2:46 : Aftershocks : Stories from the Japan Earthquake by Various

A quick rundown… Short vignettes from those affected by 2011′s Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown.

Strengths: The raw emotion.

Weaknesses: I would have liked to hear more, but I understand this was a difficult time.

Why I read it: I love Japan and its people.

Pages: 86 (ebook)

Published: 2009

Publisher: Quakebook

Setting: Japan

Rating: N/A

If you liked this, try: after the quake by Haruki Murakami

The story of this book is amazing: a group of people united through Twitter to create a book about the terrible earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan early this year – all in a week. The number of people involved is amazing too: Yoko Ono, journalists from around the world, the people of Japan and others from around the world. Not everyone had a direct link with Japan, but they all cared and worried about the thousands affected. Simply, this book is an example of the caring side of the human spirit.

Why did I read this? I am a Japan-ophile myself, having visited the country on a prolonged visit and fallen in love with the people, the scenery, the culture in addition to studying Japanese for six years. I found the people incredibly kind – from the gentleman who showed me back to my hotel when I was lost (which was the completely opposite way to where he was going) and the schoolchildren at Genbaku Domu in Hiroshima. I wanted to support the Japanese Red Cross (from which the cost of the book went to).

This book conveys so many emotions – from terror, loss and shock to the happiness of being reunited with family and then again to some strangely funny moments. It really does cover the entire spectrum. It’s also put together really well – one moment you’ll be wiping away tears and the next you’ll be smiling through them. It also goes to show that this quake affected many people and the great way people joined together to help others. (I was in Singapore post-quake and the generosity demonstrated by store, school children and the community was impressive).

This book is a must read for those who love Japan and want to help. Well done to those involved, you’ve got a great record of reactions to the quake.

Coventry by Helen Humphreys

In a nutshell… The story of two women the night Coventry was bombed during World War II.

Strengths: Conveys emotion of that night well, excellent prose.

Weaknesses: Too short!

Why I read it: Sounded interesting

Pages: 177

Published: 2009

Publisher: Harper Collins Canada

Setting: Coventry, England

Rating: 9 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans

Coventry may be more aptly described as a novella, given its slim silhouette, but its content certainly punches well above its weight. It is the story of two women who meet initially during World War I, but the majority of the plot takes place during the night of the Coventry bombing during World War II on November 14, 1940. This is the story Harriet, a widow from WWI, now a substitute firewatcher on the roof of the cathedral who meets Jeremy while trying to escape the city. Their night of near misses and helping out complete strangers is in contrast to Maeve, Jeremy’s mother, who anxiously awaits his turn before going out to look for him herself.

I read this book in only a couple of days, but its impact is much stronger. The author has an excellent use of language in re-creating the scene of the bombings, right down to the fear, smells and sights in only a few words. It’s incredibly visually descriptive. It also captures the emotions very well – from fear to anguish to confusion during that night. The characters are well written and the reader bonds with them, crossing our fingers with Maeve that Jeremy makes it home, and feeling Harriet’s loneliness. There is an allure and mystery to their backgrounds, but not so much so that it leaves a gap in their character.

I wasn’t familiar with the Coventry bombing before reading this book but after doing some research, I found that this book is very accurate, down to the names of buildings that were destroyed.

If I had to sum up this book in a single word, that word would be powerful. This skinny little book brings to life a page from history. It’s definitely one to be taken off the shelf and read, preferably in a single sitting. It will haunt you for a long time afterwards, with the terror of the bombing and fires and the power of the Coventry people to survive and grow from that night.

These are pictures from the bombing, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The day after – Winston Churchill visits the remains of the cathedral (where Harriet and Jeremy were firewatching)

Owen Owen, the department store that is mentioned in the novel is centre here – burnt during the bombing

Villain by Shuichi Yoshida

In a nutshell… The discovery of who murdered a young woman in Japan.

Strengths: Characters, how the characters interact

Weaknesses: Some may find it difficult to keep up with the names

Why I read it: Bought with gift voucher

Pages: 304

Published: 2010 

Publisher: Harvill Secker

Setting: Japan

Rating: 9 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Real World by Natsuo Kirino

Villain was one of the books I bought with a Christmas gift voucher. I am interested in Japanese fiction translated into English, enjoying Natsuo Kirino and Haruki Murakami to name a few. So when I saw another Japanese translated work on the shelf, I jumped on it immediately.

Villain does not disappoint. It is a tightly woven thriller, linking together many disparate characters who are all somehow involved in the murder of a young lady on the creepy Mitsue Pass. It involves her friends, her (imagined) boyfriend, a boy she met on a dating website and various family members. One of these people is her murderer – but which one? Why was she killed?

