Richa Reads

This was my first Murakami, so can't do any parallel comparisons. This book is a collection of 7 stories and they all center around the loneliness of the male characters. The characters in most stories are very well developed. The title gives away the linking theme, but that’s too simplistic. The tones are somewhat unemotional but are totally beguiling nonetheless. As you would expect they are beautifully written, containing lines that had me wondering to ponder over the pure truth of the statements. Murakami also introduced me to people who not only live in a very different culture but who also seem slightly off. It’s unsettling…Sometimes I can reconcile myself to who they are and why they do what they do, but mostly I struggle to relate to them. These stories spoke to me of introspection and addiction and of a yearning for relationships lost. I don’t think I’ve worked out the true underlying message in any of these tales yet. Filed in my head as : To be read again.  My f...

What attracted me to this story is that it is about human migration and how it impacts them. I have always been keen to know about how people adapt to displacement. To my mind, there are usually two kinds of behavior associated with migration. The first kind adapts to the new culture with open arms and is likely to move ahead. The second kind gets further seeped in their own culture in a new land. It's almost like if they change their ways, they are being disloyal to their roots. The question is, why do we choose what we choose? In the book, both these roles are beautifully filled in by the two main characters, Saeed and Nadia. In the story Saeed and Nadia, though not said as much, move from Syria to Greece to London to the USA. In the book, the comparison between Nadia and Saeed to migration is very well played out. When displaced, Saeed prays more, spends more time with his kind. It seems like the farther he moved away from the city of his birth through space and time, the ...

I must say my first and foremost motivation to read the book was to read Booker’s prize book by a Nobel Laureate, that’s only 220 pages. However, all plans fell flat, as the book will probably stick with me for long and not necessarily in a feel-good way. First things first: This is a very grown-up book, so pick it up only if you are ready for a grown-up conversation. But, at the same time, it isn't a hopeless one – it expresses confusion, anger, and sometimes despair, but also a certain sense of searching that at least imagines a different future.  The word Disgrace is what struck me with nearly every page. Coetzee’s writing is like that. Tight. There’s no escaping what he wants you to see. It’s not outrageously blatant, but it’s none too subtle either. Main character Lurie, has a sharp intelligence, but too little empathy.    My favorite passage from the book that describes him:  At 52, twice divorced, David is solitary, resigned, erudite and sarcastic. He...