Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

I am not even going to blame it on age but my fifteen hours at Disneyland last week (a perfect day in every way) is still affecting me this weekend. However, there are little signs here and there that I had some sort of allergic reaction to something. My lips peeling off my face is one sign. It always takes me so long to get whatever the offender is out of my system.

Right Now:

I’m cautiously optimistic that the day will be a good one. Coffee, helps in that regard.

This Week:

Fun stuff this week. My division’s work party is on Monday. I need to find a White Elephant gift for that. My union’s Christmas party is on Wednesday and that’s always fun and the university’s party is coming up as well but I am not sure I’ll be going to that one because it’s after hours and after waking at 4 a.m., let’s face it, staying after hours probably won’t happen.

Reading:

I started Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Watching:

Have you seen The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix? It has Kurt Russell in it and it’s so much fun. Do yourself a favor and catch it if you can.

New Things I’ve Tried:

I like to cook but when I can find high quality, ready-made items, I tend to go that route and it just makes it easier for everyone. My latest fave is Trader Joe’s Bolognese jarred sauce, not the one in the freezer section. It’s so good and tastes like I made it from scratch.

Grateful for:

The rain. Guys, we had solid rain for two days. It’s not good for the burned landscape because any amount of water almost always causes mudslides but we are still in a drought too. I wish we did a better job of capturing the water though. So much of it runs off.

My question for you, do you know what book you will end the year with? I am bouncing all over the place on this one.

Killing Commendatore
By Haruki Murakami
Knopf, 9780525520047, October 2018, 704pp.

The Short of It:

In my opinion, this is one of his most linear works and yet it possesses all of the key elements that Murakami fans have come to expect from his work.

The Rest of It:

I spent a lot of time reading this one. Not because it was long and dense, but because each and every sentence begged to be read again. Much of it was beautifully written, but some of it was puzzling which is why I love Murakami so much. He takes an idea and just goes with it.

In this story, an artist, recently separated from his wife, heads to a remote, hilltop home to do what he does best, paint. But in this house he finds a painting that basically, changes his life. The painting titled, Killing Commendatore, is a violent depiction of what is basically an assassination. An “idea” takes the shape of a very small man. There is a deep pit in the forest which will remind readers of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. There’s a young girl, a faceless guy, a menacing man who drives a Subaru, an impressionable aunt, and a very mysterious man who lives in a white mansion across the way.

If you ever felt intimidated by Murakami in the past, this is the book for you. I think there is a lot to relate to in this one. The overall theme of loneliness, isolation, what it means to be married and loved and generally, what can be found at the core of each human being and how that can shift depending on the circumstances.

I can see Murakami winning an award for this one. It seems to embody everything he’s ever written and yet remain so unique. I highly recommend it.

Source: Purchased
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