Bookbanter Column: The Power of Character (January 25, 2013)

Readers can be divided mostly into two categories, and a smaller number into a third.  There are readers who choose, read and enjoy books for the story, the plot, what the whole thing is about; get caught up in it and stay hooked to the very end, enjoying the entire tale.  Then there are readers who pick and read books for characters, for unique people they become fascinated in reading about, knowing that they drive the story and keep reading to find out where and how the characters will end up.

And then there are the readers that enjoy books for both character and story equally.  But we’re not going to talk about that contingent today.  Today we’re focusing on those readers who look for books that are character-driven.  They are the type of people who study and seek out people interacting in their lives, and relish reading about it on the page, seeing what makes people tick, how they will act and react in certain situations, and how when two or more are brought together in a specific situation, what exactly will happen.

Unsurprisingly, there are writers like this too; likely because they are these same types of people.  It is people they like to write about, and not so much the story, as they let their characters drive said story, not always certain where they are going to take it, but always excited about the ride.  Two particular authors who do this and do this very well, as shown by their international bestsellerdom, are Haruki Murakami and John Irving.

Haruki Murakami is a massive author celebrity in his native Japan, as well as around the world.  Perhaps best known for one of his early works, Norwegian Wood, many of his other books have gone on to become just as popular, such as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,  Kafka on the Shore, and most recently with his epic three-volume tome, 1Q84.

When one picks up a Murakami book — whether it be a novel or short story collection — one knows they are in for a real treat, as the story will be unique and fascinating and certain to be one wild ride, but it is all due to the characters.  Murakami begins with a character, a type of person you likely haven’t met before, with an interesting life, that immediately draws you into the story, and it is the choices and decisions that this character makes that drives the story.

You may be saying: well this is true for all stories, that characters makes choices and the story moves forward, but they key is whether an event happens in a story that forces a character to make a decision, or whether the character makes a decision that then forces an event in the story.

With Murakami it’s always about the character making that decision or choice that forces the event and moves the story along.

The same can be said for John Irving.

Irving is perhaps best known for his bestselling novel, The Cider House Rules (as well as the popular movie adaptation), but has written many books that have become just as big, including The World According to Garp  The Hotel New Hampshire, and  A Prayer for Owen Meany.  His most recent book is In One Person.

While Murakami may perhaps be best known for having fascinating individual characters with each of his books, Irving is the master of the all star cast of special people.

To say that Irving’s characters are flawed characters is putting it extremely lightly for his books; everyone has some sort of problem, but it is because of this that the characters make the choices that they do that further the plot and lead to the next chapter.  And this is what Irving’s readers enjoy most about his books, as they look forward to seeing where these characters’ choices will lead them.

Nobody in this world is perfect, and so when we read about flawed characters, we perhaps can see a little of ourselves in them and are therefore fascinated in seeing where they end up.

Writers or books aren’t better for being plot-driven or character-driven, and readers shouldn’t think otherwise.  Everyone is different; which is why there are many different types of writers and many different types of readers in the world.  Character-driven stories and books will continue to be written by authors like Haruki Murakami, John Irving and many others; and there will continue to be many readers for these types of works who receive great entertainment in reading about what happens to a character when they make a specific choice or decision.

Originally published on Forces of Geek.

Bookbanter Column: The Power of Character

Readers can be divided mostly into two categories, and a smaller number into a third.  There are readers who choose, read and enjoy books for the story, the plot, what the whole thing is about; get caught up in it and stay hooked to the very end, enjoying the entire tale.  Then there are readers who pick and read books for characters, for unique people they become fascinated in reading about, knowing that they drive the story and keep reading to find out where and how the characters will end up.

And then there are the readers that enjoy books for both character and story equally.  But we’re not going to talk about that contingent today.  Today we’re focusing on those readers who look for books that are character-driven.  They are the type of people who study and seek out people interacting in their lives, and relish reading about it on the page, seeing what makes people tick, how they will act and react in certain situations, and how when two or more are brought together in a specific situation, what exactly will happen.

Unsurprisingly, there are writers like this too; likely because they are these same types of people.  It is people they like to write about, and not so much the story, as they let their characters drive said story, not always certain where they are going to take it, but always excited about the ride.  Two particular authors who do this and do this very well, as shown by their international bestsellerdom, are Haruki Murakami and John Irving.

[CONTINUE READING . . .]

“Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” by Haruki Murakami (Vintage, 1993)

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World from the incredible Japanese author, Haruki Murakami, ranks as one of the favorites on reader’s lists of his works, and for a relatively short book of around four hundred pages, there is a lot of story going on in what is essentially two separate worlds.  This book is the type that will immediately pique your interest, and before you know it, you’ll be wholeheartedly sucked in and won’t want to put it down until you’re done.  The other fact about this book is that while it is considered contemporary or literary fiction by most, it is in all honesty, a straight-up science fiction novel.

