I Am Very Tall

So, this isn't going to be an actual book review. While I appreciate high quality book reviews - and would love to contribute a couple to the world at large - I just don't have the time or patience to really think too deeply about what I'm reading these days.

I do have the time to put down my immediate impressions, which I think might be more valuable anyway. After all, this is more or less for my own sense of posterity. So here goes.

Natsuo Kirino - Out

Asa recommended this book to me, possibly because some of the content might be considered extreme or ultra-. I thought the book was "OK," mainly because its focus wavered too much for my taste.

The book began with something that was close to social commentary, describing the plight of working women in Japan. There was a strong sense of entrapment (hence the book's title, I suppose) - trapped in debt, in familial relationships, or in a passionless existence.

However, instead of delving into this more deeply, the author segued over into murder, dismemberment, rape and other craziness. Entertaining, sure. Deep and probing, not so much.

Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

I'm a little bit ashamed to say the following. This was a good book. The reason I'm ashamed is because I don't have much more to say on the matter. I'm sure that there's a lot to say -I could discuss how the book's theme of mystic escapism are a fantastic lens through which to view the otherwise highly depressing content matter that the book covers. I would probably also comment on how the book refuses to allow that lens to totally distort reality, which comes crashing back into view with some frequency. I'd probably comment that the author twists us into having the same thought about his work that his characters have about another work within the novel, which is so "meta" that I can't even properly describe it without using way too many words.

But all of these comments would turn into loose, rambling, incoherent statements about the book that I wouldn't be able to fully substantiate through proper literary analysis. They'd be something closer to my own highly subjective take on the book. So, I'll just say it was a good book and leave it at that.