The first novel I read was 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle', which is an abstract sort of novel full of confusing symbolism, but was ultimately excellent due to its strange, wonderful characterisation and scantly elegant writing style. It also made me appreciate wells like I never had before.
Then I read 'After Dark' - 500 pages shorter, and arguably better. It was much more understandable but retained the elegant writing style and rich characters, without beginning to drag or inflict migraine. It was like a 180-page window into a square kilometer of Tokyo at night. Splendid.
Continuing my love affair with Murakami, I recently got 'Norwegian Wood' from the public library. I've been told that Murakami writes two distinct types of novel: the bizarre, otherwordly 'Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' variety, and the stable, flash-back type 'Norwegian Wood' variety. So far I've only read his strange novels, so I'm very excited to see what Murakami does in the real world.
Excited!
Other things to read:
- 'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo
- 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare
- 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck
- 'The Sea, The Sea' by Iris Murdoch
- 'Finding Cassie Crazy' by Jaclyn Moriarty
The last one is a silly little teen tale that I'll read when my brain is melting.
1 comment:
I haven't read anything by Iris Murdoch, but I would like to. I first came across her in a truly fascinating nonfiction book called "Madwoman in the Attic" (not that it had anything to do with Murdoch directly, D:) and the subjects she writes about sound positively riveting. Have you started "The Sea, The Sea"?
I now have access to a university library (far superior to the public ones in my area) and can now find Haruki Murakami's novels. Triumph.
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