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The Lighthouse Road
By Peter Geye
(Unbridled Books, Hardcover, 9781609530846, October 2012, 293pp.)

The Short of It:

Geye has hit it out of the park again.

The Rest of It:

The story begins in the late 1890’s at a Minnesota logging camp. Thea Eide, an immigrant from Norway lands herself a position as a cook and after being raped by a visitor of the camp, finds herself pregnant with few prospects for raising the child. Hosea Grimm, who runs the apothecary and functions as the village doctor, gives her a place to stay and promises to help her with the child. Rebekah Grimm, also “saved” by Hosea some years before, becomes attached to Thea and later to her son, Odd Einar.

Twenty years later, Odd is a young craftsman making his living building fine fishing vessels. Having known Rebekah all of his life, the two share an unusual bond; one that takes a romantic turn which forces them to consider life outside of the village. What begins as an adventure, quickly settles into worry for Rebekah as she begins to doubt the decisions she’s made.

A couple of years ago I read Safe from the Sea and was amazed, overwhelmed and touched by its beauty. Geye’s sense of place was remarkable and the ease with which he told the story, stayed with me for a very long time.

In his new book, Geye’s sense of place is still present as he takes us back and forth through time, weaving in and out of the narrative as nimbly as if he’s been doing it all his life. These characters struggle with place in the form of setting but also within themselves. Rebekah’s previous life shapes who she is and although she left her previous life behind, not all was left behind.

Hosea Grimm’s goodness is marked by something a bit darker and he too is not all that he appears to be. These characters are flawed by previous experiences or lack thereof and it makes for wonderful reading. This is a quiet, reflective type of read but it has some surprises too. It’s the type of book that you settle in with after a long day at work. That’s how I enjoyed it anyway!

If you haven’t read any of his books, you really must. Simple stories, well told with beautiful writing. I’ve been a fan since Safe from the Sea and he did not disappoint with this one.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Net Galley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Norwegian Wood
By Haruki Murakami
(Vintage, Paperback, 9780375704024, September 2000, 304pp.)

The Short of It:

Norwegian Wood is arguably THE book that put Murakami on the map, yet its transparency and predictability frustrated me.

The Rest of It:

Murakami is known for his odd, quirky characters and his affinity for talking cats, but Norwegian Wood is a departure from that. Yes, the characters are quirky but probably the least quirky I’ve encountered thus far and I’ve read eight of his books in the past year and a half.

Essentially, the book functions as a love story. At its center is Toru Watanabe. He’s an average guy and a decent student. While at college, he befriends Kizuki and Naoko who happen to be dating but the two of them are not complete without the addition of Toru’s friendship. All three of them acknowledge this at some point in their relationship, yet when Kizuki dies tragically, Naoko and Toru remain friends, but their friendship is challenged by Naoko’s inability to function without Kizuki. This forces her to spend some time away, recuperating from her sadness.

While away, Toru goes about his life as he normally would trying to figure out where he stands with Naoko and then in walks Midori. Midori has her own issues and although the two take comfort in each other’s company, they can’t seem to move past the Toru/Naoko connection. What starts off as an innocent friendship turns into something else, but how far can it go when your heart also loves another?

My reaction to the book may have been due to the translation but the writing was simplistic to me. Overly so, and that’s not something I expect while reading a Murakami novel. The dialogue was stilted and almost seemed forced in some places. At first, I enjoyed the slowness of it, but when the dialogue continued this way, I began to get frustrated with it. It really played out as a “He Said, She Said” and its predictability in both plot and pattern nearly put me to sleep at one point. But, there are telltale signs of Murakami’s familiar style too which is probably why I continued reading. His characters are always so interesting even if what they had to say wasn’t.

However, there was a “creep” factor to this novel that I’ve not experienced with any of Murakami’s other books. The “relations” between some of the characters set my teeth on edge. Many have said this is one of Murakami’s more erotic novels but I didn’t find it to be overly erotic or graphic. However, I did feel uncomfortable numerous times while reading it. The conversations about sex just didn’t seem realistic me. You wouldn’t walk up to a friend and say, “Hey, it would be nice to see your penis just to see how impressive it is. Don’t you think?” Not a line from the book but it’s a good example of what I am talking about. Polite and smutty all at the same time.

Overall, I enjoyed the musical references and listened to Norwegian Wood a few times while reading but the story was very slow and the high creep factor turned me off. Not one of my favorites, but I suspect that readers who do not appreciate the surreal quality of his other novels, might prefer the straight-forwardness of this one.

Note from Ti: Haven’t seen the movie yet but I’m curious enough to check it out.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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