After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Publisher: First Vintage International
Publication Date: April, 2008
Pages: 256
Ratings: 4 out of 5

Summary: After Dark is a novel that takes place in a single night at a city. Three different story arcs are omnisciently narrated yet they are linked together. At the center of the story is nineteen year old Mari who decides to spend the night alone in a city instead of going home. There’s also Mari’s older sister, the beautiful Eri, who suffers from a tragic fate. Finally, there’s Shirakawa who hides a sinister side from his work and family life.

Review: Strange things happen…after dark.

After Dark was the first Japanese literature book I’ve read, and one of the two I had chosen for the Japanese Literature Challenge 3. The book blurb really didn’t say much. I felt like I was buying Chris Cleave’s Little Bee all over again. Yes, I was a little apprehensive since I was taking a risk of buying and reading a book that was out of my comfort level. But hey, wasn’t that part of the challenge?

Surprises of surprises, I loved this book! I finished it in one day. It was that good! The book had a way of pulling and holding my attention. Even after the book was finished, and I was done with reading, I felt like I wanted more. The ending was a little ambiguous, but that’s literature fiction for you.

And the writing! Oh, the writing! I absolutely loved how Murakami used simple words and brought the story to life through personification. It was remarkable! I even have a favorite quote in the book, and that’s the character Takahashi’s motto which was, “Walk slowly. Drink lots of water,” That’s the same meaning of the cliché, “Take it one day at a time.”

The main character in this story was Mari. At first, I didn’t know what to make of her. In other words, I didn’t know if I was going to like her since she seemed so cold and unfeeling. In fact, she wasn’t. She helped a total stranger who was in need, and she showed how much she really loved her sister Eri. I would say that Mari’s more guarded because perhaps she had such cold parents who didn’t pay much attention to her, and she had a sibling rivalry with Eri.

Sometimes I thought the book was a little creepy especially when I was reading the parts on Eri because it seemed like Murakami wanted readers to believe what was happening in the story was real, but later it seemed like a dream. Or was it? It was hard to distinguish, and it wasn’t revealed what really happened to Eri until towards the ending. The mood can be dark at times, but there’s humor sprinkled here and there.

Honestly, I would have given it my highest rating, but I was hoping for a happier ending. I wanted to see if Takahashi and Mari were going to get together. Or if Mr. Shirakawa’s secret was going to be discovered. What was going to happen to Eri? Still, even if the ending was left to interpret for my imagination, I believed that After Dark was worth it. I really enjoyed it. If there was someone who will ask me if there will there be another Murakami book added to my shelf in the future? I’d tell them, “Yes! Absolutely!”

Recommendation: I think this is a nice starter if you’ve never read any Japanese literature or if you’d like to try to read something new. I don’t think I would recommend it though if you’re looking for something light and heart-warming. It’s just not that type of book. This is still a good story even though it is depressing and eerie at the same time.

This is the cover of the first US edition of After Dark. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: April 2004
ISBN-13: 9781594480003
Pages: 400
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: Amir and Hassan are childhood best friends and are close as brothers but each belong to a different class. Amir is a son of wealthy businessman while Hassan is the son of Amir’s father’s servant, and therefore Amir’s servant as well. Hassan also belongs to the minority group of Hazaras who are despised in Afghanistan. Their friendship is torn apart by an unspeakable and heinous crime that will forever haunt Amir even after he tries to escape the past. America becomes his haven, but he returns to Afghanistan to face his sins and atone for them.

Review: I’ve read books where I’ve shed a tear or two, but this book was the one of the two (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was the other) that made me cry in buckets. If I had read this book in a café or library, people might have thought I was crazy. Seriously, though, The Kite Runner made me grab the tissue box. There were books that touched me and inspired me. The Kite Runner was different. This book punched me in the gut. I felt so many emotions: shock, anger, sadness, and pity.

Though what began as an innocent, happy and carefree childhood for Amir, he witnessed a horrible crime that involved Hassan. Consumed with guilt, he became a tortured soul even though he escaped to America, married a beautiful and kind Afghani woman, and obtained a successful career as writer.

As an adult, Amir was forced to go back to Afghanistan to save Hassan’s son, Sohrab, who was suffering from the hands of the Taliban. Yet, even after he and Sohrab escaped the Taliban, Amir still faced challenges which included gaining the trust of the traumatized Sohrab.

I have to admit that Amir was not my favorite character, but that slowly changed as he transformed and redeemed himself which didn’t happen until the end of the novel. The plot was very original. Hosseini’s a wonderful author. Although I enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns, I think that The Kite Runner was his masterpiece.

Recommendation: Read it if you haven’t already. You are missing a lot. This book is already a modern classic in my eyes.

April and Oliver by Tess Callahan

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pub. Date: June 2009
ISBN-13: 9780446540599

Pages: 336

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: April and Oliver have been childhood best friends. As adults, they drifted but later reconnected after April's younger brother Buddy died. Oliver, now engaged, fights his attraction towards April who's vulnerable after being in relationships with abusive men. April, who believes she is incapable of finding love, also has feelings for Oliver. It's a story of love and loss. Will Oliver and April finally confront their feelings for each other, or will they live with the unspoken truth?

