Well, here is my latest conquest which really started a couple of weeks ago when another partner-in-crime, a.k.a. another regular contributor to this group, was gushing about how much he enjoyed reading books by this same author. The book in question is titled, “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki”, and is by Haruki Murakami, an author I had never heard of before I picked up this book. This is not just a book. It is a work of art, a bottle of fine expensive wine as it were, and you will know this the moment you look at the artwork on the front page with a 4 colored (red, blue, white and black) and one colorless cutouts, with the last exposing a cryptic map. This whole grand curious design itself is a mirror into the story in the book. Of course, you have to figure out what the map signifies. Let me tell you that every sentence is well-crafted, every separate word in complex descriptions chosen in such a way that they are in harmony, do not stand out and make the sentences, paragraphs and chapters flow ever so smoothly like fine aged wine. You have to read some sentences once, ponder, re-read, and then savor them. Rinse and repeat. The story is absolutely fantastic. There is no way in hell you are going to put this down until you reach the end. There are some digressions -- one, in particular, about Midorikawa, which I did not feel has a connection to the larger story -- that you may not enjoy. But, it is, in my opinion, a book that you will feel glad you laid your hands on. The conclusion is, in my opinion, somewhat unexpected and is going to leave you with some disappointment. Anyway, as with any book I read, some sentence fragments stand out in my memory, or are hard to pass up and I want to share them with you as a teaser: … “Liquor didn’t give him deadened senses, or a pleasant forgetfulness, just a splitting headache the next morning.” … “The coffee was delicious. It had a fresh aroma, and was the perfect temperature.” … “Cell phones are so convenient that they are an inconvenience.” … “A group of three high school girls in school uniforms were cutting across the park. The hems of their short skirts swished perkily, and they laughed loudly as they passed in front of the bench.” … “Ao came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street. He stood stock-still, like a stature. The people walking behind him nearly crashed into him.” … “She took Tsukuru’s business card, her whole face lighting up in a smile, then pushed an extension number on her phone as if pressing the soft nose of an oversized dog.” … “Aka winked. ‘I’m driving a Porshe Carrera 4. Targa top. Six-gear manual transmission. The way itfeels when you shift gears is amazing.’” … “We survived. You and I. And those who survive have a duty. Our duty is to do our best to keep on living. Even if our lives are not perfect.” … “Tsukuru, there is one thing I want you to remember. You aren’t colorless. Those were just names. I know we teased you about it, but it was just a stupid joke.”
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 02:50:45 +0000
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