Kafka on the Shore

My former book club read Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami in January. In an effort to keep up, I also wanted to read this book. It was a very weird story. I don't know enough about traditional Japanese literature to really understand the nuance, let alone follow the story line and connections between all of the characters. This book was translated into English, and I thought the grammar translation was excellent. However, the spirit characters transcending time and space was just too deep for me. I found this blog with comments that that summed things up nicely for me.

http://blojj.blogalia.com/historias/45884

I can agree with the premise that there were two halves for all people/spirits. What I don't understand is HOW it works. How do they go back and forth in time? How do they circumvent space? How do they use another as an empty vessel? What is the magic of talking to cats? How does it all fit in with the kids in the war who passed out near the soldier's camp? This book left me with so many questions and not enough answers. I just feel kind of lost.

I guess based on my general confusion I'm rating this as a B-. Because despite everything being totally over my head, it was interesting, even though it was uncomfortable reading throughout.

I'm reading Empress by Shan Sa now, and I'm not enjoying it either. I need a great book to curl up with, get lost in, and fall in love with. Any suggestions? I want to be inspired. Suggestions welcome.

Bel Canto

I recently read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Since I have moved from Minnesota, I'm trying to stay on top of the books my old book club was reading, and this was one of their picks. I have to say, this one took quite a long time to get into and almost a full month to finish, which for me is a very long time. I found the characters to be an interesting group of people, and the storyline of rebels taking an entire party of aristocrats hostage was unique. When you consider that much of the book was dedicated to exploring opera themes, there was a heavy juxtaposition with a hostage environment. I'd rate this as a C+ since it took so long to dive into. For the most part, the story ends as you would expect - the hostages ultimately get set free. The bad guys don't win. However, there is a twist with the love stories that feels reminiscent of a Greek tragedy which was intriguing.

I'm currently reading Kafka on the Shore and this one is quite a change with all the symbolism and Alice in Wonderland oddities like talking cats. I am looking forward to understanding how the author ties all the story lines together.

Also, I found an interesting book club reading list from Daily Candy that I thought I'd share. I'm doing well on reading these... Not so much on the Time Top 100 Novels list...