AFTER DARK, by Haruki Murakami

After Dark is Murakami's exploration of the magical late night world of Tokyo where reality and...something else intersect. The novel  meanders through the midnight to dawn wanderings of several characters, primarily a 19-year-old named Mari, plain but deep younger sister of mysterious, beautiful and emotionally damaged  Eri. While Mari meets several characters in a seedy entertainment district, her sister Eri is on a month-long sleep binge during which she seems to wander across boundries of consciousness. This kind of boundry-crossing is a major part of the psychic wandering of the main character in his later novel The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. After Dark is heavy on atmosphere and works as an open-ended meditation on the ways people both desire and fear connection, and on the fluid and mysterious nature of consciousness.

For a review of the novel from NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/books/review/Kirn-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

   

THE COINCIDENCE ENGINE, by Sam Leith

This is an interesting book based on a bizarre premise - that a machine has possibly been invented that can affect probability of events. The plot revolves around tracking down this hypothetical machine by a kind of super-secret government agency (DEI, the Directorate of the Extremely Improbable) specializing in the paranormal. A nerdy English grad student visiting his girlfriend in the US is unwittingly involved in the high-stakes chase that takes unexpected twists and turns. Although it sometimes gets bogged down in mathematical and philosophical discussions about probability and related theories, all in all it is entertaining, inventive, and quite well written, with enough sub-plots and unpredictability to keep anyone's interest.

For a review of the book from The Guardian, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/03/sam-leith-coincidence-engine-review

THE RUM DIARY, by Hunter S. Thompson

I'm a fan of reportage, New Journalism or whatever you choose to call it. The Rum Diary is an entertaining early piece of such writing from one of its masters, Hunter S. Thompson, of Fear & Loathing fame. The book is an early effort and remained unpublished for many years. It's an interesting window on how far his skill developed by the 1970s. The book is set in Puerto Rico in 1960 and traces the misadventures of a young journalist-adventurer through his chaotic professional and personal life. It's big on atmosphere, small on plot, with some interesting characters. Maybe because of the era in which it is set, and the genre of course, it has a Kerouac-like feel that is a bit nostalgic and fun. It's a bit like watching the imagined outer fringes of Mad Men. All-in-all, quite enjoyable.

For an interesting history of this "long lost novel" from GQ, click here: http://www.gq.com/entertainment/books/201110/the-rum-diary-hunter-s-thompson-history

The book was made into a movie,with Johnny Depp in the lead role, in 2011.  Click here for a review of the film: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/nov/10/the-rum-diary-film-review

STEVENSON UNDER THE PALM TREES, by Alberto Manguel

This is kind of a strange little book that reminded me in some ways of some of Hawthorne's or Melville's tales. The Victorian south seas setting was well described. The story describes the strange final days of the life of expat British writer Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa. The heavily psychological, supernatural orientation of the story gave it an interesting feel. The author is an Argentinian, and indeed, there is a Borges-like feel to the story that is very compelling. All-in-all, it's a creative and entertaining piece, concisely written.

For a review of the novel from The Guardian, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/jan/10/fiction4

 

MESOPOTAMIA, by Arthur Nersesian

Being a big fan of Nersesian, I found Mesopotamia somewhat disappointing  I cannot say it's a badly written book, but it lacks the gritty street smarts of his New York based novels like Chinese Take Out and Unlubricated. Maybe I just couldn't relate to the whole Elvis/Appalacian theme and the rather complex plot. The book's protagonist, Sandy Bloomgarten, is a 30-something Korean-American tabloid journalist with a drinking probloem who had been adopted as a child and grew up in sticksville, (AKA Mesopotamia, Tennessee). It seemed like a bit of a stretch. She is harder to relate to than the wiley and creative artistic losers of Nersesian's New York novels and I found myself not caring too much what happens to her. I was really pulling for the book to be a strong effort, but it seems undistinguishable from the mediocre output of many writers and basically lacking in force and flare.

For a review of the book from The L Magazine, click here: http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/life-between-two-rivers-mesopotamia/Content?oid=1701243

 

THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, by Haruki Murakami

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle was my introduction to the very popular Japanese author Haruki Murakami. I found the book fascinating and even riveting. The book has a hallucinatory quality that is very unusual. The protagonist, Toru Okada, is an extremely passive character, kind of a loser fallen between the cracks in the Japanese system. Having quit his job in a law firm, abandoned by his wife and even cat, he drifts through his days and bumps into a number of strange characters such as old WWII vets, pychic healers, teenage school dropouts, etc. Serious issues are dealt with as well as personal foibles, such as Japan's WWII legacy, the corrupt political system, broken aspects of Japanese society, etc. It's well written but often puzzling and at times frustrating to keep straight. But if  you don't require a tightly written plot and enjoy lots of interpolated stories, some of harrowing vividness or mysterious ambiguity, you'll like the book.

For a review of the book from NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/02/reviews/971102.02jamest.html

 

CUBA AND THE NIGHT, by Pico Iyer

Like Paul Theroux, Pico Iyer is a popular travel writer who has moved into fiction writing with his first novel Cuba and the Night.  Iyer usually writes cutting edge reportage and the novel has a strong flavor of that genre. It's the story of the obsessive on-again-off-again love affair between a cynical, hard-bitten news photographer and beautiful young Cuban woman. It's also the story of the friendly relationship between the photographer and a nerdy British tourist, who enters the story and plays a major role in the plot. The plot is rather slow moving and repetitive, but it is vividly written with lovely and poignant descriptions of the unique Cuban atmosphere and people. The ending, although not shocking, is well told. In fact, there is an air of inevitability about the whole novel, consistent with the depiction of the worn-out Cuban nation and psyche.

For a review of this book by Kirkus, click here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pico-iyer/cuba-and-the-night/#review