Throwing in the Towel
I am doing something I only do with great reluctance… I am giving up on a book.
For the last month I have been enmeshed in Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I’m about halfway through it. A couple of weeks ago my husband begged me to set it aside for a while when the detailed, vivid description of a man being skinned alive troubled me. I don’t like THAT much reality, thank you. But that’s not what has made me put the book away. [hit “more” for the rest of the story…]
Murakami is a tremendous writer. He draws you in and medicates you with beautiful decriptions and fluid transitions until you are there…. you are in the book. I loved Norwegian Wood. So if anyone out there can offer me some kind of hope that something redeeming will happen in the last 200 pages of the novel I will pick it back up.
The story is narrated by Toru, a young man whose cat and wife have disappeared with no explanation or warning. His life becomes complicated by a stream of bizarre, almost inhuman characters who seem to appear with the sole purpose of messing with his mind. Toru, in an attempt to find himself, to find the answers to why his relationships are so complicated, literally goes down into a well to, as Gomer Pyle would say, take a think. I really thought that this would hold me. I love the idea of going to that kind of extreme in order to find out something important about yourself or about your life. But I’m leaving in Toru in the well.
I read some reviews of the book, hoping for encouragement to continue. It seems that this is not a delightful Western novel with a happy ending and neat little package at the end that makes you say, “See, life IS worth living. Silly Toru!” Instead it continues plodding its dismal, dream-like course for another 200 pages and leaves you hanging with unanswered questions.
I loved, at the beginning, questioning the characters’ motives and, in some cases (i.e. the phone sex woman) who the characters were. But when Toru’s wife started working unusually late and was distant and emotional and he couldn’t put two and two together to get ‘affair’ I became impatient with him and his lack of motivation and lack of passion for anything.
Now…. all of what I have said here (except the positive stuff) is completely unfair because I haven’t finished the book. So if anyone has an arsenal of reasons why I’m a moron (who obviously lacks motivation and passion) feel free to hurl blunt objects in my direction.
Books, Fiction | sallyrogers | 
November 22, 2005 4:02 pm
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By DJ Cayenne, November 23, 2005 @ 12:25 am
Sally – I’m sorry to hear that this one hasn’t worked out for you. It’s interesting, I’ve heard several people lately comment that it took them years to put away a book that they didn’t like and move on to something else. It’s incredibly hard to do (I can’t do it yet). So hat’s off for getting out early.
In another post I mentioned that I was a Murakami fan after reading only one of his books – “Kafka on the Shore”. That book did not have a happy “western ending” – so I wouldn’t be optomistic about this one. What I’ve read about Murakami that I found interesting is that he is apparently heavily critized by the Japanese literary community for making his books too western and turning his back on the Japanese tradition. What I liked about “Kafka” is how foreign its imagery and style were while being relatable to a western reader. It was also incredibly bizarre, but not as bizarre as, say, Pynchon.
It wasn’t a totally wasted read though. You’ve helped me narrow down my next Murakami book (Wind-Up vs. Norwegian Wood) – Norwegian Wood it is.
[also — I am out of town keeping up with things on my sister-in-law’s laptop. My graphic resources are limited - I’ll finish formating your post when I get back to civilization]
By Shaft, November 26, 2005 @ 10:36 am
On the topic of throwing in the towel, I need some advice. My mother-in-law got me “Atlas Shrugged” for my birthday last spring, and I started it a week or so ago. It’s a pretty daunting book, and I’m nervous because I generally read for no more than fifteen or twenty minutes a day (which means I won’t be posting again until 2011). My question to you guys is whether this book will be that fulfilling if I read it at this pace. I’m not even a hundred pages into it and I’ve already forgotten some of the stuff that’s happened. Can I make it another 1000+ pages?
By DJ Cayenne, November 26, 2005 @ 11:29 pm
Shaft, this will hurt to hear, but you must finish “Atlas Shrugged”. Here’s why: when you hear someone say that they love Ayn Rand you will have an informed and text-based reason to tell them, politely yet firmly, that they are an asshole. Otherwise you’re just mouthing off without all the facts.
By Len, November 27, 2005 @ 12:18 pm
You can also read “Old School” by Tobias Wolff. Ayn Rand appears as a minor character, and he gives the reader a good idea of Ayn whole gestalt.
By Shaft, November 27, 2005 @ 10:07 am
I think that seals the deal. First of all, you know I have no problem mouthing off without all the facts. Secondly, you just told me in about fifty words that Ayn Rand blows — I don’t need to garner further support for that by spending the time to have her prove it in another ten billion words. I think I’ll buy the Cliff Notes so that I can have a more informed opinion. As for the actual book, though, I think I’ll just place it right back on the bookshelf to impress visitors.
By DJ Cayenne, November 27, 2005 @ 12:18 pm
Shaft, if you follow what I’m saying, if you put the book on the shelf just to impress your friends, I am going to come over and call you an asshole.
Len, thanks for the Wolff recommendation. It looks like an interesting read.
Speaking of Ayn, Alan Greenspan is rumored to have made the time with Ms. Rand. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.
By Len, November 28, 2005 @ 8:39 am
Frankly, the thought of Alan Greenspan making time with anyone is a pretty grisly thought. The question is, was he capable of raising her interest rates?
By DJ Cayenne, November 28, 2005 @ 4:08 pm
Yikes. Thanks for the imagery. I ordered old school from Amazon today. At under $2 used it would be difficult to go wrong. It seems like its right up my alley.