Our reading schedule for summer 2009:
Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago - May 13th
Exiles by Ron Hansen - June 10th
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham - July 8th
2666 by Roberto Bolano - (first half) August 12th
2666 by Roberto Bolano - (second half) September 9th
We meet the 2nd Wednesday of every month at noon in Conference Room 3 of the Main Library downtown.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Our next book is Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
One of twentieth century's master prose stylists tells his story as only he can. The late Vladimir Nabokov always did things his way, and his classic autobiography is no exception.
We'll be meeting to discuss this book on March 11th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.
We'll be meeting to discuss this book on March 11th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Some thoughts about The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle...
- Is Toru irresponsible? Are any of the bad things that happen to him his fault? At the very end (pg 605) he says, “I guess I just figured if I went on living in the usual way, things would kind of work themselves out all right. But they didn’t, did they? Unfortunately.”
- Is Toru justified in hating Noboru Wataya so much? Really, what did he ever do to him?
- How is this novel about Japan, its culture, its history?
- In many ways the what is factual and what is true in the book get confused. When Toru thinks this about Cinnamon’s stories (pg 525): “He inherited from his mother’s stories the fundamental style he used, unaltered, in his own stories: namely, the assuming that fact may not be truth, and truth may not be factual. The question of which parts of story were factual and which parts were not was probably not a very important one for Cinnamon. The important question for Cinnamon was not what his grandfather did but what his grandfather might have done. He learned the answer to this question as soon as he succeeded in telling the story.”
- The setting and landscape of the book slowly change very normal and suburban into a surreal dreamscape, where nearly all the action is taking place in dreams and all the characters seem to possess psychic powers. What is Murakami getting at? I am working on the assumption we are not supposed to take this literally alá a sci-fi adventure novel. Many things are left unexplained. What could be meaning of some of the plot elements:
~ The well?
~ The baseball bat?
~ Mr. Honda and empty whiskey bottle?
~ The blue mark that appears on his face?
~ The “thing inside” others Nutmeg and Toru can heal?
~ Cinnamon’s dream about the wind-up bird and, presumably, his father’s heart?
~ Who / what are Malta & Creta Kano?
~ Why is Creta concerned with water?
Let’s discuss these things!
Here's a link to reviews of all Murakami's books that have appeared in the New York Times .
Murakami always references music in his books. This has inspired many musical artists. Here's a link to the band Aeroplan's album they wrote based on The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle . You can download the whole thing for free. I'm not endorsing this music, I just think it is interesting that it exists.
- Is Toru justified in hating Noboru Wataya so much? Really, what did he ever do to him?
- How is this novel about Japan, its culture, its history?
- In many ways the what is factual and what is true in the book get confused. When Toru thinks this about Cinnamon’s stories (pg 525): “He inherited from his mother’s stories the fundamental style he used, unaltered, in his own stories: namely, the assuming that fact may not be truth, and truth may not be factual. The question of which parts of story were factual and which parts were not was probably not a very important one for Cinnamon. The important question for Cinnamon was not what his grandfather did but what his grandfather might have done. He learned the answer to this question as soon as he succeeded in telling the story.”
- The setting and landscape of the book slowly change very normal and suburban into a surreal dreamscape, where nearly all the action is taking place in dreams and all the characters seem to possess psychic powers. What is Murakami getting at? I am working on the assumption we are not supposed to take this literally alá a sci-fi adventure novel. Many things are left unexplained. What could be meaning of some of the plot elements:
~ The well?
~ The baseball bat?
~ Mr. Honda and empty whiskey bottle?
~ The blue mark that appears on his face?
~ The “thing inside” others Nutmeg and Toru can heal?
~ Cinnamon’s dream about the wind-up bird and, presumably, his father’s heart?
~ Who / what are Malta & Creta Kano?
~ Why is Creta concerned with water?
Let’s discuss these things!
Here's a link to reviews of all Murakami's books that have appeared in the New York Times .
Murakami always references music in his books. This has inspired many musical artists. Here's a link to the band Aeroplan's album they wrote based on The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle . You can download the whole thing for free. I'm not endorsing this music, I just think it is interesting that it exists.
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We'll be meeting to discuss this book on February 11th at the Main Library in Conference Rm 3 at noon. Feel free to bring a lunch.
We'll be voting for our summer reading list, so if you haven't voted already via email make sure you show up and vote in person. Cheers!
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