I finished reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami about a week ago. I’m still not sure what to say about it. Throughout my entire read I felt this massive sense of deja vu; a feeling which has lingered all week. Upon entering my brain this novel affected me like nothing I’ve read before. So I hope to figure out what I want to say about this and come back to it. In the meantime, Vicky Chow posted some excellent piano pieces on SoundCloud to accompany the novel. Lovely, just lovely. Here is just one – hop on over to SoundCloud for more.
I’ll try to return to Murakami when I can find the right words.
Saturday I picked up The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington; it’s been on my shelf for over two years now. Moved with me cross-country and still was sitting unread. I decided I needed something very different from the Murakami. The Grossbarts did not disappoint. Not that I love this novel; I really, really, really don’t love this novel. I appreciate the story and the weird old-fashioned but anachronistic writing, but since there isn’t one single likeable character–I can’t really enjoy the read. I have about 50 pages to go, sad since I’ll have about an hour at the hairdresser in which I will have time to read. (I know, a solid hour all at once! Crazy.) But I’ll be done way too quickly for this to be the novel I bring with me.
The tale of the Grossbart brothers is like a weirder Grimm’s fairy tale. Violent and full of piss and vinegar. Hegel and Manfried Grossbart are twins who think they’ve been “done wrong” by family and strangers alike. They try to fight their way to a better life in “Gyptland.” I wonder if they make it?