'1Q84' by Haruki Murakami

1Q84, Haruki Murakami (3.5)

Reading a 1,000-page book always makes me question ‘did there need to be that many words?’. In the case of ‘1Q84’, I believe most of the words were needed, though there were many passages of banal every day tasks (i.e. making dinner, cleaning up, etc.) that were oddly long and descriptive.  While reading I found these passages somewhat irritating, but once complete I’m still trying to decide if Murakami included them to balance the fantastical elements of the story. Speaking of which, the story starts in Japan in 1984 with a young woman in a taxi.  She is on an elevated highway stuck in traffic.  Impatient to make her appointment, the driver suggests she take an unknown set of stairs down to the subway.  She does this and it is the beginning of an adventure that takes her to what is possibly a subtly different version of her current world.  The story is told alternating from her point of view and a young man’s. I won’t say more, as I think the thrill of this story is the unfolding drama and many surprises. Many people will hesitate to read a book of this length, but the drama made it go much faster than I expected.  It’s a mixture of a love story, mystery, and fantasy with a dash of suspense, something for everyone!

'When She Woke' by Hillary Jordan

When She Woke, Hillary Jordan (4)

This novel is a modern re-telling of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ set in the relatively near future.  The interesting twist is that, due to prison overcrowding, people who have committed crimes are imprisoned in solitary for a short period and then released after being ‘chromed’, a process by which their skin color is changed to reflect their crime (i.e. red for murder, yellow for stealing).  This introduces the aspect of social judgment continuously during your sentence.  On a side note, this idea came to her from a relative who said ‘go ahead and legalize drugs, just make them turn your skin blue’. The book begins with the main character, Hannah, waking in her prison cell and her newly chromed red skin.  Throughout the story you find that she had an adulterous affair and subsequent abortion, which is now a murder offense.  The story thoughtfully shows her journey as she leaves prison and tries to survive.  Her family struggles with her silence (she never told who the father/adulterer was, as he was famous and she truly didn’t want to see his life ruined too).  She battles with being ostracized from both daily encounters with ordinary people and malicious groups organized to terrorize the Chromes.  While the idea of chroming seems expeditious, this story reveals the potential pitfalls of such a system and provokes a worthwhile discussion.

'Shatter Me' by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi (3)

This is a young adult novel somewhat in ‘The Hunger Games’ genre (young girl in a dystopian future fighting the Establishment).  I liked the beginning of this book – the main character, Juliette, has been in isolation in an asylum for 264 days. She seems to have been put there because her touch literally ignites anyone who comes in contact with her and she has apparently done something very bad.  While not being insane to begin with, after 264 days of isolation proceeded by a lifetime of being untouchable, she is now holding on to her sanity with a very thin thread.  Her coping mechanisms and inner voice are very interesting.  My biggest disappointment with this book is probably the same reason it is written for tween girls – the love interest (a young man she knew in grade school brought into share her cell) is too typical. One of the things that made the love story in ‘The Hunger Games’ so fresh was the complexity of it.  Except for the initial ‘is he bad or good’, the concept of Adam and his feelings for Juliette are both flat and predictable. I think this will resonate with ‘Twilights’ fans – lots of hungry looks and relatively chaste embraces (who can touch her?).  The ending was quite disappointing as it became very X-Men like and never actually finished, obviously setting up for books 2 and 3. I’m giving this a ‘3’ for it’s unique concept and interesting writing for the first 50%. 

'The Watchers', Jon Steele

The Watchers, Jon Steele (3.5)

I picked this book for two reasons: it was recommended based on my appreciation for Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’; and it is set in Switzerland, our up-coming vacation destination.  While it is long (574 pages), it was a fast-paced read.  It was not as broad in scope as ‘The Stand’, but it had a similar good vs. evil component at its center.  I liked that the story starts realistically and establishes credibility with the characters before it inches towards the fantastic.  Oddly that made it more believable for me.  I don’t want to say more about the plot, as I feel the reveals are more powerful if you do not expect them.  I will say that the story benefits from the complexity of the characters.  You are not entirely sure who is bad or good, though you guess some may live in the supernatural realm. I particularly liked one of the main characters, Marc Rochat, the Quasimodo-like caretaker of the Lausanne Cathedral’s bell tower.  He is a sweet, magical man with a refreshing innocence.  The rigidity of the Swiss was possibly over emphasized, though I imagine that is based on the author’s experiences as he is now living in Switzerland. His descriptions of the details of the Cathedral are amazing - not surprising as the acknowledgment section mentions that he wrote the first draft in the belfry loge of the Lausanne Cathedral.

'State of Wonder' by Ann Patchett

State of Wonder, Ann Patchett (4)

This story reminded me of a slightly lighter and more suspenseful version of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ and it’s other homage: ‘Apocalypse Now’.  It has the younger protagonist going into the jungle to find the missing mentor who may have gone crazy, gone ‘native’, or just gone dark to avoid society.  In this more modern tale, the mentor is a doctor who has spent years in the jungle researching a possible drug to extend a woman’s fertility, possibly into her 70’s (yes, yikes, how unpleasant does that sound??).  When the drug company sends a researcher to the jungle to determine her progress and she sends a cryptic note back that he has died of a fever, they send a second researcher, a doctor who was her student years ago. I liked that this story had interesting characters, several mysteries and enough drama to keep the pages turning.  It’s always a great pleasure when a writer with talent for words (as Ms. Patchett showed with ‘Bel Canto’) can also write a really interesting story.

'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (3.5)

After reading ‘Animal Dreams’ by Barbara Kingsolver many of my friends insisted I read this book, as it was her most famous. The basic story is of a Baptist minister who takes his wife and four daughters to the Congo in the 60’s in order to ‘save’ the natives by introducing them to Jesus.  During this time, the Congolese are trying to become independent from Belgium, though (as we know now) the US interferes and placed their own puppet as leader.  While I appreciate the scope and depth of this book as it relates to the characters, the culture of Africa and the political history of the Congo, I think I enjoyed ‘Animal Dreams’ more.  They both had generally depressing themes, but ‘Animal Dreams’ managed to surround the sadness with positive notes.  ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ tried to honor the beauty and uniqueness of the African people, but somehow that only made the actions of the Preacher and political realities more horrific.  I also found the ‘bad’ characters very one-dimensional.  There was virtually nothing to like about or empathize with them. The protagonists were much more fleshed out, all fighting their positive features against the negative.  Once I had finished this book, I definitely appreciated it, though found it very sad. I don’t think all books need to be positive, but I found that I missed the joy of the African people that could have been more prevalent. It seemed to be squelched by this depressing family.