Bullet Points (Mark Watson)
Mark Watson is on something of a wave of popularity with his recent
television appearances (which has probably since decreased since I wrote this).
He himself has even acknowledged this and, milking his new-found fame,
encouraged fans to read his books as well...except the first two. I was
half-way through his first novel, "Bullet Points", when I read this
comment. Enjoying it up to that point, I wasn't going to let the author's
opinion get in the way of my interpretation of the book!
Peter Kristal is a British boy growing up in the fictional town of
Witching, Cambridgeshire, forever in the shadow of his American best friend
Richard. As they grow older together, both become interested in psychiatry,
moving to the US to study at university; Richard, however, at a much more
distinguished university.
Their careers both develop, one obviously behind the other, though
Peter achieves some minor success for his "bullet points" technique
for mapping-out his patients' lives in bullet point form to help solve their
problems. But despite this success, there is always something looming over him,
stopping him from reaching a point of satisfaction and happiness. This constant
chasing results in his eventual demise, harming both himself and the lives of
others.
For a debut novel written by a young man, "Bullet Points" is
a solid effort. Written from Peter's point-of-view with self-deprecating humour
throughout, this is a nice, flowing read, with some interesting points
throughout.
As the story draws to a close, it does maybe get a little messy in
places - perhaps why Watson is keen to point out that he was young when it was
written - but not enough to detract from the overall read, showing a writer
with craft and a knack for placing humour at the right moments.
Days to read: 12
Days per book: 15.2
The Last Wolf (Laszlo Krasznahorkai)
Being that the sentences in Krasznahorkai's novels are so long and
rambling, short stories may be the best introduction for some readers to his
works. These two shorts - separated by some twenty-three years; grouped due to
their common warden theme - as such act as a good introduction for the novice,
though are not as rewarding as the main body of his writing.
The more recent titular short, "The Last Wolf", concerns a
German academic in Berlin, relaying a story of his recent trip to Spain to a
Hungarian barman in a bar populated by Eastern Europeans and Turkish. Asked to
write a piece on the region of Spain he is invited to, he instead gets
distracted by the story of "last" wolves in the region and the local
warden who monitored them.
The German's rambling tale is in-line with much of Krasznahorkai's
work, though continued references and interjections by the Hungarian barman
bring comedy to the tale. Though the real theme here is of the warden's
relationship with the animals with whom he is put in the difficult position between
protector and predator.
The older story, "Herman", is a more sombre tale, as a local
warden, forced into retirement, takes revenge by roaming wild; setting traps on
the people of the village that has deemed him surplus to requirements. A group
of young officers arrive in the village and observe the mayhem as outsiders.
Being shorts, the two lack the depth of his novels; "Seiobo There
Below" while a collection of shorts, combined form a greater whole when
reading. As such, while the most accessible of his writing, these are not a
good starting point to truly see his craft, feeling more of a stop-gap between
greater works.
Days to read: 7
Days per book: 15.2
Botchan (Natsume Soseki)
"Botchan" is something of a popular work among Natsume
Soseki's books. It is also slightly different in style to the other works I
have read, though still sits very nicely within his oeuvre, following, as it
does, the inner-workings of a young man's mind in a slightly different take in
his exploration of the human condition.
Botchan, the child-like nickname for our hero, is a young graduate in
Tokyo with little real direction as to what's next. Offered a role in a
provincial school as a teacher on Shikoku, where Soseki himself once taught, he
goes along with the offer, but is belligerent about the whole affair, finding
little joy both at work or at home.
The narration is much more bumbling and colloquial than is typical from
Soseki, reflecting the young, arrogant hero. His misguided nature sees him
cause trouble for his work colleagues, and so eventually himself, but his
belief that he is always right is where the comedy lies, and no doubt what gave
it popularity, painting an interesting portrait of the young.
Perhaps lacking the depth and soul-searching oh his other novels, "Botchan" shows
some versatility; and that we all like a laugh.
Days to read: 10
Days per book: 15.1
A Light-hearted Look at Murder (Mark Watson)
The second of Mark Watson's first two novels, of which he is rather
disparaging, "A Light-hearted Look at Murder" is an interesting tale
involving a scenario you would believe came from the mind of a comedian; and
continues the flowing writing and dotted moments of humour seen in his debut.
Alexandra is a woman in her mid-twenties, working in London in a job
that holds little meaning for her, single and having to live with her
"City boy" brother and his similarly male flatmate. Bored, she
stumbles across an advert for pen-pals for prisoners and chooses to sign-up
with nothing to lose. This is how she meets Andreas, her new German pen friend.
But getting little from him, he then sends her an extensive
manuscript...in German. Luckily, flatmate Gareth knows some German (quite a
lot, it would appear) and is happy to take time out from his busy schedule to
translate it for her in convenient, chapter-sized chunks.
As she reads, we learn of Andreas' life from his days at Cambridge
which resulted in his meeting and falling in love with the fifth tallest woman
in Britain, becoming a Hitler impersonator and moving to London to start up a
look-a-like agency, before life takes a more sinister turn.
Andreas' intriguing grasp of English makes for some comic writing from
Watson, with his idiosyncratic mannerisms, though perhaps this starts to
decline a little as the story develops (though I blame this largely on Gareth's
translation). The switching between Alexandra's daily grind and Andreas'
memoirs keeps the reader interested, though it is without doubt the German's
half that brings the most amusement.
Alongside the moments of humour are some points of social comment, such
as seeing the Berlin Wall as a tourist attraction in early Nineties Germany as
strange, as well as the at times misguided nature of graduates in London.
As with "Bullet Points" things are perhaps a little loose at
times, though again this is not enough of a distraction to spoil the overall
enjoyment. I wonder if I'll enjoy one of his books that he actually recommends...
Days to read: 14
Days per book: 15.1
Piercing (Ryu Murakami)
"Piercing" is one of the Ryu Murakami books that I've put off
reading for a while. Polishing off his other more well-known books in the West,
I chose to leave this one on the shelf. And I can now see why I have.
Kawashima (good ol' River Island) watches over his daughter sleeping in
her bed at night, gently stroking an ice pick across her cheek. While not
wanting to, he feels compelled to use it on her. Wanting to satisfy this hunger
for violent acts, he decides to take a break from work to stay in a hotel room
in Tokyo and plot to finally use his ice pick on a young prostitute, and
hopefully relieve himself of this desire.
The motivations within the premise are hard to get one's head round,
and as such, Kawashima is not particularly a character to grow fond of. His
meticulous planning puts him in a league with standard "psycho"
characters, but with a lack of depth and simplistic writing - stating
motivations, rather than allowing them to flow naturally - both Kawashima and
his supposed victim are two characters you are quite happy to see slashed.
Days to read: 5
Days per book: 15.1
