An Artist of the Floating World – Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo, don’t let me down (you have found her, now go and get her)! Seriously, I picked this book from the Blackheath book sale because it was meant to be one of his best novels, and I was really quite disappointed.

While it is interesting reading about an artist who was “on the wrong side” during WWII and his justification for his actions, I find the prose and its tones to be, quite frankly, way too bland and pastel-like. On top of that, I’ve always found artists who don’t engage in politics because they are preoccupied with the “floating world” (or at least they are telling themselves that) to be the antinomy of a true artist.

Maybe, had I not had high expectations from this book, I would have enjoyed it more – but I hold Ishiguro to a (much) higher standard than this…

The Refugees – Viet Thanh Nguyen

The very last of the books one of my well-read colleagues gave me before changing jobs. Honestly, I hadn’t heard of Nguyen until then (and he’s a Pulitzer winner, which goes to show how much I know about literature probably!) – my bad…

I’m still not the biggest fan of short stories, but this book is one of the exceptions. What I particularly liked is that it mostly talks about South Vietnamese who were never happy with the actions of Ho Chi Minh, Giap and the Viet Cong.

Obviously, some of the stories are better than others. The meeting of the two half-sisters separated by Oceans, continents and culture is a bit bland, but the story of the old demented professor who confuses his wife and his past lover is pure gold, as is the opening one about the refugee and the gay couple in San Francisco.

At this point, too bad I missed Nguyen’s talk at Shakespeare and Co when I was in Paris last week!

White Tears – Hari Kunzru

A random advanced proof copy that my mom managed to find at the Blackheath Amnesty International book sale. Go mum!

Long chunks of this Kunzru novel seemed to be written by, erm, Paul Auster. Seriously, the feeling of alienation was very much the same. Despite the mixed reviews it seems to be receiving, I quite enjoyed White Tears, probably because it deals with white kids who try to adopt black culture with, in their own way, profound respect and self-criticism.

But in all honesty the gory end is just a bit much, and I could have done without the Charlie Shaw takeover – just a bit too (dark) magical for me…

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running – Haruki Murakami

A thoughtful gift received by one of the nicest visitors we’ve ever had in London. This book is one of the few non-fiction works that I’ve read over the last few years and it was a nice departure from my standard readings.

Short and straight to the point, this is an easy read (maybe too easy, as it often feels like articles from Runners’ World – and I believe one of the chapters was actually that!) but extremely interesting, although in many ways for the wrong reasons: I am often afraid of turning obsessive with my running (I mean, I have all my runs for the past 5 years recorded on a spreadsheet…) and some of the things Murakami talks about act as clear warning signs.

He often talks about his weight (which I find bizarre), about his problems training when he has a lot of work or when he is travelling (just chill!), about his determined attempts to very marginally improve his technique, about his commitment not to ever walk in a marathon (I walked six miles in my only marathon, and finished with a time that was faster than most of his) etc. So yes, I am really glad I’ve read this book, which I think should very much serve as a cautionary tale: have fun running, but don’t take it (and yourself, unless you’re Mo Farah) too seriously! 

The English Patient – Michael Ondaatje

A book that I had on my “maybe” list for years, chiefly because I thought it would have been very faithful to the movie. Turns out, the plot is way more intricate (as is often the case) as is the development of the narration.

But did I like the book better than the movie? Not really – while the character of Kip, the Indian sapper, is so much more interesting and developed than in the film, everyone else seems to talk simply too poetically for me (or maybe I’m just heartless). I had probably read In the Skin of a Lion at a much different point in my life, but I found that novel to be much more interesting of its successor (possibly also because it dealt with a Canadian past I was extremely fascinated by). 

It is clearly a good and interesting book, but, even in the confusion of an Italian villa half-destroyed by the Second World War, it’s all a bit too idyllic.Less poetry, more crude prose, and the book would have been worthy of a 9-Oscar movie. 

The Comedians – Graham Greene

I bonded with the former Registrar at LSE over our common love for literature – although, honestly, I was mostly listening to his suggestions rather than offering much of my own (with the exception of some tips on some Italian novels, at best). I remember telling him that I wished I could teach the Vietnam War by starting with a discussion of The Quiet American, and him saying that his favourite Graham Greene book was actually The Comedians. I can see where he was coming from (although this is not my favourite Greene novel – that’d probably be Our Man in Havana, at least at the time of writing).

In terms of white men trying to find their place in Latin America, I liked The Comedians a lot better than The Honorary Consul, and that’s probably because Haiti to me is much more exotic than Argentina and Paraguay. Also, the Live and Let Die-vibe of the book is truly excellent, as is the self-criticism of Mr Brown (who really reminded me of Rick in Casablanca). I just can’t understand how they managed to make an awful movie out of this book…

Now I think I’ll have to stop reading books by Greene, chiefly because I’ve read a few too many over the last couple of years and I am afraid I might be overdoing (my relationship with Ian McEwan serves as a serious warning here).

Oh, and whoever designed the back-cover of my Penguin edition is an absolute ass committed to spoiling the plot – bravo!