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
American Gods - Neil Gaiman (2001)
"All your questions can be answered, if that is what you want. But once you learn your answers, you can never unlearn them."
Early on in the book, I found myself thinking that I wasn't finding the read very enjoyable. It's fairly dark in overall tone and doesn't have a lot in the way of humor or even lighter moments. However, I did like the book more as it went on and ended up finding it compelling and surprising and studded with pithy quotes. The novel also rekindled my interest in greater America and its landmarks/sacred sites. I wouldn't really recommend it to a first-time reader of Gaiman, since I felt that my having read most of his other books first lent a lot of context to the story.
I'll note that there are a couple of fairly explicit sex scenes, which I found personally uncomfortable rather than thinking them out of place in the story.
Related Reads:
Norse Mythology (Neil Gaiman)
Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman)
Aside from the Bloody Jack series, I was able to work in a few more serious reads in April.
Earth Abides - George R. Stewart (1949)
"When the opportunity was at your hand, you did not dare to seize it. When the opportunity was lost, it became precious."
This classic post-Apocalyptic fiction novel is probably a must-read if you're into that genre at all. One element that makes this book stand out from others in its genre is that man-made structures, cities, and the earth itself are described throughout the book as they go through the various stages of deterioration and change after the near-annihilation of mankind. The main character of the book is a fairly brooding, analytical figure; some might find him (and thus the book in its entirety, since a lot of the book is dedicated to his thought process) depressing. Overall, I actually found the book strangely satisfying, at least as compared to similar books that I've read.
Related Reads:
Alas, Babylon (Pat Frank)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter Miller)
Anthem (Ayn Rand)
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2002)
(Translated from Japanese to English in 2005 by Philip Gabriel)
"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
I'm fairly certain this is the first (translated) Japanese-language novel that I've read. I found the novel interesting as well as unexpected - it changes between narrators throughout, and I thought the overall story was going to go a completely different way when I started the book. In many ways it's quite different than your usual American novel; I think it's helpful to have at least a smattering of knowledge of Japanese culture, history, and overall philosophy going into it. By the end of the book, I was left with the feeling of having several unanswered questions, but this is almost certainly by design.
Although I'd say I found the book an intriguing read and I'm interested in reading more by the author, there were a few content notes that I feel should be mentioned. First (related to the Oedipal nature of the main plot point), there are a handful of fairly explicit sex scenes. Second, there's one chapter in particular that fairly graphically details the torture and murder of animals (cats), made worse by the fact that one character can communicate with cats like people. Both of these points are related to the overall story and plot and are designed to evoke emotion, thus they don't offend me by their mere presence or strike me as unnecessary. It's just that reading such scenes make me uncomfortable, personally - but your mileage may vary.
Related Reads:
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
American Gods - Neil Gaiman (2001)
"All your questions can be answered, if that is what you want. But once you learn your answers, you can never unlearn them."
Early on in the book, I found myself thinking that I wasn't finding the read very enjoyable. It's fairly dark in overall tone and doesn't have a lot in the way of humor or even lighter moments. However, I did like the book more as it went on and ended up finding it compelling and surprising and studded with pithy quotes. The novel also rekindled my interest in greater America and its landmarks/sacred sites. I wouldn't really recommend it to a first-time reader of Gaiman, since I felt that my having read most of his other books first lent a lot of context to the story.
I'll note that there are a couple of fairly explicit sex scenes, which I found personally uncomfortable rather than thinking them out of place in the story.
Related Reads:
Norse Mythology (Neil Gaiman)
Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman)
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