TWIB-IV: March 1-7
May. 14th, 2010 04:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanTwo books.
1) 69 - 村上龍
69 - Murakami Ryu
69 is regarded as one of the classics of modern Japanese fiction, both in Japan and abroad. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel that this largely because it's an extremely easy read, not because it possesses any outstanding literary value. (I remember reading something to the effect that it was initially serialized in a teen fashion magazine.) The novel follows high school student Yazaki as he attempts to mimic various aspects of 1960s Western counterculture (leftist struggle, music festivals) in order to flip off the authority figures in his life and get girls.
Yazaki is definitely an antihero. In fact, he's a thoroughly unlikeable character: cowardly, dishonest, a minor league bully always willing to screw over a friend for his own benefit. This is fine in and of itself--fictional characters don't have to be likeable, and teenagers are immature more often than not even before one adds the boredom of small-town life into the mix. In fact, although the running “not!” gag contrasting Yazaki's outer portrayal of himself versus his true intentions got old rather quickly, I enjoyed his antics overall, as I assumed Murakami intended Yazaki's deception of himself and others to be part of the joke. Until, that is, I reached the commentary at the back of the book, which explains that not only is 69 more autobiographical than fictional, but that Murakami is still the same obnoxious, immature individual that he was decades ago, and that he considers this state of affairs admirable. I can see how this self-serving worldview might appeal to a certain subset of readers, but I'm not one of them.
2) The Helmet of Horror - Victor Pelevin
The Helmet of Horror is the sound of one hand clapping, which is to say, a 21st century koan (written in chatspeak, no less). Judging from the reviews on LibraryThing and amazon, it is not likely to appeal to you if you are a) stridently Christian, or b) somewhat unfamiliar with Mahayana Buddhist thought. If that's not the case, however, this book will pack one punch of a clever read.
That will be all.
1) 69 - 村上龍
69 - Murakami Ryu
69 is regarded as one of the classics of modern Japanese fiction, both in Japan and abroad. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel that this largely because it's an extremely easy read, not because it possesses any outstanding literary value. (I remember reading something to the effect that it was initially serialized in a teen fashion magazine.) The novel follows high school student Yazaki as he attempts to mimic various aspects of 1960s Western counterculture (leftist struggle, music festivals) in order to flip off the authority figures in his life and get girls.
Yazaki is definitely an antihero. In fact, he's a thoroughly unlikeable character: cowardly, dishonest, a minor league bully always willing to screw over a friend for his own benefit. This is fine in and of itself--fictional characters don't have to be likeable, and teenagers are immature more often than not even before one adds the boredom of small-town life into the mix. In fact, although the running “not!” gag contrasting Yazaki's outer portrayal of himself versus his true intentions got old rather quickly, I enjoyed his antics overall, as I assumed Murakami intended Yazaki's deception of himself and others to be part of the joke. Until, that is, I reached the commentary at the back of the book, which explains that not only is 69 more autobiographical than fictional, but that Murakami is still the same obnoxious, immature individual that he was decades ago, and that he considers this state of affairs admirable. I can see how this self-serving worldview might appeal to a certain subset of readers, but I'm not one of them.
2) The Helmet of Horror - Victor Pelevin
The Helmet of Horror is the sound of one hand clapping, which is to say, a 21st century koan (written in chatspeak, no less). Judging from the reviews on LibraryThing and amazon, it is not likely to appeal to you if you are a) stridently Christian, or b) somewhat unfamiliar with Mahayana Buddhist thought. If that's not the case, however, this book will pack one punch of a clever read.
That will be all.