Review : Kafka on the Shore by Murakami

This was something I had written quite some time back. And I had forgotten all about it till a friend of mine asked if I'd write one on the book. I had been completely blown away by the book and as with things which completely blow me away I have to exorcise it by staining a pristine sheet of white with my black ramblings :) But this time I used some self restrain and din't go into my gushing school-girl-after-boy-band-concert mode which is how I felt.. that I had just encountered a Rock Star of a book! I'd even say I managed to even sound rather objective about the book ( doesn't matter if I am or not.. all that matter is how I sound.. it's all perception after all!)

So here goes...


Just finished 'Kafka..' by Murakami.

Loved it.


Apart from the fact that he's a compelling story teller it hit spots I din't think possible by a person other than me. Places in my heart and brain which only I'm privy to. Emotions from a dark place which are so difficult for another person to comprehend that no one ever bothers to explain. The reasons for the emotion can not be put in your conventional ideas of good and bad. Or rather in light and dark. Explaining it would make it seem like a grey area to others, but is an exceptionally Dark place. And it was so comforting to know that I might not be alone in that Dark place.


True, at a lot of points the story seem to go off into tangents that seem puzzling to say the least and true, he doesn't bother tying up every little thing he's brought into the story. But it matters little because from the very beginning he's asking us to take a leap of faith, and it's the irredeemably quality of faith that some questions will always remain unanswered. 


Not entirely a story that would seem palatable to every one, but the language is flawless. Somehow, though read in English, there was this intangible Japanese flavor all through the story telling but done without alienating the foreign reader. And that's the sign of a master story teller, to draw you in with themes and tones both alien and universal at the same time.


A book which paced itself so wonderfully. Though the characters themselves seem stuck, lost or moving at an alarmingly slow pace the story line never slows down. It's a book I wanted to finish in one sitting and would have done so in a couple of hours had time permitted. Pulls you into it's world and things move simultaneously fast and slow. A bit like being on the roller coaster while high! :-) Contradictions abound in the spirit of the book, yet like contractions in a personality which co-exist with little difficultly and sometimes define the personality, it fits well and we don't feel jarred by it. 


All in all, to sum up...Loved it!


Want to write more about the book, but I don't believe in giving away the story; besides being massively difficult in verbalising the emotions, it is also one of those things which if we start to we get lost in trying to find and end up writing a hell lot.
Cant wait to get my hand on the rest of his books!

Phil!


Ps: LOVED, I mean Loved, the fact that a part of the book was set in Kochi and it was so green! YAY!

So there.. what do you think? Not a bad job, huh?! :)

Review: Anita Nair's Mistress

Anita Nair's 'Good Night and God Bless' is one of my favorites when it comes to nighttime reads, just before sleep, or one of those books you just dip into when you just have a few minutes to wait. Rather like the chocolate mint on your pillow in the nicer hotels, a nice refreshing taste before a good night's rest. But her 'The Better man' left me very disappointed. The main character put me to sleep and the rest of the cast was not very well etched. The main feeling I remember when I finished the book was relief! So I was a little sceptical about picking up something on the novel side again, but the fact that she did write 'Good Night and..' seemed good enough reason to give her another chance.

To begin with, Mistress has come a long way from The Better Man. She's paced herself well in Mistress, Anita Nair. I loved her take of the 3 different perspectives for the situations.. kinda like a emotional kaleidoscope.Same mirrors and the same bangle bits, but one turn and you have another unique pattern entirely different from the one before. And she's added just enough kathakali techniques to remind you very vaguely of Marquez's 100 years. I think she's added that right amount of magic surrealism which is what actually raises the book above the otherwise cliched storyline ( boy-girl-bad marriage-she cheats) without seeming over ambitious. 

Also loved the exploration of the 9 emotions of dance. I think those short introductions for the navarasas were her chance to indulge in her lyrical best. And for someone from Kerala,it surprises and delights you the familiar landscape being imbibed with a new emotions. Like the quiet fury of the woodpecker or the derision of the December winds.

The only thing I would complain about, though it's not a critic, is the fact that I could not place what the author wanted from the characters. Are we supposed to empathise with Radha, who in my perspective turns from estranged and misunderstood wife to an intellectual snob and pardon my french, selfish bitch; or are we supposed to resent Shyam,the cuckold husband, with his typical overbearing malayali chauvinistic trappings which turn out to be a sheild to protect the surprisingly more sensitive and fragile emotional ecosystem he had grown up and lives in? Or as in some cases,has the author given us the freedom to choose the perspective which suits us the best?! Nor are we clear about the 'Sahiv' Chris's motivations and intentions for starting the affair. And after all the build up, the relationship between the Uncle ( who btw provides the 3rd perspective of the book) and his father remain unexplored. But then again I'm not sure if that's another kathakali technique which I might have not understood.

But in Nair's defence, the lack of clarity is not because of her language or writing( which is crisp yet 

Anita Nair : A lovely voice from God's own Country!

retains a certain flow and grace) but is because the characters themselves are for the most parts confused souls and is never really sure of their feelings and to end their confusion picks up the most dominant emotions and decide, 'this is it, this is what I feel', which I feel is how predominantly how the world works unconsciously, whether it admits it or not! That confusion and corresponding joy or panic of the decision is what made the otherwise bland characters seem so alive to me.

All in all, it was a book I enjoyed a lot. To take something that is so familiar (and we all know what feeling that usually breeds)and imbibe new emotions and colors and life is a unique talent. She also reminds you that there might be no such things as true feelings only differing perspectives. I think it's well worth a read to enjoy that realisation.