Time's Arrow by Martin Amis

Short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1991, Time's Arrow is a novel about the life of Nazi doctor. One would think that a novel about a Nazi doctor would be a dark and grim novel, but Time's Arrow is actually quite comic, although at times in a "laugh so you don't cry" kind of way. It is the narrator and the method of narration that make this novel comic. The narrator is a sort of third-person that lives in the Nazi doctor's head, observing the doctor's life. What makes the novel comic and interesting is that the doctor's life, relative to the narrator, progresses backwards. This leads the narrator to suppose that instead of rounding up, torturing, and killing the Jews, the Nazi doctor and his compatriots are actually bringing the Jews back to life, healing them and then repatriating them. The backwards flow of time also leads to other comic interpretations by the narrator, albeit not as darkly comic in the eyes of the reader. Such as the idea that one rounds up one's things and exchanges them for money at stores.

I really enjoyed this book, despite it's grim subject matter. It took a while to get used to the backwards narration, especially when it came to dialogue which also runs backwards. However, after I did, I found it insightful to view the progress of life in reverse.

4.5/5

Sunday Salon

Last Week
I missed the Sunday Salon last week due to Hurricane Ike. I live in Sugar Land, just outside Houston. Fortunately, our side of the Houston area was spared the worst part of the hurricane. We were also lucky to have had our electricity returned fairly quickly, unlike many through out the area. However, in the run up to Ike, my high anxiety levels meant I could not concentrate enough to read.

However, this week, I regained my mental footing sufficiently enough to start reading again. I also had more time on my hands as the entire area recovered from the hurricane.

Finished Reading This Week

1. A Reading Diary by Alberto Manguel


2. Out by Natsuo Kirino (Japanese Lit. 2 Challenge)


3. Leather Maiden by Joe R. Lansdale

Additions To My Library
I was quite happy the bookstores opened this weekend. I was living in the New Orleans area when Hurricane Katrina struck. The Barnes & Nobles was closed for quite sometime. Fortunately, the Borders opened soon after. I am glad Hurricane Ike did not close the bookstores for long.

1. A History of the World in 10 1/2 Weeks by Julian Barnes


2. Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino


3. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells (cited in Manguel's A Reading Diary)

Challenges Update

I made no progress this week on the Man Booker Challenge (six Man Booker winners, short/long listed) this week.

1. The Sea by John Bainville -- Winner 2005 (done)


2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell -- Short List 2004 (done)


3. Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes -- Short List 1984 (done)


4. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan -- Winner 1998 (done)


5. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood -- Winner 2000


6. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch -- Winner 1978

I read one book for the Seconds Challenge (Read 4 books by authors that you have only read one other.)

1. A Reading Diary by Alberto Manguel (having previously read his The City of Words)

I will likely pick the remaining books for this challenge from the following:

• On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan


• Black Swan by Nassim Taleb


• Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton


• Number9Dream by David Mitchell


• The History of the World in 10 1/2 Books by J. Barnes


• Silk by A. Baricco


• Dearly Devoted Dexter by J. Lindsay


• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde


• The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

I completed Japanese Lit Challenge 2!!!

1. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata


2. After Dark by Haruki Murakami


3. Out by Natsuo Kirino

Currently Reading/Plan to Read
I have Time's Arrow by Martin Amis from the library to read this week. After that, I will likely read one of the books I have listed for the Man Booker Challenge or the Seconds Challenge.

Leather Maiden by Joe R. Lansdale

Reviewed by both New Books and Bookgasm, I had high hopes for Joe R. Lansdale's Leather Maiden, a story of missing women, murder, kidnapping, and political assassination. However, I found Lansdale's writing style to be something of a distraction. He tries too hard to be folksy and funny. Not every piece of dialogue needs to have a punch line, especially in a noir mystery. However, despite this rather glaring flaw, the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading, but only just.

2.00/5

Japanese Lit 2 Challenge Completed

Today, I completed the Japanese Lit 2 Challenge, reading these three books by Japanese authors:

1. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata


2. After Dark by Haruki Murakami


3. Out by Natsuo Kirino

This was a great challenge, encouraging me to read authors that I might not have otherwise read. In the process, I discovered three more authors whose works I need to add to my list of books to be read.

Out by Natsuo Kirino

An enthralling but deeply disturbing crime novel that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. It was like a print version of the television show Criminal Minds. Natsuo tells the story of how, in a single moment, a woman snaps, killing her husband. And then, like a stone thrown into the water, this one act sends out ripples that have consequences for many. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a compelling story.

