Book #12-16

Ok So I haven't updated the books that I've read recently on here. Unfortunately time constraints and the fact that life gets in the way has keep me from discussing these and will keep me from discussing these. However, here are the books I have not posted, feel free to send me any comments and I'll be happy to talk about them.


This is a great collection of short stories. A glimpse into where Bukowski started the stories, even the ones that fail, can be haunting and surreal.
From Library Journal
In her splendid new work, Erdrich retrieves characters from her first novel, Love Medicine , to depict the escalating conflict between two Chippewa families, a conflict begun when hapless Eli Kashpawwho has passionately pursued the fiery, elemental Fleur Pillageris made to betray her with young Sophie Morrissey through the magic of the vengeful Pauline. That simple summary belies the richness and complexity of the tale, told in turn to Fleur's estranged daughter by her "grandfather," the wily Nanapush, and by Pauline, a woman of mixed blood and mixed beliefs soon to become the obsessive Sister Leopolda. As the community is eroded from withoutby white man's venalityand from within, even Fleur must realize that "power goes under and gutters out." Not so for Erdrich, whose prose is as sharp, glittering, and to the point as cut glass. Highly recommended
Haruki Murakami is a master of subtly disturbing prose. Mundane events throb with menace, while the bizarre is accepted without comment. Meaning always seems to be just out of reach, for the reader as well as for the characters, yet one is drawn inexorably into a mystery that may have no solution. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is an extended meditation on themes that appear throughout Murakami's earlier work. The tropes of popular culture, movies, music, detective stories, combine to create a work that explores both the surface and the hidden depths of Japanese society at the end of the 20th century. Talk about a surreal novel, this one takes the cake. I'm still perplexed about it.
"Brilliant and poignant...By his compassion, clarity of insight and crystal-bright prose, he makes Rabbit's sorrow his and our own."
--The Washington Post
Ok, now I thought the book was just OK. I've seen it considered a masterpiece. It was good, a bit slow for my taste but worth reading even if just for you to draw your own conclusion that it may be overrated.
As an ardent fan of Bukowski and Henry Chinaski, this by far is my favorite book by Buk. If you haven't read any Bukowski but always wanted to, this is perhaps a great place to start. It's a series of short stories that give you a taste for Buk's writing. You'll either love him or hate him. There's no in between. But if you love this book, then you can look forward to many other fictional pieces by Buk that will delight you. Either that or after about three chapters you will want to go out and get drunk, or get laid! Enjoy!

So there you have it. Let me know your thoughts.