AFK and a Postscript from Chocolat

I’m using a phrase coined by my favourite nerd, Dr Sheldon Cooper: A F K …. absent from keyboard. I’ll be taking a break for a couple of weeks, partly holiday time, and partly writing time – I have two competition entries languishing on my hard-drive, and they ain’t going anywhere, at the moment, and the deadline date looms.  So – see ya later!

a P.S. from Chocolat:

I must say I’m disgusted.

She’s sending me to the so-called Cats’ Holiday Camp.  Huh! Holiday Camp?  A place that offers no duvet?  no electric blanket? No comfy bed for sunbathing in the afternoons?  I rest my case.

Oh, and another thing, while we’re talking about my well-being and comfort. The under-cat-heating has not been up to standard this year. Every time I jump up and settle down for some under-cat-heating, She gets up and turfs me off. How am I supposed to keep warm? We’ve had an unusually cold winter this year, and although I’ve grown my winter coat, I have very short fur and I need  under-cat-heating. Humans! I’ll never understand them.

I’m so fed up I’m not even taking anything to read.  She suggested I might enjoy a book about my larger relatives, The Lions of Tsavo.  Now, I ask you, why would I want to read about lions bounding across the veldt whilst I’m locked up in a miserable cage? Be reasonable!

With an angry swish of the tail:

Chocolat.

 

 

RECENT READS # 18 : THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS – Tan Twan Eng

Probably my best read of the year. Twan Eng returns in his second novel to Malaysia, initially in present times but interspersed with the period just after WWII ended, and the Malaysian Emergency reached its height. While the Communist guerrillas were carrying out a campaign of murder and terror against farmers, miners and villagers, the Malaysian Nationalists were simultaneously trying to wrest power from  British Colonial authorities – a turbulent time.  Interestingly, as a historical aside, apparently this is the only time that a guerrilla war was won by the authorities (i.e. the Brits) and not by the insurgents.

The book resonated with me for days after I had finished reading it, as I kept remembering incidents and characters from the complex and haunting tale. The main protagonist is a Chinese woman, who survives internment in a Japanese slave labour camp and ultimately goes on to qualify as a lawyer and became a Supreme Court Judge.  This story would, on its own, form the basis of other lesser novels.  But there are other equally  strong characters in the tale.  The person I found the most fascinating was the enigmatic Japanese Aritomo Nakamura, one-time gardener to the Emperor of Japan (pre-war) now resident in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, and architect of an exquisite Japanese style garden, on a remote hillside.  Again, Aritomo’s story in the hands of a lesser novelist would have been a book on its own.  As the book progresses we learn about Japanese archery as a meditation, we learn about the art of woodblock prints and the arcane practice of horimono  which I found utterly fascinating, and which  is an integral (and important) part of the story.

There’s a South African link in the story too.  Aritomo’s neighbour is an ex-pat South African who emigrated to Malaya in the 1930s to become a tea-planter. Magnus, the tea-planter and his family are important characters in the unfolding story. As part of their story we get a chunk of South African history as well – but not an indigestible chunk.

Tan Twan Eng currently divides his time between Malaysia and Cape Town, South Africa, and I’ve had the privilege of hearing him speak about his first novel The Gift of Rain. He’s alarmingly well informed and articulate, and passionate about his home country, Malaysia.

Tan Twan Eng is such a versatile writer.  His book contains the  history of Malaysia, alongside a  WWII mystery concerning looted treasure (which other novelists would have simply have written as a Raiders of the Lost Ark extravaganza, but TTE is way beyond such a facile approach) coupled with evocative descriptions of the jungle and tea-gardens, as well as tenderly romantic interludes – which, effortlessly, are beautiful and poetic without being artsy-fartsy or mawkish – whatever he’s doing he gets it just right.

I cannot recommend this book too highly.  At the time of writing I learn that the book has made in onto the Booker Long List. It deserves to be on the Booker Short List and if it were up to me, I would award it the Man Booker Prize.  However, given the MB Judges extraordinary predilection for choosing obscure, unreadable, very literary novels, my hopes are not too high. But enough of my griping.  Read this book: it’s marvellous!

Recent reads # 17: GOODBYE JAPAN!

 

Amrita – Banana Yashimoto

Okay: I’m now done with Japanese novels, at least for the time being.  I’m all Japanned out.  I bought this book on the Book Lounge 40% off-sale, and was peeved to discover that the book was second hand – & if not second hand, then very very old stock,  because the pages have browned, the way that old books do.  I have a feeling that this novel was the personal possession of someone on the store staff.  Or something.  Anyway: not one of my better buys. Which serves me right, because bought it on a 100% whim, based on the writer’s crazy name; also I was also curious to read another Japanese novel, after two from Haruki Murakami.  And having read Banana, I now realise just how good Murakami is.  Also the translation on the Amrita novel was not so great.  I had the impression of a very limited vocabulary – whether this was a fault of the writer or the translator, I couldn’t say.

I had to work really hard to force myself to finish the book – it was a struggle.  Partly because the plot (what plot?) wasn’t very interesting, or at least, wasn’t presented in a way that engaged my interest or made me identify with the characters.  We’re in Tokyo, modern Japan, looking at  an unusual family, Mother, daughter Sakumi the narrator, her step-brother Yoshisho, her cousin Makiko and a  lady friend of the mother, called Junko who decided to live with them. Sakumi falls down some stairs, has brain surgery and returns home, but without her memory; the brother has psychic powers and is moody & withdrawn; Sakumi takes up with Ryu-kan who is the former  lover of her sister Maki who committed suicide; now that I summarise the book it looks quite interesting, but it was presented in such a manner that it wasn’t! Nothing much happens, but we hear a lot about Sakumi’s dreams, and the spirit world (i.e. ghosts) the whole thing reminded me of a self-absorbed teenaged girl’s journal that endlessly describes her FEELINGS, dreams, fantasies. But no details whatsoever about her sexual encounters, although  we do know she’s sleeping with Ryu-kan,  and there’s a sub-plot about her friend Eriko who’s a married man’s mistress and gets stabbed by his aggravated wife – but even this crime doesn’t come across as remarkable

The blurb said “novel is the voice of young Japan”. Well, judging by this novel,  young Japan is not very interesting. The characters all seem to drink a lot, and be fond of staying up all night, wafting around. Quite often we get to hear what they eat – Murakami’s novels  are also very explicit re the menus.

And why it was titled Amrita I’m not sure, although near the end Sakumi has an experience of Amrita, the divine nectar (this is a reference from Hindu mythology {??}  which has not been a feature thus far).

The novel left me stone cold and I can only hope it read better in the original Japanese.  I certainly won’t be trying any more of her books.