purchased for BBC

what to write, what to write?

Book Club finished this book a week ago (2 weeks ago?), and I should have written my journal entry the second I finished it. I didn't, and now I can't decide what to say. Frankly, I said a lot about it at bookclub, and you should have been there if you wanted to know what I thought about it!

I should say, though, as I said at almost every week we met on this book: this is quite possibly the weirdest book I've ever read. I'm trying to leave a window open for an odd book I can't remember, but really, I'm pretty sure this is it. It's truly the strangest book I've ever read. I'm sure of it.

That said, I marked several passages I thought I might come back to or quote, but frankly, it's 2 in the morning and I need to finish this journal entry and go to bed. I'm just happy I've found someone who likes this author -- I was telling Czukie about it on the phone one week, and she told me that both The Czuk (also known as Javaczuk) and GuyCzuk like Murakami, so I knew I could bring it with me to the Charleston Convention and leave it at the most hospitable Czuk house when I left.

So although I have several spots marked, I'm going to give up the ghost and pass this one one. I'll just make a short bulletted list of points we discussed at BBC:

• the parallels between Oshima and Hoshino
  
• Western influences in Murakami's writing
  
• If an Oedipal curse isn't heard, would the cursed not live out the prophecy?
  
• Why does the "military inquiry" stop partway through the book?
  
• Nakata's story is (partially) explained. How come Miss Saeki's isn't?
  
• Oshima's older brother is absent the entire book and shows up at the very end. What does this mean?
  
• Why did the brother go into the forest, but Oshima can't warn Kafka about it enough?
  
• Why talking cats?
  
• If we were Asian, would there be things in this book that were totally obviously symbolic, and we'd just get them?

Oh, and I loved this random quote in the middle of the book: The situation calls for something, and at this point in time it just happens to be this stone. Anton Chekhov put it best when he said, "If a pistol appears in a story, eventually it's got to be fired."

On to the male Czuks -- hope you like this one, guys!

Given by Antof9. Murakami is a favorite author of mine, everyone should try him at least once. If you can, start with Wild Sheep Chase, the book that brought him fame years ago.

I still think my favorite Murakami is Wild Sheep Chase (and a copy of that sits on my shelf for a re-read at some point in the future.) This is surrealistic and metaphysical-- kind of like abstract art in words, and it is an adventure to tease out the plot. but who can't like a world where cats talk and fish fall from the sky. So what if there's a little murder and mayhem thrown in?

From the Publisher

Kafka on the Shore is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom.

As their paths converge, and the reasons for that convergence become clear, Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder. Kafka on the Shore displays one of the world’s great storytellers at the peak of his powers.

RELEASE NOTES:


This book is being released (hopefully) at the Second Annual Great Book Give Away, sponsored by Charleston BookCrossers. Look for us at the corner of King and Calhoun at Marion Square on Dec 1 after the Reindeer Run. We'll be passing out books to passers by. Stop by, say hi and pick up a book!

If you're new to BookCrossing, welcome! You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing --maybe even make a journal entry on this book. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (its free!) Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did. If you do choose to join and journal, then you can watch the book as it travels- You'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free. Happy reading!

PS And if you find yourself liking BookCrossing, Charleston has an active group of BookCrossers who meet monthly (second Saturday of the month) at various spots in the Tri-county area. Come join us! For more information, see our webpage here! Be on the lookout for other books left in the "Wild"!