The odd-numbered chapters are told from the viewpoint of an unnamed character in the “hard-boiled wonderland.”  He is a Calcutec, a person who has the ability in his brain to process and encrypt data and to use his subconscious as an encryption key.  In this world there is the System, which is part of the government, and that is who the Calcutecs are allied with; then there are the criminal Semiotects who work for the clandestine Factory.  The Calcutec takes what seems to be a simple job for a mysterious scientist that turns into something much more, and he learns he’s a very special Calcutec.

The even chapters are told from another unnamed narrator in a place referred to as “the end of the world.”  The reader knows the narrator has arrived here recently, a strange place sealed all around by a great wall; there’s a map at the beginning of the book of this place and its various buildings.  The narrator also knows that he has been separated from his shadow, who is getting sick.  He is assigned his new job of “Dreamreader,” where every night he goes to the library and reads dreams from the skulls of strange beasts.  The narrator is very uncertain of this place and knows he needs to escape, the only question is how?

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a prime example of why so many readers like Murakami, as his sets up an enigmatic world that forces the reader to question, as their curiosity grows and grows.  The elements of this book make it a great work of science fiction that may not have all the answers, but will leave the reader contemplating it long after they’ve finished it.

Originally written on March 17, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

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“Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman” by Haruki Murakami (Knopf, 2006)

There are essentially three types of Haruki Murakami fans: those who enjoy his novels, those who enjoy his short stories, and those who enjoy both.  I enjoy both, perhaps his novels a little more.  For those looking to see what this great author has to offer with his talent, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman provides twenty-four examples of this, each story feeling special and unique.

In the first story, of the same name as the collection,  a half-deaf character experiences this strange world through his own filtered way, as the blind willow trees provide pollen that fly and burrow inside a woman’s ear; the story is poetic and moving.  In “The Mirror,” a man looks into a mirror to find someone else standing there, someone he doesn’t completely recognize, only to later discover there never was a mirror.  “The Shinagawa Monkey” tells the unusual story of a woman who has lost her name and the steps she takes to find it again and why she ultimately lost it.

Readers will be whisked away and become lost in these many enchanting tales of the unusual and in some instances, bizarre, but they will see the truly great talent of Haruki Murakami, and discover why so many people the world over have become timeless fans of his works.

Originally written on May 18, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

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“1Q84” by Haruki Murakami (Knopf Books, 2011)

Bestselling Japanese author Haruki Murakami returns with his next encapsulating novel, and this one’s a long one.  Originally released as three separate serialized books in Japan, 1Q84 has been released as a 944-page behemoth in the US.  It is the year 1984 and the main character, Aomame makes the decision and exits a taxicab on a gridlocked freeway and goes down an emergency escape staircase and finds herself transported to an alternate world of sorts, though it is still very similar to our own; she comes to call it 1Q84, where “Q” is Japanese for ?.

Aomame is a special kind of person; technically an assassin who has developed a way of stabbing a person at a specific point in the back of the neck with a small ice-pick type implement that immediately kills the person and makes it almost impossible to rule as anything other than a heart attack.  Aomame’s targets are vicious, cruel man who have been bad to their spouses or children or other people for a long time and don’t deserve to live in this world.

Then there is the other main character, a writer named Tengo, who is rewriting a most unusual novella penned by a seventeen year-old girl with the goal of having it win a literary prize and become a bestseller.  It is a most unique tale about these “little people” who create an air chrysalis, which is the title of the book.  Only, once the book becomes hugely successful, Tengo learns more about the origin of the story from the author, as well as the fact that these little people may very well be real in this 1Q84.

Aomame doesn’t notice much different with the world of 1Q84, except that the police wear different uniforms and carry automatic machines guns, and also come nightfall there are two moons that rise up: one that looks just like ours, and another smaller misshapen one that rises shortly after it.  This is also a world where the little people exist too, though only Tengo knows about that.  And yet, under Murakami’s skillful hand, the two are destined to meet and be together, after their previous involvement when they were children; it will take time, but the question remains whether it will be soon enough before the little people carry out their own special plan.

1Q84 has many of the elements that Murakami fans have come to expect from him, with his unique characters that draw you in, a crazy world that makes you feel like you’re playing a Japanese horror game in some ways, and a writing style that will sweep you along.  A weak point with the book is that while it was originally three books, it could’ve used some editing, which is always a risk with long works that span multiple volumes, and it slows the pace, detracting from the story.  Nevertheless, 1Q84 is a darkly enchanting novel that will suck you in and not let you go until you are satiated at the end, where a number of questions are answered, though of course, not all, for something must be left to the imagination, otherwise it wouldn’t be a true Murakami novel.

Originally written on February 13, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of 1Q84 from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

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“Kafka on the Shore” by Haruki Murakami (Random House, 2005)

Internationally bestselling author Haruki Murakami is well known for his use of the fantastic in his novels, to the point where they could quite easily be classed as fantasy or science fiction books; at the very least the literary world likes to brand them as works of “magical realism.”  Kafka on the Shore is an excellent example of this and a good book to start on for those not too familiar with his work, as the world is well grounded before the fantastic appears in the story, broken up into shortish chapters so the reader doesn’t become lost.  The book also features one of the darkest and most horrific scenes involving cats that I’ve ever read.

