Turning Japanese

As promised, I finally read Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami.  It’s a beautiful novel and I loved it!  There are none of the surrealistic elements found in his later works of fiction - no half human sheep, no talking cats - it’s a straightforward, coming-of-age, love story.

You can read about The Fierce Imagination of Haruki Murakami in the October 23 New York Times magazine section, although this article doesn’t really tell you anything about the author.  

 I have also started Out, by Natsuo Kirino, which was made into a movie in Japan in 2002, though I haven’t seen it.  In the novel a young woman who works at a bento factory kills her abusive husband and then enlists the help of her three female co-workers to get rid of the body.  I haven’t gotten very far yet, mostly because I had to put it aside to read Murakami.  It’s kind of bleak and dark, and having just finished Norwegian Wood, I don’t feel ready to go back to it yet.

And, I’m still muddling through The Lacuna...