As I’ve found with other Japanese thrillers, this is exquisitely detailed. We have background into the characters and their settings, which are translated very well into English by Philip Gabriel. We know of Yuichi’s past, his grandmother’s problems and the girls he’s been seeing. We also know about his car and what he’s eaten for snacks. This may sound superfluous, but it’s not. We warm to Yuichi and the other characters, simply because we know so much about them. Yoshida paints a very clear picture of each scene – so much so that you can picture the characters and the setting in detail. The blurb on the inside cover of the book states that it’s part police procedural, but in my opinion it’s definitely not! There is little police involvement, and it is all from the characters’ viewpoint.

The identity of the murderer also creeps up slowly on the reader. It’s very subtle, and I wondered how I could have missed the signs of who did it. Even more interesting, is the reasons why the murder was committed. One thing I won’t be doing is using any online dating sites any time soon! (A lot of the young characters use a particular online dating site, to try for romance in between work and family life. Is this a comment on the pressures of the Japanese youth of today, especially with the frequent use of love hotels in the narrative?) As is often the case with Japanese books, not everything is resolved but you can make a fairly educated guess as to what happens to some of the characters whose threads are left hanging.

I really enjoyed this book as it had all the elements of a great thriller – taut and exciting. The insight into the young Japanese was an added bonus. I’ll be looking forward to reading more of Shuichi Yomada’s work.

 I read this book as part of the Japanese Literature Challenge 5, which I am taking part in for the second year running.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

In a nutshell… It’s a book of short stories connected loosely by characters, told in a variety of styles.

Strengths: It’s original.

Weaknesses: It doesn’t always work.

Why I read it: Part of the Goodreads Book Club

Pages: 274

Published: 2010 

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday

Setting: America

Rating: 6 out of 10

If you liked this, try: I’m really not sure…this is not my kind of book.

A Visit from the Goon Squad seems to be appearing everywhere at the moment. When the Goodreads Book Club announced it as their original book, I thought I would take part and see what the hype was about. This book has won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. While the book is innovative, telling each story in a variety of styles (hello, chapter told entirely in PowerPoint), it just didn’t really work well enough for me.

The first chapter is straightforward enough, telling the story of Sasha, who is a compulsive kleptomaniac. She also has a bath in the kitchen of her apartment (that’s odd to me). Sasha then disappears into the background for the rest of the book. It is unusual to have a character introduced in the first chapter, then only see fleeting glimpses of them, but hey, I’ll roll with it for now…

Chapter Two introduces Bennie, Sasha’s boss. He’s old, trying to restore vitality by eating gold flakes. He also tries to come on to Sasha. I didn’t feel any sympathy for Bernie here.

Chapter Three is told by Rhea, Bernie’s childhood friend. (See how we’re drifting away from Sasha, but loosely linked?) Rhea uses the word ‘goes’ far too much in this chapter for my liking. Is it to demonstrate her youth despite her presence on the punk rock scene? This read awkwardly for me, perhaps it was trying to represent the teenage years.

Chapter Four involves the use of a ‘time telescope’. It takes place on an African safari and introduces some new characters, namely Rolph and Mindy. We also find out in this chapter what will happen to each of these characters in the future. Killing the suspense or just dispensing with minor characters? I found this one of the better written chapters.

Chapter Five deals with age and Jocelyn returns as the main voice. We see the aging of Lou, Bennie’s original manager/guru and compare it to Jocelyn and Rhea’s aging. Were they successful or failures? Who are we to judge? I felt this chapter focused on regret, although I note that others felt it was more about redemption.

Chapter Six brings one of Bennie’s teenage friends, Scotty to the fore. He’s a flawed but likeable character. He gives Bernie, who seems wildly successful, a freshly caught fish for a present. I didn’t try to understand the symbolism of this, nor of his compulsive dry cleaning of his jacket.

Chapter Seven represents the B side (or second half) the book – that’s in record terms, kids. This was another enjoyable chapter for me, revolving around Bennie’s wife of the time, Stephanie. She’s trapped in a wealthy, conservative suburb and feels stifled. Bennie is also out of his depth here but copes with it differently. I saw some of Betty Draper in Stephanie here.

Chapter Eight brings two briefly mentioned characters to the fore – La Doll and Kitty. This was a quirky chapter and I enjoyed the moving away from some of the recurring characters. It was also more humorous and desperate than previous chapters.

Chapter Nine is written as an article by Jules, another character mentioned briefly prior to this chapter. The subject is an uncomfortable one – about how he attacks a film star (Kitty from the previous chapter), but we know that he’s unwell mentally. The article read like a long stream of consciousness and did very well I thought about catching the state of Jules’ manic mind. The footnotes are especially troubled and show his lack of insight.

I can’t say that I enjoyed Chapter 10. This deals with Sasha’s (remember her?) friend Rob and how he meets his death. (We knew he was dead from the first chapter). It uses second person narration, which I can’t say I’m fond of.