There are two storylines in Kafka on the Shore.  One is of Kafka Tamura, who is sick of the pathetic excuse for parenting from his celebrity father, and runs away from home, embarking on his own adventure, meeting special and unusual people only Murakami could create.  He is in search of the identity of his lost sister, and looking to find out who his real mother is.  Kafka ends up working at a small library, where there is a middle-aged lady who could well be his mother, as well as a transsexual librarian who becomes a good and close friend.

And then there is Nakata, an old simple man who seems to be losing his marbles, but actually knows what he’s talking about and has his own journey to go on and complete.  He can also talk to cats.  After dealing with a problem he heads on his journey that skillfully brings him into the Kafka storyline, but it is not until near the end of the book that the whole story is revealed and realized.  While the story continues on a little too long, even though the story feels complete, Kafka on the Shore is a great example of the fantastic writer that is Haruki Murakami.

Originally written on December 30, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Kafka on the Shore from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

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“Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami (Vintage, 2000)

Norwegian Wood is the book that launched Japanese author Haruki Murakami from a mid-list author to international stardom and bestsellerdom, not just in his native Japan, but throughout the world.  With its unique combination of western world references and influences combined with the story of growing up in Japan, its success forced the author to leave Japan and live in Europe for some time.  It can best be summed up as Murakami’s Catcher in the Rye for Japan.

Norwegian Wood is a change from Murakami’s more well-known and expected dark and mysterious novels – usually involving some form of magical realism – featuring a down-to-earth story with some very unusual and special characters.  Toro is working his way through college, growing up in the late sixties, and Murakami seems to pulling a little from his own college years here, with the interesting details about Toro’s strange and overly-neat roommate, along with the growing animosity of the students on campus.  Toro’s closest friend killed himself when he was a teenager, and now his late best friend’s girlfriend – Naoko – has come back into his life.  As they meet and discuss and deal with the loss, their relationship grows and develops, yet Naoko is still having a very hard time dealing with what happened to her psychologically, as well as dealing with the world.

Told from Toro’s first-person perspective, it seems that Toro is the only grounded, “normal” person in the book.  But as the reader gets further along, they realize that Toro has his own problems and issues that he has been hiding.  Then there are his few strange friends, who would certainly not be considered normal by any means, not to mention the eccentric girls he meets up with; some he befriends, others he never sees again.

Norwegian Wood is about a boy becoming a man during the sixties in Japan, educating himself through college, and learning about love and life through relationships and choices.  It is an entertaining and moving story that also has a number of life lessons hidden within its pages.

Originally written on November 20, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.

To purchase a copy of Norwegian Wood from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.

11/07 On the Bookshelf . . . “1Q84,” “Fire Upon the Deep” & “Alloy of Law”

   

The new Haruki Murakami, a whopping 900-pager!  The original Fire Upon the Deep from Vernor Vinge, and Brandon Sanderson’s “novella” he wrote in between books set in the Mistborn world.

“After Dark” by Haruki Murakami (Knopf, 2007)

In Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, After Dark, he tells a unique and compelling story of what goes on after midnight on the streets of Tokyo. It is a very different world from that of the daytime, with very different people. Murakami makes this clear by revealing that the rules of physics and reality don’t necessarily apply.

The story begins with a young girl, Mari Asai, reading a book at Denny’s after midnight, but it immediately jumps to the unusual, as Mari is greeted by a boy she hasn’t seen in a while who sits opposite her and begins conversing. She admits she plans on spending the night out, doing anything other than sleeping. The boy, Tetsuya Takahashi, tells her about his late night band practices – he is a trombonist. After he leaves for his practice, a short while passes before a strange, rough looking woman comes into Denny’s and walks straight up to Mari, telling her she is the manager of a love hotel and has found a beaten girl who only speaks Chinese in one of her rooms; Takahashi told her Mari speaks Chinese. So begins an adventurous – and at times dark and morbid – night.

After Dark tells of various characters who all go about their lives during the early morning hours in Tokyo, but who are intrinsically linked and will cross paths one or more times during the night. At the heart of the story is Mari and her love for her beautiful sister, to whom she is no longer close. Eri Asai was a girl born with a special beauty, but recently gave up on life and now spends her days and nights in a deep, almost catatonic sleep. But she is just one cast member whose life is affected on this particular night.

Murakami uses a floating camera narrator to take the reader everywhere and anywhere, where there are no bounds, where things are dark and scary. After Dark is a short, but haunting tale with some special characters who will stay with you long after you have closed the book and put it aside.

If you liked this review and are interested in purchasing this book, click here.

Originally written on May 1st 2008 ©Alex C. Telander.