All Things Chill

I’ve been really under the weather these past couple of days… which obviously means that I’m sick (boo). It also means that I have some free time to read (yay)! I just finished Haruki Murakami’s – Kafka on the Shore. Hailed as a modern Greek tragedy, the book bounces back and forth between two interrelated plots and ends with a… well… honestly… I can’t explain it. I don’t think I could if I tried (and I think I just did). I just don’t have the vocabulary for it. All I can say is that after reading the ending, I needed a few hours to decompress.

In the book, you’ll find heightened and unusual abilities, intelligent musical references, time-shifted romances, projected extensions of self, and pure and utter randomness. It may sound ridiculous (only because Murakami came way before him), but would liken this book to a Neil Gaiman novel**. Same amount of wonder and unexpectedness that I’ve come to love from Neil, but with the cultural backdrop and perspective of a solid Japanese writer. By far my favorite Murakami book. If you’re a fan of Murakami, don’t hesitate to read it! Break out the mint tea (hot or iced), find some shade, throw on some Jazztronic and prepare yourself for an interesting read!

Kafka on the ShooOoOooooOoOore.

~Spec

**A related note: A few weeks ago, I read Stardust before it came out in theaters and I loved it. I have not yet gone to see the movie, only because I would hate for it to spoil the book. Albeit a lil’ short, it’s great for a weekend read.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 10:45 pm and is filed under Books, Comics & Graphic Novels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.