After the Quake – Haruki Murakami

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Book #64

Reviewer: Inspirationalreads

11299Murakami is another author that I have been in awe of and yet a bit wary.  He is a firm favourite among many of my fellow readers, highly lauded by many a critic/reviewer.  This was the last available to review on this list of the four books he has on here.  And yet I was intimidated by the highly surreal nature often referred to where his books are concerned, where readers were unsure of what was happening but were enjoying themselves, happy to be taken for the ride.  This was further emphasised when I read After Dark, another short story collection of his that is not on this list.   So nabbing this last opportunity to review a Murakami for this list (so far at least) I put myself in the mindset of being open and willing to go wherever Murakami wanted to take me.  Which for all my mental preparedness ended up being very middle of the road.

After the Quake features six short stories all set in the aftermath of the destructive 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan.  Rather than being directly set in and around Kobe, or having the characters be directly affected by the earthquake itself, these stories are more ripples than aftershocks, the earthquake being a passing mention,  a distant motivation.  So while this collection is called After the Quake, this is far less a unifying theme as there is another more obvious ; that of human relationships.  Be it the losing of some and gaining of new, re-connecting with yourself, searching for a connection that is missing, or re-connecting in a more meaningful manner this thread of connectivity runs throughout five of the six stories here. For me, this was unexpected and whether or not it was because I had mentally prepped myself for something different, a little disappointing in their straightforwardness and accessibility.  That is not to say that these stories are not poignant or meaningful, as this common thread does make for interesting thought when looked at as a collective.  The reactions of these different characters and the different aspects of human inter-connectivity are displayed in scenarios that never feel forced and could be everyday occurrences anywhere.  In the first story, our main character’s wife leaves him and he is given the opportunity of a new connection when he is sent on a mysterious work trip.  In another, a business woman has a spiritual encounter that encourages her to let go of the painful past in order to move forward and connect more truthfully and happily in the future.

It is just that this does not feel like a new handling of a common theme; nothing here is fresh and off-kilter like one would come to expect from Murakami.  It is not until I got to the fifth of the sixth stories, ‘Super-Frog Saves Tokyo’ that the absurd surrealism that I have come to associate with Murakami comes into play and for me, this story becomes the saving grace of the collection.  This thread of relationships can be drawn through this story as well, even though it is, as the title depicts, about a super-sized, super-skilled frog battling a giant worm to prevent an earthquake in Tokyo.  A loan collector, who thinks little of himself, is chosen as Super-Frog’s companion due to his selflessness and giving nature towards not only his family, but his friends and colleagues too.  Perhaps it is that he, who is humble and giving in his relationships with others is worthy of such a task, that of defending the city of Tokyo.  This odd little tale was a bright spot that stood out because of how different it was and was enjoyable because of the difference.

This book would be an odd choice as an introduction to Murakami so I would not recommend it for this.  It is however a nice study of human interaction and a must read for Super-Frog alone.  Maybe Murakami’s plan was to make the expected unexpected and therefore not so far out of his scope after all. Maybe this is just a lesson for me to leave any and all expectations at the door, especially when it comes to this author.

Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

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Book #918
Reviewer: Tall, Short, Tiny & a Pickle

Oliver TwistReading Oliver Twist was my first foray into the novels of Charles Dickens. I have vivid memories of lying in the sun at my parents’ house, reading the copy my mother had read when she was at school. It is fair to say that Oliver Twist was an excellent introduction to to the Dickensian world, and I have been a huge fan ever since.

If you haven’t yet read Oliver Twist, you will no doubt be familiar with it in its screen and stage adaptations. That famous scene where Oliver dares to ask for more gruel is etched in many memories as a poignant moment in a tragic tale.

In brief, Oliver Twist is a young orphan who finds himself journeying towards London. Along the way, he meets a young pickpocket (Jack Dawkins, aka The Artful Dodger) who tells of a place where he can get free board with a group of “gentlemen”. Oliver is an innocent, naive, good-hearted boy who often doesn’t see the true nature of people, and agrees to join Dawkins in London, where he finds himself surrounded by a host of delightfully-unsavoury characters. The leader of this group, Fagin, is a criminal with a devilish nature; he tricks and corrupts young men, and is often portrayed as shying from daylight, prayer and anything of a decent nature. Ultimately, the decency of Oliver’s character wins out, and we have a happy ending where good triumphs evil, but Dickens tells a very interesting story along the way.

He paints a very dramatic, miserable picture of poverty, unusual for a time when many writers glossed over the plight of the poor. The novel reflects on the effects of industrialism on the working classes of England, and states that many resorted to theft and crime in order simply to survive. However, Oliver’s character is different – he remains innocent and decent throughout the novel, regardless of the situations he finds himself in, and never resorts to the life of crime presented to him. He speaks properly, compared to the rest of the poor, and from the outset, I found myself hoping that better things would be in store for him.

I am a fan of Dickens’ writing style, and as I said earlier, this was the novel that cemented my love for his work. I enjoy his descriptive passages, the realism of his characters and their plights, and the interactions between them. He describes his characters so well, down to the last tic, that when I saw a local stage production of this a number of years ago, I was pleased to see the actor playing Fagin had adopted his mannerisms perfectly.

Passages such as:

The sun, – the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to man – burst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory. Through costly-coloured glass and paper-mended window, through cathedral dome and rotten crevice, it shed its equal ray.

serve to create a powerful image as you read, and the novel is filled with such eloquent descriptions. There are, in true Dickens-fashion, moments of comedy, which serve to cut through the inherently sombre nature of the story:

“Bless their dear little hearts!” said Mrs. Mann with emotion, “they’re as well as can be, the dears! Of course, except the two that died last week.”

If you’ve never ventured to read anything by Charles Dickens, this would be my recommendation as the place to start. An incredibly good read, with a happy ending that sees good triumph over evil in that ultimate of symbolic and moral battles.

A well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars from me.

Quote of the Week

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“The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.”
― Alan Bennett

150 Books Reviewed: WINNER!

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The lucky winner of our giveaway celebrating 150 books reviewed is…

1001 Book WinnerAngela Noelle of Striking Keys!

Angela submitted a very insightful review of 1984 for publication.

Thank you to everyone who entered; while you may not have won a new book, you have won our everlasting thanks for taking us that step further on this review journey.

If you’d like to join our review crew, we’d love to have you on board.

Happy reading everyone!