Waiting on Wednesday: 1Q84

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases.

I'm still a novice when it comes to Haruki Murakami, having only read four of his books and none of his most famous ones. However I was still excited to learn that an English translation of 1Q84 will be released later this year, as Murakami has quickly become one of my favourite authors. I don't know much about this book but that's the way Murakami wanted it so I'm going to stick to a blurb which explains the title of the novel.

Prior to the 1Q84's publication, Murakami stated that he would not reveal anything about the book, following criticism that leaks had diminished his previous books' novelty. 1Q84 was noted for heavy advance orders despite this secrecy. The title is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the year 1984. The letter Q and the Japanese number 9 (typically romanized as "kyū," but as "kew" on the book's Japanese cover) are homophones, which are often used in Japanese wordplay. This is a reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

This book originally was published in 2008 in Japanese, so the translation has been awhile in progress. Unlike in Japan where 1Q84 was released in three volumes, in North America the novel will be published by Knopf in a single volume, released on October 25th, 2011. The book will be approximately 1,000 pages, so it will definitely be enough Murakami to dig into for awhile!

Have you ever had to deal with a long wait for a book you're anticipating to come out in your language? What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

So Much For That by Lionel Shriver

"Her poor husband has misguidedly hoarded his pennies, when the only currency they spent that had ever counted was time."

When So Much for That by Lionel Shriver begins, Shep Knacker is packing his suitcase, preparing to tell his wife, Glynis he is leaving for The Afterlife, a retreat into a Third World country where his nest egg can last forever. Having sold his home repair business a decade earlier and having since been forced to work for the incompetent man who bought the company, Shep has been dreaming of his moment his whole life but Glynis keeps putting it off. Finally Shep decides he is going, with or without her. Unfortunately, plans fall apart when it turns out she has news of her own- she has cancer, and she needs his health insurance. At first, Shep believes that his health insurance will cover the cost of her treatment and he'll still have the money he spent his whole life saving, but he soon realizes that their policy will only cover a small portion of Glynis' bills and as nest egg evaporates Shep is forced to wonder, how much is a human life really worth?  

So Much For That was a book I really appreciated while not necessarily enjoying. What I mean by that is, Shriver's writing is great, but the book was often so depressing I almost dreaded picking it up because it would mean another turn of events for the worse. I do feel it has an important story to tell when it comes to the current American system of health care, and even though I am fortunate to live in a country with socialized health care it definitely provided a good reminder of why I am so grateful we have that system in place. I actually found the main storyline of Shep's dying wife less bleak than some of the other medical subplots, in particular a botched surgery which has terrible consequences and whose gruesome imagery I had a very hard time getting out of my mind.

Shriver is clearly a very talented writer, how else would she be able to depress me so thoroughly? At times I even found myself skipping ahead and hoping that if I knew what happened, I would be less depressed when it did, a method that only had limited success. Still, I guess I am glutton for punishment because although I will not be rereading So Much For That I had previously purchased an earlier novel of hers, The Post-Birthday World, and I plan to read it some day when I need a reminder that the world really isn't a bright and sunny place.

That said, there were a few portions of So Much For That which seemed to be there more to make a political statement about health care than to actually add to the story as a whole. Specifically, some of the discussions between Shep and his best friend Jackson, as well as Jackson's constant ranting about pretty much everything, tended to lose my interest and seemed more like a lecture than a novel. It also took me almost a hundred pages to get involved in the book, and if I was one of those people with a rule about giving up after fifty pages I would have missed out on a memorable book. Overall, if you are willing to trudge through some of the slower portions of the book, So Much For That will leave you with important and powerfully worded message.

Release Date: March 1st, 2010
Pages: 448
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Source:

This review was a part of TLC Book Tours. Click here to read what other tour hosts thought. For the purpose of this review I was provided with a copy of the book which did not require a positive review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own.

Die for Me by Amy Plum

Die for Me by Amy Plum is the story of Kate, a sixteen-year-old American girl who moves to Paris with her older sister to live with their grandparents, following the death of their parents. Kate is a recluse, still dealing with the grief she feels and spending most of her time reading or visiting museums, when she first meets Vincent, a handsome and mysterious man. As she gets to know Vincent she learns he is not who he appears to be at all, but a Revenant, an immortal being who sacrifices themselves in order to save lives. Now that Kate knows who the Revenants are, is she willing to put her heart, and possibly her life, at risk for a boy that will keep dying?

I liked the concept of setting the novel in France, but initially I didn't see the point. There's a few references to Kate being good at the language and I guess "Vincent" qualifies as a French name, but at first there was nothing special about the book that indicated it had to be set in France. However, when the background of the characters is introduced to include various European wars and events it started make sense and over time the setting began to feel more believable.

My biggest problem with Die to Me was the romance aspect of the novel- and you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now, but apparently not. I just want to know why are girls in paranormal novels always falling for these kind of guys- as Kate says, reflecting on her attraction to Vincent:

"I realized that whatever it was about him that made him seem a bit cold, almost dangerous, actually heightened my interest instead of scaring me off."