Review: When I saw this book while I was browsing through Books A Million, my first thought was: Hm. April and Oliver. Probably a love story about an old couple or a married couple and their obstacles through the years. I'm not really huge on romance or love stories, but there was something about this book that made me reach for it. I didn't know if it was the cover, but it was certainly pretty.

At first, I found myself annoyed with April. She was a beautiful young woman who chose to get involved with men who abused her physically and sexually. It was like a vicious cycle, and no matter how bad things got, she never asked for help. Drama surrounded her like a moth to a flame. I didn't like her because she didn't appear to have common sense. It went on like this throughout half of the book (maybe even more), and I thought this book should be titled April, not April and Oliver. When she realized that she still had hope to find herself and starting over, finally...finally, that's when I realized that she wasn't so bad. And...surprise! I actually started to respect her.

April's counterpart, Oliver, was a nice guy with a nice fiancee. Their life seemed so perfect, but Oliver has an attraction towards April. Her wild ways should have driven him away, and he afraid of her, yet he continues to try to help her and rescue her when needed. Still he had a fiancee to think about and he found the courage to "wash" his hands off April.

Of course, the story didn't end there. They reconciled but things between Oliver and his fiancee Bernadette were changing. Will they marry or not?

April's character went through more character development than Oliver's. I thought both of their characters should have been equally developed because they shared the title of the book. The ending surprised me, but I also thought it ended too soon. I didn't know if the author was in a rush to finish it or not, but it did feel that way. I wished there could have been more though.

Recommendation: Great book! I enjoyed this. Be prepared to sit down for awhile because it's a real page turner. You will end up getting pulled in and wanting more.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: January 1993
ISBN-13: 9780140177398

Pages: 112

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: Of Mice and Men was a novella that was first published in 1937. This is a story of two ranchers in California, George Milton and Lennie Small. They dreamed of owning their own ranch until an unexpected tragedy happened.

Review: I read John Steinbeck's works before when I was in junior high like The Pearl and Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck's a brillant author, and his delivery Of Mice and Men was excellent.

The characters, George Milton and Lennie Small could not be any different. George is a tough, street smart man who acts like a father figure to Lennie who has a mind of a child. Both are determined to work hard and earn money so they can buy a ranch of their own. I really feel for Lennie who is mentally disabled. He loves to pet soft things. In a previous ranch where George and Lennie worked at, an event occurred where Lennie was accused of raping a young girl since he touched a young woman's dress. Both George and Lennie fled to Salinas, and George became extremely over-protective of Lennie. However, despite of George's efforts, Lennie soon gets involved in a dangerous incident.

I was really shocked and sad at the ending, and it raised some ethical questions. I did feel that what George did was reasonable, but was it right? I had some mixed feelings about it. I still gave this story my highest rating only because it's one of the most controversial and interesting stories I've read this year.

Recommendations: This isn't really for the faint of heart. If you're looking for something cheerful to read, Of Mice and Men will probably not be your cup of tea. It comes highly recommended from me if you're looking for a short book to read and if you don't mind reading something thought-provoking.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Publisher: Random House Audio Publishing Group
Pub. Date: August 2008
ISBN-13: 9780739328958
Edition Description: Unabridged, 16 CDs
Narrated by: Lincoln Hoppe
Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: A man gets into a terrible car accident where he is badly burned. In the hospital, he hovers between life and death. When he contemplates suicide, a woman by the name of Marianne Engle appears in his room. She claims that they have known each other and have been lovers back in the 1350’s! He doesn’t believe her, and she is determined to prove it to him. He finds himself entranced by her and later realizes that he is falling in love with her.

Review: I really enjoyed this book. This was my first audio, and Lincoln Hoppe did an excellent job on the narration. I listened to this audio book the whole time I drove from South Carolina to Louisiana. That’s a 16 hour drive. Not once did I even feel sleepy because I was hanging by every word that was being said. Andrew Davidson’s a wonderful writer. He not only brought me into the story but he also brought me into the main character’s pain. The male protagonist (and I thought it was strange that the author never gave his name) was a drug abuser, alcoholic, porn star, and an atheist. He’s not exactly an ideal main character, but the author wrote him enough for the readers to be sympathetic towards him. The author wrote the burn scenes and the hospital scenes in such detail that I almost thought I was the character. I really couldn’t blame him for wanting to commit suicide.

Marianne Engel was probably one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever read. At first, I thought she was weird but as I learned more about her past and with the male protagonist, I began to understand her more.

If you hadn’t notice already, I’m all about character development. I think if the characters weren’t interesting enough, then so was the plot. The character development in this book was an A plus. I had never read such an inspiring story about unconditional love.

Recommendation: I had trouble rating this book. It was really between a four and five, but in the end I rated it as 4 out of 5. There were a few things that bothered me such as how the ending dragged on and the details of the burn scenes. It was gory at some parts, and I actually had to skip them. I hate to say that you shouldn’t read it because some parts were difficult to go through because you would be missing out on an excellent story.