I cried at the end... listen, you'd have to be heartless, or have never experienced the loss of a pet, to not be moved to tears in the final pages of I cried at the end... listen, you'd have to be heartless, or have never experienced the loss of a pet, to not be moved to tears in the final pages of this book. ...more
❝ Kokoro didn’t know the details of any of their situations. But she knew full well that whatever they’d experienced, it must have felt like jumping i❝ Kokoro didn’t know the details of any of their situations. But she knew full well that whatever they’d experienced, it must have felt like jumping into a storm or tornado, one that would mangle and maim you.
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Magical. Heartwarming. Dazzling. ✨
Lonely Castle in the Mirror took me completely by surprise. This is a book about 7 lonely children, a bunch of unhappy misfits, finding solace, sanctuary, friendship, understanding, and kindness in the castle in the mirror. At the castle they can escape their woeful, difficult, grim realities and play, study, just BE kids.
It’s a found-family story. A book about seeking help and comfort when just existing begins to feel tiresome. It’s about the unique resilience found only in children, their ability to stay hopeful and optimistic despite all odds. It’s a book about finding a reason to live. Not just breathe and eat and sleep and watch tv — but survive, fight, learn, strive for something bigger than yourself. It’s about realizing that you are valuable and that you have so much you can accomplish - that one day, maybe in the future - you will be meaningful in someone’s life.
Lonely Castle is officially my new comfort book. It’s brilliant, full of shocking epiphanies, plot twists that gave me goosebumps (every time), and heartfelt confessions and acts of selflessness and fateful happenings that had me crying through the last fifteen pages.
All the Lovers in the Night is a captivating and compelling read, completely bingeable and impossible to put down. You’ll read it in a sitting or two All the Lovers in the Night is a captivating and compelling read, completely bingeable and impossible to put down. You’ll read it in a sitting or two or three and then it’ll be over and for days after you’ll find yourself wondering about the physics of light and colors, reflections, relationships, what’s real, and what’s worth living for.
In recognizable Japanese fashion, this is a quiet, contemplative novel with a signature Mieko Kawakami flair. It’s chock full of social commentary, observations and strong opinions on womanhood, motherhood, sex, depression, the trouble with fitting in and standing out, breaking social norms, and taking time to heal internal, invisible wounds - both faded and fresh.
There are so many different kinds of women in modern society— each one thinking they’ve found the recipe for success and happiness, each one trying to bottle and sell the formula. It’s usually well-intentioned, but always so futile. What works for some, won’t work for others. What makes us happy now isn’t guaranteed to make us happy forever. Our jobs, relationships, hobbies are all subject to this inevitability. And that’s both depressing and exciting.
I guess change — in the weather, our likes and dislikes, our interests and hobbies, our priorities, our relationships — is the one constant we can count on. It’s nice to know that just like the good times, the trying times in life won’t last forever. Like the tides, our lives ebb and flow, we just have to have the strength and resilience to ride it out, ideally with a friend or two by our side.
Read/Add to TBR if you like: * Japanese literature * The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath * complex female friendships * cafe romances and hot, sweaty summer days that pass by in a dreamlike haze * a sad, depressed, lonely AND alone female protagonist prone to day drinking and falling asleep in public * woman in her thirties having an existential crisis * feminist rants ...more
❝ Life is full of stories. Or maybe life is only stories. ❞
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❝ But memories are time beings, too, like cherry blossoms or ginkgo leaves; for a while t❝ Life is full of stories. Or maybe life is only stories. ❞
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❝ But memories are time beings, too, like cherry blossoms or ginkgo leaves; for a while they are beautiful, and then they fade and die. ❞
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❝ Where do words come from? They come from the dead. We inherit them. Borrow them. Use them for a time to bring the dead to life. ❞
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Marcus Tullius Cicero said, “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?”
A Tale for the Time being is a multifaceted, metaphysical novel orbiting around the elusive concept of time. There are dual perspectives, two timelines, discussions of Buddhism, Zen practices, school bullying, depression, suicide, quantum physics, elements of magical realism, commentaries on politics, war, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, dementia, writing and reading. That’s the big-picture summary.
But if someone asked me what this book was about and why they should read it, I’d say this:
A Tale for the Time Being is a coming-of-age story that says “you’re never too old to grow up.”
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❝ Hey Jiko, how old do you have to be before you’re really grown up? Not just your body, but your mind?
<105 years>
Thats what she just texted me. That’s how old she says you have to be before your mind really grows up, but since she’s a hundred and four, I’m pretty sure she’s joking. ❞
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No matter how difficult and unbearable life may seem at a moment, keep living. Change is the one thing we can rely on, so keep learning, keep growing, keep living— the world, circumstances, people, and atmosphere around you will change too, then one day you’ll wake up with a new zeal for life.
