(no subject)

[pearwaldorf]

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

Oh, crap. I don't remember all the books. Isn't there a Shakespeare in there somewhere?

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?

Sam Gamgee. And Dickon. Among others.

The last book you bought is:

Two, actually. The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem and Perdido Street Station by China Mieville.

The last book you read:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. It's not as good as Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World or After the Quake. It's a sight above South of the Border, West of the Sun though.

What are you currently reading?

I'm working on Woman: An Intimate Geography for class. I'm rereading Peter S. Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song for pleasure.

Five books you would take to a deserted island:

The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
The Dazzle of Day, Molly Gloss
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (it counts!)
Bones of the Moon, Jonathan Carroll

I can't think of another one.

Comments

Murakami

[deepsix.livejournal.com]

Which of his books would you recommend to a Murakami virgin? :D I considered getting Kafka on the Shore based on the synopsis alone (well, and the title), but I know absolutely nothing about it or him, so. Is there a better book to start with?

Re: Murakami

[sonatine.livejournal.com]

The problem with Murakami is that a fan of some of his books might not be a fan of the other ones. I was introduced to him via Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is strange and bizarre and not-quite cyberpunk meets magical realism. I enjoyed it immensely. You might want to start with that and then try Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. It'll give you a pretty good idea of his breadth. And then pick up his collection of short stories about the Kobe earthquake, entitled (logically) After the Quake. It's really good too.

Kafka on the Shore is interesting, to say the least, but I wouldn't say it's one of his strongest works.