In Chapter 11, we finally see Sasha again, but in the past. Her uncle has been sent to find her, but is quite lazy about the whole process and meets her at random. This was about finding something you don’t expect.

Chapter 12 is The Great Powerpoint Chapter. Told entirely in slides, it makes more sense than you think. I thought it was good (I got the gist of the story with very few words). We see Sasha again – this time in the future – which probably endears the reader some more. Some have criticised the ability to read this on eReaders, but I had no problems with my Sony (I use it for lectures anyway).

Chapter 13, the final chapter, was a letdown for me. Set again in the future, it involves people being so reliant on technology that they find it embarrassing to speak face to face. We see more recurring characters – some in odd situations and the introduction of text speak. This was one of my least liked chapters.

While it uses interesting devices, this book requires you to be vigilant in regards to remembering characters and details. I think I’ve understood as best as I’m going to by reading this review. This is one for the English class to study.

The Siege by Helen Dunmore

I came to read The Siege in rather a roundabout way. I bought the sequel, The Betrayal, at Singapore’s Changi airport with my last Singaporean dollars due to its interesting cover and its Stalinist Russia setting. Settling in to read this book at home the next day, my first thought was ‘Uh-oh! Sequel!’ Thanks to the wonders of ebooks and the interest, I was able to download The Siege from Kobo and start reading in under 10 minutes. A store can’t beat that!*

The Siege covers the Leningrad siege during World War II – the winter of 1941/42 to be precise. We start as the war becomes closer to Leningrad through the eyes of the Levin family – Anna, her father Mikhail and younger brother Kolya. Anna’s mother died in childbirth and Anna has had to miss university and take up a position as a nursery school assistant while looking after Kolya. She is the practical one; her father is a writer and dreamer, eternally watching and waiting to be taken away as he has fallen out of favour with the government. As things worsen, Anna is forced to search for food, ending up in strange and dangerous circumstances. Mikhail is injured and is looked after by his former flame, Marina. Fortunately for Anna, there is one bright spot in her life: Andrei, a medical student. But will they survive the siege?

While I didn’t find the portrayal of the siege as harrowing as that in The Bronze Horseman (probably because I knew what was going to happen) it was still powerfully written and it’s a testament to Helen Dunmore that I carried on straightaway with The Betrayal. It’s written in the present tense, so it’s like the plot is unfolding before you, like a play. This does make it seem a little detached at times, but the tone of starvation and fear still comes across very powerfully.

Read it if: you’re interested in the Russian people’s perspective during WWII.

* Absolutely nothing wrong with bookstores (this is a hot topic in Australia at present) and I do support my local bookstore well financially as well as investing in ebooks.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I received this book for Christmas from my parents. My mum had been lining up to meet Ken Follett to have Fall of Giants signed when she was recommended this book by someone else in the queue. “It’s about the building of a cathedral,” the gentleman raved, “Your daughter will love it.” Now, my mother knows that building cathedrals does not rank highly on my list of preferred hobbies but she knows I enjoy Ken Follett’s books. So it was duly added to the Christmas pile. 

The book is somewhat daunting by its size – my copy was 1076 pages, plus an introduction and the first chapter of the sequel, World Without End. The print is fairly small and there are no page breaks for chapters. After the first hundred pages, we still haven’t met all the characters and there’s no cathedral in sight.

But despite that, this book is good. Really good.

What’s it about? Well, it’s about the building of a cathedral in the small town of Kingsbridge, England in the 1100s. But it’s about so much more than that – the lives of many different people from Philip the monk, Waleran the Bishop, Tom the Builder, Aliena, William, Jack and Ellen. All these characters come from different backgrounds and give their perspective of what it was like to live in these times (pretty bloody dangerous in my opinion). Although religion plays a role, it’s certainly not preaching or dominant. Philip is the type of man you would describe simply as ‘good’, no matter what his religion. William is silly but evil and shows the power of the wealthy and bloodthirsty. Waleran is conniving, always out to improve his situation. Jack is lovable despite his faults and Aliena is a strong female character. The supporting characters are also well written and memorable.

Despite the historical setting, the characters are easy to understand. The number of things the town of Kingsbridge goes through is simply amazing – bad luck or something more sinister? However, the characters manage to come through it all with good humour and hope for the future.

This book is brilliantly written – the author weaves and twists many plotlines through the narrative but it’s written in such a way that you remember every word.

Just a quick caution if you’re buying a paperback copy – mine has some pages that are rather light on ink (understandable given the length) so check you can read your copy before you purchase it. This would also be an ideal ebook due to its weight.

Read it if: you have the time to enjoy a great story. No, you need to actually make time for this one!

9.5 out of 10.