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sufyazi's reviews
21 reviews
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
5.0
Sputnik Sweetheart, a metaphor that is so true in itself. Imagine our Earth's current outer atmosphere, where hundreds of now-out-of-use satellites, all religiously orbiting their own orbits, alone and cold, lonely and bitter, looking down on Earth, wanting to fall, but falling is only possible when it is time to die. This is one of the essences of this poetic novel by Murakami; the delving into the loneliness of human's soul. Of feeling lonely while having a company or feeling accompanied while being alone.
This is my second Murakami's book, the first one being Kafka On The Shore. And admittedly this is the first book of him which successfully plunged me into profound introspective mood for almost a week upon finishing it. Better than Kafka On The Shore, in my humble view, at least in terms of self-introspection. It kinda leaves a pothole in the paved roads in my heart, as if the book itself was a storm, taking hold of my perception of life and once it's passed, though everything is still the same, it is quite not. There lingers quite an aftertaste to it, like petrichor after rain or that minty sensation in the throat after downing a cough syrup.
Plot-wise, it is beautifully simple. It told a story about a woman who loves another woman, a man who loves the woman who loves another woman, and a woman who is loved by a woman but she herself can no longer love anyone else as she has lost her ability to love.
In short, this book is worth digesting after a breakup, or before making a move for a relationship. Or before sleep. Or whenever you feel like having a poignant pothole etched in your heart by a poetic storm.
This is my second Murakami's book, the first one being Kafka On The Shore. And admittedly this is the first book of him which successfully plunged me into profound introspective mood for almost a week upon finishing it. Better than Kafka On The Shore, in my humble view, at least in terms of self-introspection. It kinda leaves a pothole in the paved roads in my heart, as if the book itself was a storm, taking hold of my perception of life and once it's passed, though everything is still the same, it is quite not. There lingers quite an aftertaste to it, like petrichor after rain or that minty sensation in the throat after downing a cough syrup.
Plot-wise, it is beautifully simple. It told a story about a woman who loves another woman, a man who loves the woman who loves another woman, and a woman who is loved by a woman but she herself can no longer love anyone else as she has lost her ability to love.
In short, this book is worth digesting after a breakup, or before making a move for a relationship. Or before sleep. Or whenever you feel like having a poignant pothole etched in your heart by a poetic storm.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
4.0
A book honestly was read because I wanted to appreciate the writing prior to watching the film. And how thoroughly forced into a vividly imaginative ride I was.
I must say this book doesn't really amaze me, especially after I reached the ending. But I found myself longing for some sort of closure; the same feeling Pi felt when Peter Parker had left him without saying goodbyes, (though the most conceivable farewell gesture a tiger can do is just nothing. It is only a tiger)
I guess this is the thing that put the religious/theological introduction in the novel in context. That after having put us in an arduous journey with Pi, after the highly vivid images of Pi's suffering as a 277-day castaway, we found ourselves questioning everything we believed up till we reach the ending; the ending most people found very underwhelming and anti-climactic.
Which I think is a nice final touch by Martel to make us the readers choose either to take that leap of faith, and see Pi as a human stripped down to its bare carnal instinct to survive, or to stay inside our present belief system, and see everything from a kaleidoscopic alteration of Pi's painful memory.
Beautiful read (though languish) indeed.
I must say this book doesn't really amaze me, especially after I reached the ending. But I found myself longing for some sort of closure; the same feeling Pi felt when Peter Parker had left him without saying goodbyes, (though the most conceivable farewell gesture a tiger can do is just nothing. It is only a tiger)
I guess this is the thing that put the religious/theological introduction in the novel in context. That after having put us in an arduous journey with Pi, after the highly vivid images of Pi's suffering as a 277-day castaway, we found ourselves questioning everything we believed up till we reach the ending; the ending most people found very underwhelming and anti-climactic.
Which I think is a nice final touch by Martel to make us the readers choose either to take that leap of faith, and see Pi as a human stripped down to its bare carnal instinct to survive, or to stay inside our present belief system, and see everything from a kaleidoscopic alteration of Pi's painful memory.
Beautiful read (though languish) indeed.
There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
4.0
Literally took me a year to finish this book, but not because it’s that boring to me, but because of my busy life as a doctoral student. This book is actually pretty mild however, in a slice-of-life-anime kind of way. The chapters were divided into separated stories, of the different jobs the protagonist ended up doing as short term gigs, in a bid to relieve herself off her burnout at her previous permanent job as a social service worker.
As a struggling, broke doctoral student who has lost all funding on my last year of study due to budget run-out and the pandemic, I could personally relate to the general sense of feeling all of the ‘jobs’ the protagonist accepted in every chapter of this novel — that feeling of ‘okay I can tolerate this short-term, contractual stint so I could earn money, but I don’t feel like I belong here’. The protagonist metaphorically hovered, from job to job, some of which were actually strange, before a revelation dawned on her on the last job (final chapter - no spoiler).
Overall, I give this book a 3 because, either its a weak translation job, or it’s really the straightforward prose of the original Japanese author, the words don’t pull me enough to keep reading, although the stories were intriguing enough to keep me from ditching this book halfway. A key to a successful slice-of-life storytelling format is comedy, and I think her writing lacks this, though I don’t know if I would love this book more if it’s more comedic than it is now. One word, this novel is pensive, and one thing I appreciate is how calm and at peace I feel whenever I sit down and read it. It’s like being in bite-sized zen sessions, almost.
As a struggling, broke doctoral student who has lost all funding on my last year of study due to budget run-out and the pandemic, I could personally relate to the general sense of feeling all of the ‘jobs’ the protagonist accepted in every chapter of this novel — that feeling of ‘okay I can tolerate this short-term, contractual stint so I could earn money, but I don’t feel like I belong here’. The protagonist metaphorically hovered, from job to job, some of which were actually strange, before a revelation dawned on her on the last job (final chapter - no spoiler).
Overall, I give this book a 3 because, either its a weak translation job, or it’s really the straightforward prose of the original Japanese author, the words don’t pull me enough to keep reading, although the stories were intriguing enough to keep me from ditching this book halfway. A key to a successful slice-of-life storytelling format is comedy, and I think her writing lacks this, though I don’t know if I would love this book more if it’s more comedic than it is now. One word, this novel is pensive, and one thing I appreciate is how calm and at peace I feel whenever I sit down and read it. It’s like being in bite-sized zen sessions, almost.