Frozen Dreams (Tatematsu Wahei)
Tatematsu Wahei (wahey!)’s ‘Frozen Dreams’ was a book that I had spied
in the old second-hand bookshop in Balham – you know, the one that’s now an
estate agents. I didn’t buy it, because I’m your classic rubbernecker. Though
recently at Camden Lock Books at Old Street Station, numerous copies were
available on the cheap. I only bought one.
Noboru is the responsible student leading an expedition into the
Hokkaido mountains in Northern Japan. Choosing the winter months as it would be
quieter, though obviously a lot more dangerous, the group set-off, with the
peak Poroshiri their goal, before they all head into the dreaded world of
full-time employment.
To start, this feels like the sort of book you’d find in Robin Ince’s
‘Bad Book Club’, with a cover that seems a bit simple and naff, with the
tagline ‘based on a true story.’ And to start, it does feel a bit like that.
Slightly strange, and perhaps unnecessary, descriptions are included, alongside
lusty images in the mind of key protagonist Noboru for the marriageable Yuko.
Perhaps the translation isn’t that strong, strange considering it is by Haruki
Murakami translator Philip Gabriel, but there’s something about the way it is
written that just doesn’t work.
But give it time, and as the journey progresses, the book starts to come
alive a little, happily as most of the characters die. Trapped under an
avalanche, Noboru awakes to realise he is the sole surviving member of the
party, but restricted by his predicament, he cannot move under the snow, and so
drifts in and out of consciousness. And this is where the main crux of the
story comes into play.
As he drifts in and out, he lapses into a dream world where his future
is played out for him. The story of his first job, apartment and marriage to
the now-lying-dead-beside-him Yuko are told and their endless days spent
climbing mountains together. It is the life the soon-to-be-graduate wants, but
will now never have.
For this reason, ‘Frozen Dreams’ becomes something of an interesting
story, with some nice ideas. Being that it is a fictional account of a
fictional future, it is difficult to suggest exactly have much is based on a
true story, but takes it away from feeling like a cheap and easy throw-away
novel for holidaying. But the first half is a little weak and takes some credibility
away from the book in the reader’s mind and, like Noboru, you wonder if it was
a journey worth taking.
Days to read: 10
Days per book: 14.9
The Analects (Confucius)
'I'm not confused.'
- Alan Partridge
The works of Confucius are the sort of thing that you feel you should
read as people refer to them here and there and you want to add your name to
the guest list of this intellectual party.
Now, I’ve read such things as ‘The Art of War’ and ‘Hagakure’, so I’m
accustomed to the style of these ancient teachings, much like members of the
Wu-Tang Clan or Bone Thugs-n-Harmony are. These are short nuggets of wisdom to
ponder, re-read and think ‘what the Hell is that supposed to mean?!’
The Penguin (quack quack) edition that I read has extensive background
setting from D.C. Lau, which probably serves as a more useful read, giving the
teachings some context and further explanation for the lay milkman, providing
approximate timelines of the life of Confucius and those around him.
There is a lot of repetition within the actual twenty books of ‘The
Analects’ itself; coupled with Lau’s text you feel like you are reading the
same pieces over and over. Also, outside of the actual context, many points
seem to lack application.
Nonetheless, you will learn a good few things about how you should live
your life: benevolence, basically. And how to impress people at parties you’re
not invited to, sat alone in your bedroom, night after night.
Days to read: 21
Days per book: 14.9
The Book of Fathers (Miklós Vámos)
This is a book bought for me for a number of reasons - that number
being two. For one, this is a Hungarian book and it was bought for me by my
Hungarian wife as a birthday present. For two, this, as the title suggests, is
a book about fathers, and the day before my birthday, I became a father for the
first time, and thus will not get any birthday presents ever again.
This is one of those books that can be considered an epic: it's got more
than like two hundred pages, or something. It charts the rise and fall of ten
or so (I can't remember) generations of eldest sons, starting off around 1700,
covering three hundred years of Hungarian history up to the new millennium. Naturally,
not just a story of family lineage, this is a Hungarian history lesson, the
many changes to the face a nation with ever-moving borders documented as times
move on.
A time piece is found by the first of the eldest sons and is
subsequently handed down to the next generation. Luckily, all have a son as
their first born. Alongside this, a journal is kept - the titular Book of
Fathers - which each son in turn adds to before passing it on. These two
heirlooms combined mean that each father/son/Hungarian has the ability to see
into the past or the future, using history to their advantage, or foretelling
their demise. Each is gifted, yet flawed, changing their name, religion and
even nationality, only to return back whence they came.
The family move across different parts of Hungary's geography, though
starting Germany, moving to Debrecen, Eger, Pecs and Budapest, migrating around
Europe and America along the way. Culture and the arts are developed, religion
is persecuted and wars are fought as history dictates. But with a book as
ambitious as this, it can often be difficult to get the ideas fully
articulated.
With many characters to cover, they can't all be fully developed, with
variation in the level of interest in each. Some pack a long journey into a
short life, while others burn out slowly and quietly. Following the nation's
history as well, much like some of the characters, you can see what's coming
and so certain chapters in the Book of Fathers are building to the inevitable. The
style of writing seems to develop as time passes, which could be to show the
development of language over time, or laziness in the writing/translation.
As with any family, this is a bit of a mixed bag, but I like ambitious
ideas, and while it may be a bit of a skim to fit three hundred years into one
novel, the changing of the guard means that you don't get too bored with any
one character. As we approach the new millennium and the book's conclusion, it
feels appropriate in the current climate, with migration shown as something
that has always happened, yet proving that the more things change, the more
they stay the same.
Days to read: 30
Days per book: 15.0
Content Provider (Stewart Lee)
As I don't read newspapers (they're essentially all scum that I
wouldn't wipe my arse with, unless really desperate after Villa beat Sunderland
away and the Sports Cafe in Newcastle doesn't have any bog roll, and someone
had left one open on a page that just so happened to feature an article about
West Brom), I don't get to read all these Sunday supplement articles by the
comedians whose newsletters I otherwise regularly subscribe to.
So, following on from the likes of Brooker, Mitchell, Iannucci, et al,
comes Lee. Largely formed by some of his Observer articles in the absence of
David Mitchell - holidaying with his wife, and Charlie Brooker and his wife - there
are also some other works for other publications, some not used.
Lee likes to mess around with his audiences, and many of these are
subversive works, written in the guise of 'The Character Stewart Lee'. Much
like his stand-up, there are lots of allegories to make political points,
always tinged with the juvenile. You, therefore, aren't always quite sure how
to receive each, some feeling genius, others just strange ramblings of a man
that should get out more.
But ever the mischief, Lee wants you to feel that way. The majority of
articles come with short introductions from 'the real' Stew Art Wee and are
followed by some comments left on the publication websites in response to the
works, the majority of which are negative, picking out the often deliberate
mistakes, set as traps to lure the armchair pundit into moral outrage.
'Content Provider' confirms Lee as an enigma, intent on dividing
opinion, as all good comedians should. Reading consecutively, this can get a
bit grating, like cheese, and so should maybe should be consumed an article at
a time, whenever you have five to ten minutes to sit down and put one away, you
know, like a - don't say it - toilet book.
Days to read: 15
Days per book: 15.0
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