And for those moments you feel your life is stuck or stagnant, look to the past—history and literature—and learn from it, know what happened before you, expand your mind, your perspective, your horizons. Never stop growing up.
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Thank you so much @penguinbooks and @vikingbooks for the gifted book. ...more
Surprisingly, I'm left feeling a little confused about this novel. I really thought there would be more of a resolution rather than the open-ended andSurprisingly, I'm left feeling a little confused about this novel. I really thought there would be more of a resolution rather than the open-ended and abrupt ending we got. All - and I mean ALL - of my questions were left unanswered and I think that's what left me grappling after I had turned the last page. Don't get me wrong, it was a very beautiful, poignant, elegant and mesmerizing novel - but unsatisfying nonetheless. Which is why I don't feel comfortable giving this more than 3 stars... there are many, many other less qualified novels that have given me much greater reader satisfaction. ...more
This lyrical novel was the perfect cure for my reading slump. It is beautiful in all its simplicity. If you're interested in a calm, sensual, dreamy lThis lyrical novel was the perfect cure for my reading slump. It is beautiful in all its simplicity. If you're interested in a calm, sensual, dreamy little book to read on a weekend, this is it. I'll be ordering the gorgeous Penguin Modern Classics covers from BD soon, and will most definitely check out the other authors and books in the collection. ...more
This is the third novel I’ve read by Haruki Murakami and, surprisingly, it’s my least favorite one so far. Don’t get me wrong - the prose, dialogue anThis is the third novel I’ve read by Haruki Murakami and, surprisingly, it’s my least favorite one so far. Don’t get me wrong - the prose, dialogue and world-building were all dreamy and perfectly Murakami-esque but I found it difficult to engage in the characters and their stories. The beginning was fresh, intriguing and followed the basic pattern of character-building in Murakami novels, but somewhere around the halfway mark (between when Sumire falls in love and when she goes missing) the plot lost its momentum. This book wasn’t as captivating and difficult-to-put-down as I was expecting. Nonetheless, it’s a Murakami novel and even though it’s not my favorite one, it’s still pretty amazing and unique. The prose alone makes it worth reading at least once, though I would refrain from recommending this novel to a Murakami virgin as there are smaller yet significant instances of magical surrealism in this novel and the ending will definitely leave you with many unanswered questions....more
This is the second Murakami book that I've read and out of all the characters I've met, I think I can relate to Hajime the most. Being an only child, This is the second Murakami book that I've read and out of all the characters I've met, I think I can relate to Hajime the most. Being an only child, I could relate all too well to his loneliness, his guilt, his habit of suffering, thinking, and dreaming alone. It's easy to get caught up in your daydreams when there's no one to pull you back to reality. I thought the dynamic between Hajime and Shimamoto was interesting... did he imagine her return? Did she commit suicide or simply disappear to another country after their night in Hakone? I have so many questions that were left unanswered but I feel that it's all part of the mystery that is Shimamoto. Is this a story of unlucky lovers or a man riddled with guilt and a longing for all that could have been? Overall, I liked the book and its characters very much but it didn't tug at my heartstring like Norwegian Wood did. That might have more to do with the fact that Norwegian Wood was a story that revolved around 20-somethings and this book is essentially about a man's early mid-life crisis. ...more
I am so glad that Norwegian Wood was my first Murakami book. It is one of the "realistic" novels that he has written and is a great way to ease into hI am so glad that Norwegian Wood was my first Murakami book. It is one of the "realistic" novels that he has written and is a great way to ease into his world and familiarize yourself with his style of writing. There were times when I could tell that the translation made certain dialogues or sayings awkward, but it somehow added to the many idiosyncrasies of the characters. That being said, I loved all the characters so much. And all the relationships, between people alive and dead, were so well established, it amazed me how much Murakami was able to accomplish in less than 300 pages. Of course I wasn't expecting there to be so much mention of sex and sexuality in the book, but it did help pass the time. I didn't realize it before but Midori evoked a new curiosity in me and I admired how clumsy and real every sexual encounter in the novel was - not a single one romanticized or glamorized. All in all, I was every bit surprised and impressed with this book, and I love it far more than I expected to. I'm almost scared to read another book by Murakami because I'm afraid it won't live up to Norwegian Wood. Nonetheless, I'm sure one lazy Sunday morning, I'll pick up Kafka on the Shore from my shelf and indulge myself in his beautiful writing.
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