4.5/5

The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester

Subtitled The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, this is a delightful book about the making of the OED. I read this as a follow up to Ammon Shea's Reading the OED and I am very glad I did. This book does exactly what it sets out to do, tell the story of the men and women that made the OED. It is full of wonderful anecdotes as well as serious history. If you have any liking for the English language, I highly recommend you read this book.

4.50/5

Sunday Salon

Additions To My Library

1. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do by Tom Vanderbilt (Recommended by Marginal Revolution.)


2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


3. The Decameron by G. Bocaccio


4. The Castle of Otranto by H. Walpole


5. Sex in History by R. Tannahill (Cited in I Don't by S. Squires)

Wow ... my book "bender" continues. And while certainly not as harmless as a real bender, I told my wife that I want to go to a "one to one" on reading to purchasing. That is, I can purchase a book for every book I own that I read in that week. That way, I will stop stockpiling books that I haven't read yet.

Finished Reading This Week

1. After Dark by Haruki Murakami (Japanese Lit. 2 Challenge)


2. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (What's In A Name Challenge)


3. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (Japanese Lit. 2 Challenge)

Currently Reading

• The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. Still reading ...


• Out by Natsuo Kirino. Reading it for the Japanese Lit. 2 Challenge

Challenges Update

I have also started the Man Booker Challenge (six Man Booker winners, short/long listed):

1. The Sea by John Bainville -- Winner 2005 (done)


2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell -- Short List 2004 (done)


3. Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes -- Short List 1984 (done)


4. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan -- Winner 1998 (done)


5. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood -- Winner 2000


6. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch -- Winner 1978

The Seconds Challenge (Read 4 books by authors that you have only read one other.)

I will pick from the following:

• On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan


• Black Swan by Nassim Taleb


• Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton


• Number9Dream by David Mitchell


• The History of the World in 10 1/2 Books by J. Barnes


• Silk by A. Baricco


• Dearly Devoted Dexter by J. Lindsay


• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde


• The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

The Japanese Lit Challenge 2

1. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (Done)


2. After Dark by Haruki Murakami (Done)


3. Out by Natsuo Kirino (In progress.)

Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari

Snow Country is a "haiku novel" about a man and his relationship with two women, a geisha named Komako and a younger girl named Yoko. Spare and beautiful, much like the snow scenes described in the book, it is a sad and tragic tale. I enjoyed it and would like to read more Kawabata books. Perhaps, The Master of Go or Beauty and Sadness. It also leaves me with the desire to read more Japanese literature than required by the Japanese Lit Challenge 2, for which I read this book.

4.00/5

Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes

I finished this book seven days ago, but I am just getting to the review. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like the book. I felt as though I needed to have read some Flaubert, Madame Bovary or Sentimental Education, before I could enjoy Flaubert's Parrot. However, since the book was for the Booker Challenge, I was determined to finish it. Then about halfway through the book, I noticed that I had copied down quite a number of quotes from the book. Barnes has quite a turn of wit and I found the in some places he is quite funny. So, when I was finished, I realized I enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading another Barnes': The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters.

4.25/5

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

A couple of days ago, I finished After Dark by Haruki Murakami. I read this for the Japanese Lit Challenge 2. I had been warned by reviews that After Dark was, perhaps, not Murakami's best. It was pretty good, if a bit quirky. It is, at times, narrated as if the reader were watching the action through the lens of a video camera. I found those parts of the book awkward and somewhat irritating. However, the rest of the book had some very engaging characters, even if they populate a book with a thin plot. However, despite these perceived weaknesses, I liked the book, probably because of its weirdness. I will have to read some more Murakami in order to decide if, like others, I think his other books are better.

3.0/5

What's In A Name Challenge

I have now completed the What's In A Name Challenge!!!

1. A book with an animal in its title: Throne of the Eagle by Carlos Fuentes translated by Kristina Cordero


2. A book with a first name in its title: The Lais of Marie de France translated with introduction by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby


3. A book with a place in its title: Amsterdam by Ian McEwan


4. A book with a weather event in its title: Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen


5. A book with a color in its title: White Noise by Don DeLillo


6. A book with a plant in its title: The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

Read for the What's In A Name Challenge, I found the plot engaging enough to want to know what happens to the characters. However, I found myself wondering why so much praise was heaped upon this book. I would rate it as only slightly above average, but then again, it really isn't much like the type of stuff I would normally read. Which, I think, is the brilliance of these challenges. They can push you outside your comfort zone. So, while I found the book rather bland, I would consider reading more Penelope Fitzgerald. Perhaps Offshore for which she won the Booker Prize. Or even The Beginning of Spring, The Gate of Angels, or especially The Bookshop, all of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

[Y]ou should never lend a book or a woman. There's no obligation to return either. (p. 163)

2.75/5