And of course, the main female character is always a pretty, but insecure, girl who can't believe the guy would ever want her:

"My heart caught in my throat as I wondered (not for the first time) why this too-gorgeous-to-be-true guy had any interest whatsoever in plain old... okay, maybe slightly pretty, but by no means beautiful on his level...me"

Kate's insecurity and awkwardness is unsurprising, but Vincent seems even more eerily familiar to me. Here are some examples:

• Immortal paranormal being much older than Kate but looks to be the same age
• Lives with "family" to which he is not related but who are other similar beings
• Does not sleep, but prefers to watch Kate outside her window without her knowing to make sure she is okay
• Has never felt love since he became immortal and does the unacceptable thing by becoming attached to a human who learns the secret of who he really is

If you thought Edward Cullen, you're not alone. That said, if you loved Twilight, which I didn't, then Die for Me could be very well be your next favourite book. There are undeniable similarities which may not bother readers who loved Twilight, including a few chapters which are eerily reminiscent of New Moon.

Personally, I can put up with predictability on occasion when there is otherwise really good writing or tension in the story. Unfortunately, when Plum tries to be descriptive I didn't quite understand what she was going for. At one point, Kate describes Vincent as smelling "like oak and grass and wood fires. He smelled like memories. Like years and years of memories." when it's unclear why wood fires smell like years and years of memories. I just about gave up on the book immediately after reading this sentence:

"Georgia treats friends like outfits, happily trading one for another when it's convenient- not in a mean way, but she just doesn't get too attached."

I really think that it is impossible to "treat friends like outfits" not in a mean way, and overall the statement just felt really ridiculous and yet another example of the melodrama that plagues Die for Me. In terms of the storyline, the book just didn't work for me and I don't think it really adds anything new to the genre of paranormal romance. Overall, Die for Me enticed my interest with the idea of the Revenants, but everything else about the book was predictable and unoriginal- this is one trilogy I will not be continuing.

Release Date: May 5th, 2011
Pages: 352
Overall: 1/5
Source: Netgalley
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What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Having loved my first three experiences with Haruki Murakami's fiction, I decided to try his memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running on audiobook. The book combines the story of what running means to Murakami with various metaphors about the body, life and writing. He discusses everything from his training, to the races, to the places he visited and had the opportunity to run, taking place all across the globe. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a sneak glance into the world of an extremely talented writer, but it is foremost about running. I read the book despite the fact that I am not at all a runner, and likely will never be, as my body is simply not built for it. That said, I think it is possible to relate some of the feelings Murakami has about running to other aspects of our lives, especially when it comes to his contemplations on growing older and accepting our bodies. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running deals with Murakami's journey as an author, including how he prepares for speeches (always in English, not Japanese where he feels there are too many words to possibly narrow it down for a talk) and a discussion of the necessary components needed to be a writer, specifically, talent, focus and endurance. Murakami draws some interesting parallels between writing and running, both of which are solo activities, and I loved the opportunity to get some insight into a man I easily consider a genius. 

There are significant portions of the memoir which will have far more appeal to readers who also run, as he goes into extensive detail on his preparation for marathons and triathlons. There is also a lot of numbers about how many miles he runs a day and other values such as the time it took him to complete a marathon which would only have meaning to those familiar with long distance running. While I did enjoy listening to the memoir, I did not think it had quite the strength of writing that his fiction offers and that is certainly where his talent lies. The narrator of the audiobook version, Ray Porter, had a soothing voice well suited to the topic of the book and I found him pleasant to listen to.

Overall, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a short, quiet but enjoyable book that would likely appeal most to runners, however there are significant portions of the memoir which discuss writing and aging as well as offering insight into the mind of Murakami. Also, it's impossible to read this book and not feel like a lazy bum in comparison.

Translated By: Philip Gabriel 
Release Date: January 28th, 2008 (in English)
Length: 4 hours 23 minutes (180 pages)
Overall: 3.5/5
Source: Audiobook
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In My Mailbox (March 6th-12th 2011)

My mailbox wasn't too busy this week, but I didn't get that much reading done either, so it was definitely a good thing. I'm really excited about the books I did get though.

{For Review}

The Raising by Laura (TLC Tours)
Elegy for April by Benjamin Black (Picador)
On the Outside Looking Indian by Rupinder Gill (Two Copies) (Random House Canada)

I have already read The Raising, which was awesome and will have a review coming up soon. My copy arrived pretty damaged, mostly on the side and back although sorta on the cover too although you can't really tell after I flattened it but it's torn so I'll probably buy a new copy at some point. Elegy for April is the 3rd book in the Quirke Series, I just got #1, Christine Falls, last week so this was good timing, even though I need to buy #2 at some point.  

On the Outside Looking Indian not only has an adorable awesome cover, complete with metallic writing and gloss on the sunglasses, but I think the back cover blurbs are hilarious and I'm really excited to see what the inside of the book offers. Here's a glimpse of it for those who's interest I've peaked:

You can click to enlarge the text and read it better. I thought it was a really fun way to do it. Also, isn't that little Indian girl on the jacket adorable?

{Bought}

More Than It Hurts You by Darin Strauss

Strauss' memoir, Half a Life, has been getting rave reviews from everyone I know. It was a bit pricey so I decided to try out his fiction first with a gift card I had. I also have a couple more books arriving but they got shipped separately. And I bought a game of Scrabble Flash, because I'm a nerd like that and it seemed like a fun way to get some wordy fun in without a computer or a partner. 

Anyway that's it for my mailbox this week, how was yours?