Tags
banana yoshimoto, book review, daniel keyes, forster, japanese horror story, jeffrey eugenides, ryunosuke akutagawa
It’s that time of year again when I do a little retrospective of best books. I’m quite surprised that I’ve been a little frugal with my 5/5 stars, but 2012 has certainly put me in touch with some awesome authors I have never heard of or read before. So, without further ado, here’s a taste of the best bits of how my reading year went.
By far the most heartbreaking and astonishing book I have come across during the year. It’s one hell of a story that really examines the fleeting nature of our lives, our achievements and our losses. Nothing prepares you for the amazement and devastation you will feel when Charlie Gordon, a simpleton with an IQ of 18 undergoes breakthrough brain surgery to increase his intelligence levels. His one goal in life is to be intelligent, yet when this wish is granted, he is unaware of the horrible revelations it brings with it. As the veil of dumb ignorance is slowly lifted, his perception of friends and family also change. On his journey of discovery he gets a taste of emotions and thoughts he never knew existed. ‘Flowers for Algernon‘ is a beautiful illustration of how bitter the fruit of knowledge really can be.
My first attempt at Eugenides was absolute bliss. ‘Middlesex’ explores themes of incest and family history through the eyes of Cal, a hermaphrodite. “I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver-s license…records my first name simply as Cal.” The opening paragraph on it’s own is electrifying enough. I couldn’t put it down and if you choose to read this, neither will you. Hilarious and tragic in equal amounts with just the right dose of literary intelligence to keep the literary critic in you smiling too.
My first attempt at Banana Yoshimoto also left me with warm, fuzzy feelings. Japanese fiction is so beautiful, and ‘Kitchen’ embodies faithful representations of human emotions with that trademark simplicity that Japanese writers seem to have a knack for. This book is like a celebration of death and life, and reminds us that we must cherish the people around us when we still have them. This book reads like a series of short stories. Here’s my review of it.
Akutagawa, the father of modern Japanese literature, translated by Jay Rubin. What more could you want? This is a short, short read that packs one hell of a punch. Akutagawa brings out the delicious lacquerwork and intricate embellishment of Japanese folklore in this collection of sharp, disturbing tales about art and sacrifice. Read my review here.
Romance novels, I do not like. However, I am willing to change that with a book like ‘A Room With A View’. Forster’s perspective of love is what really endeared this novel to me. It’s not lovey-dovey, wishy-wishy. Real love is messy, it’s more to do with gut feelings than rationality. It’s a tricky path to negotiate and our two lovers here certainly fall from grace more than once trying to find their way to one another. Read my review here.
That’s it folks! Those are my best pickings of 2012. What are yours?
Related articles
- The Japanese Literature Publishing Project and The Private Library (privatelibrary.typepad.com)
- Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon (booknutcase.wordpress.com)
- Review of the Year 2012- Fiction (lucybirdbooks.wordpress.com)
- Friday Round-Up: December 28, 2012 (themidwestmaven.wordpress.com)
- What Was The Most Reviewed Book Of 2012? (huffingtonpost.com)
- 2012 round-up (jennydavidson.blogspot.com)
Amritorupa Kanjilal (Rivers I Have Known) said:
I’m reading Middlesex right now!
Pinar said:
Middlesex is my second favourite book of 2012 as well 🙂 What a lovely coincidence! I posted my top 10 for 2012 (in Turkish). If you feel like checking, here is the link: http://pinucciasbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012de-okudugum-en-guzel-10-kitap.html
RebeccaScaglione said:
I have read (and loved) 3 out of your 5!!! I haven’t read Banana or Hell Screen, but I loved the other 3!! Although, I didn’t read any of them in 2012! 🙂
Novroz said:
Whoaa… I haven’t read any of your best books! shame of me.
It seems that everyone is doing their best book list 😉
Lucybird said:
Middlesex is really a must read, I loved it too.
Thanks for the link-up
mywordlyobsessions said:
You are welcome! Just discovered Zemanta and am excited that it let’s me link to other bloggers. Why did I not know about this earlier?!?
Have you read any other books from Eugenides? I tried a bit of ‘Marriage Plot’ but didn’t like the language. So different from ‘Middlesex’.
Lucybird said:
I read The Virgin Suicides recently. It was pretty good but not what I expected, and didn’t match up to Middlesex at all. The Marriage Plot is on my wishlist, who knows when I’ll get around to it!
Pingback: Preview of 2012 Book Lists #4 » Semicolon
Pingback: Book Review | ‘A Room With A View’ by E.M. Forster « Wordly Obsessions
Pingback: Book Review | ‘Hell Screen’ by Ryunosuke Akutagawa « Wordly Obsessions
Pingback: Book Review | ‘Kitchen’ by Banana Yoshimoto « Wordly Obsessions
S. Thomas Summers said:
If you would like to reviewmy book, I will send you a copy. It has been well reviewed thus far. Up to you.
Happy New Year,
S. Thomas Summers
Pushcart Nominated Author of Private Hercules McGraw: Poems of the American Civil War
Tanisha said:
Zee, the list you have put up here is so awesome. The books are magnetic and some of them asound interesting and I have never even heard of them. I will certainly look them up. Thanks!