Killing Commendatore (4 stars) There were parts of this book that brought me back to my favorite parts of 1Q84, but this book doesn’t equal that one in terms of quality, spirit, or impact. Which doesn’t make this a bad book – by any measure – but I don’t think it’s amongst Murakami’s greatest works. The protagonist of this book is unnamed. He’s an artist who’s fallen into portrait painting to make a living. His wife abruptly tells him that she wants a divorce, and […]
It’s unsurprising that I struggled to reach the minimum length for this review, given this is all short stories. Also, unrelated: Cannonball!
My reviewing (and reading) has really taken a nose-dive this year due to work, life, and time management changes. And, with the disruption caused by Hurricane Florence, there’s been a commensurate dip in time spent working on the Cannonball Read database. But – thanks to the indomitable support of MsWas – I’ve been able to make massive strides in this latter project, at least. So this review is cheating, a bit. All of these stories were in Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual collection of stories, but I […]
A collection of minor disappointments.
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams (3 stars) I read this close enough to 20 years ago for me not to want to think too long on it. I was a teenager, and deeply enraptured by fantasy – particularly the weighty tomes that couldn’t quite fit in my back pocket. The kind of books that resonated with a heavy thud when dropped onto a table. The kind of books that probably exacerbated my natural awkwardness around girls. I devoured this book, and its sequels. So, […]
Sometimes, rarely, you get precisely what you want in life. This is one of those times.
For reasons I can’t fully explain, this book has always held talismanic powers for me. I’ve walked passed it numerous times in the book store, always intending to read it, but never buying it. Until, one day, I did. But then it sat on my shelf unread, collecting dust, and taking up space in a room infrequently visited but never entirely free of my interest. I went on to read other Murakami books, and loved many of them. But Norwegian Wood has been a consistently […]