confused but approving

[freckles_and_doubt]

Well. That was ... lateral. Have just finished Kafka on the Shore, and have to confess myself a somewhat bewildered Murakami fan. He nearly lost me around the disembowelling cats bit, which I still think was a bit gratuitous, but I got over it. I can't actually work out how much of the off-the-wall surreality is Murakami, and how much of it is simply inscrutable orientalism - I am eternally fascinated by the extent to which Eastern assumptions about narrative are madly, madly different to Western. Have been trying to find the right word to describe his storytelling. Occlusive? oblique? also adumbrated, implicit, abstruse, recondite and elisive. Anyway. Colour me scouring Cape Town for more of his writing.

Positive vibes on the book-revision front. Nicest Ex-Supervisor in the World came round yesterday to collect the revised Carter chapter in order to check it for hopeless incoherence. She seems to think that the airy wave of the hand with which I am dismissing semiotic narrative criticism and all its horrible ilk, is legit. Am currently struggling with how to implement the changes required in the Thurber discussion, since currently reading through the chapter is causing me to wail "but I do that already!" at intervals,in response to the examiner and editor suggestions. Woe. But the acquisitions editor approves the Ursula Vernon cover, yay!

Cape Town continues hot. Sigh.

Comments

Hardboiled Murakami

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

Ha! Another one bites the Murakami. I wouldn't blame his style on inscrutable orientalism or other such sweeping notions, since he's well-travelled and - like his characters - thoroughly steeped in Western culture. According to this he has translated F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver and Truman Capote into Japanese, so probably knows what he's doing with a story-as-we-know-it.

His characters seem curiously grounded and mundane to me, which is a good thing when the going gets weird. In fact, I suspect that his main character is basically himself.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, which is practically Sci-Fi, are recommended by moi.

"Norwegian Wood" is also supposed to be good, but I haven't read it yet.

Um?

[(Anonymous)]

"Occlusive? oblique? also adumbrated, implicit, abstruse, recondite and elisive" Three of those I know. I am writing them down and shall look them up in the trusty COD at home....

wolverine_nun

small world

[(Anonymous)]

Halfway across the world, and we're both listening to the exact same music... Makes it seem not so far away after all.

Love, Dayle

[(Anonymous)]

so you invented a word by occident... (ducks)