Faith in Murakami reaffirmed again! It's Murakami's first novel/s and he's already at the top of his game. I expected some awkward new writer things which get better with more writing but no, he had figured out his style and genre from the beginning. I noticed some things this time. After reading a number of Murakami novels, I realised that his central character is the same all throughout his works. They have very similar qualities. It's a male, slightly introvert, unexpressive, easy, not speaking unless needed, containing emotions inside kind of guy. That character seems very cool to me. Another spectacular thing about this protagonist is they're all starkly unambitious, with no big dreams and particular agenda for life. His novels always have a slightly depressing, devoid of novelty in life, zen-like undertone, which make them so addictive. In this set of novels, there are two central characters i.e. the protagonist and the Rat (Yes! real name not mentioned). Two novels are set three years apart describing incidents in their lives. There is no such plot or a defining twist and turn in the book which is rare in a Murakami book (but again, first work), still, it's very readable and addictive. I was hooked to it from start to finish. Looking forward to reading all of his remaining works. All hail Haruki Murakami!
The mothership of graphic novels, the one which set a new trend a new genre even, Watchmen is one of the most talked about books (yes, not just a graphic novel, considering its length). It introduced the world to the dark side of the Superhero universe, a very dark side. It features heroes which are blood-thirsty killers, sexual fiends, highly intelligent sociopaths and what not. The graphic element is bold, vividly colored and gets to you in some scenes. Alan Moore has done a maddeningly brilliant job with the writing, some monologs and conversations so deep and depressingly profound that you have to reread them. I have been hooked nowadays to gritty, realistic, depressing, pessimistic and beautifully ugly (if I can say so) stories nowadays. It may be a phase in reading life or it could be me, finding my genre; we'll see. These stories work for me, because in a daily life, we put on a mask on our face, which is politically correct, empathetic, optimistic and cheerful, which is not a bad thing, we need that mask to survive the ordeal that life can be sometimes. That being said, we also need a mirror to show us what things really are, what we really are, deep inside and what darkness we contain within us. It's not to screw with our head but to have an understanding, a realistic expectation from life and in my opinion, to survive sorrow and bleakness that life offers us frequently; To see darkness in the eye and have a wisdom to know that this is normal, this is ok, this is LIFE.
Wind/Pinball: Two Novels by Haruki Murakami
Watchmen by Alan Moore