Japanese writer: Keigo Higashino

I stayed up all night to read the Japanese novel, Naoko by  Keigo Higashino.  It was quite fascinating; held my interest from beginning to end. I came across this writer because his other book, Devotion of Suspect X  was our book club pick last month.   This novel touched on the supernatural.  The protagonist's wife, Naoko, and daughter, Monami, were involved in a bus crash.  Heisuke thought he had lost his wife but found out that her spirit was occupying his daughter's body.  He then realized that in fact he had lost his only daughter.  Yes, a little confusing and a very creepy situation.  Interestingly, there is a name for  a situation like this  metempsychosis.  The whole story was about Naoko and Heisuke maneuvering through life; elementary school, puberty, junior high and high school; while keeping this huge secret.  There was a very unusual twist to the plot towards the end.  I have watched movies about people switching bodies but this concept of  occupying a dead person's body was different.  I understand there is actually a movie based on this book.

I did not like the reaction of Heisuke in the end. It was too similar to the reaction of one of the protagonist's at the end of Devotion to Suspect X.   I also didn't like that there was no resolution for Heisuke after so many years of living life with this secret.

Hunger Games

I have dropped everything to read The Hunger Games.  It is the first book in a trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  The first few pages just pulled me in. I could not put it down.  It's a very exciting dystopic fiction even with the gore and the sadness we readers feel as we read about children being sent to kill other children as sport. Their communities watch and listen in on them on television as if they were watching the TV show Survivor.   The 24 young children are brainwashed to think this is a good thing to represent their district by murdering each other to win a life of comfort meaning a house and regular meals.

Killing as entertainment is not such a fictitious scenario.  Think of  Rome.  Think of the coliseum.  We know adults fought each other or fought animals to their death as others watched the "entertainment". 

I am on page 376 and I can't wait to see how this turns out for Katniss and Peeta.  How do they survive and keep their humanity?  Peeta, the baker's son, has never been brainwashed.  Before the Games begin, he is intent on maintaining his naturally kind and loving self and on keeping Katniss safe. 

I am looking forward to reading all three books.  How are the starving struggling people in the Districts going to defeat the governing fat cats in the Capitol?  I hope I will find out in the end. Also, I am now looking forward to seeing how Hollywood transformed this on the big screen.

Three Pines Mystery series

I am hooked on the Three Pines Mystery series by Louise Penny set in the village of Three Pines in French-speaking Canada.  I have read Still Life (book club selection in October) and Fatal Grace and am waiting for the arrival of The Cruelest Month from a library.

In Fatal Grace, the author tells us in the very first sentence who was going to be murdered.  I believe the same thing happened in Still Life, I remember for sure that the reader knew who the victim was from the first page. The characters in the series are all quirky which I love.  Three older women were introduced in this novel; Bea, Em, and Kaye. Grumpy Ruth the poet, Clara and Peter the artists, and Myrna the black retired Psychologist who owns a book store seem to be constant characters.  There is some trouble stirring with Inspector Gamache and there seems to be a traitor in his entourage so I am continuing with the series to find out more.   I am eager to know if someone is going to die in Three Pines.  I don't think this little village can stand another murder in its midst.

On another genre, I just heard about this new Sci-Fi book  on kindle by first time author, Jennifer Fales.  I am not a big Sci-Fi fan but I did enjoy  The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. I started Oryx and Crake by the same writer but could not get into it.

Dystopian Fiction

I found another dystopian fiction, on a blog called bookasm.com, where some states have left the union to from independent republics. It's Flashback by Dan Simmons.  So this idea in The Passage of California seceding from the union is not that unique. 

For other interesting Science Fiction books found on this blog, link here.

Fiction Therapy

Seen in September 2011 issue of Prevention magazine: Research proves that relating to fictional characters creates a sense of belonging.  What does this mean? Pick up a novel and read to avoid loneliness! Or, I would suggest that you join a book club.

Still reading The Passage.  I don't feel a sense of belonging. I feel as if I am in a scene in Lost, the TV show.  A Colorado bound group consisting of Amy, Peter, Alicia, Sara, Michael and about three other characters whose names I've forgotten are with a group of strange people that I could call The Others as in Lost.  These Others seem nice and helpful but there are few children among them, most of the women are pregnant, and they seem to be administering a drug to Michael that keeps him in their sick bay.  They have taken away the weapons from the group presumably for safe keeping and have invited the group to stay with them in their Haven.  What will happen if the group wants to leave and continue their journey to Colorado where they think they may find the answers to their questions such as why is Amy over 100 years old and looks like 15 and what is her link to the virals.

The Year of the Flood

Plague? Blue people? This article certainly reminded me of our book club selection in May, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.

I first read about Craig Venter, maverick geneticist, in The Week magazine dated June 4, 2010 in an article titled, " 'Synthia': And then there was life."

Are you reading Dystopian Fiction?

I am reading The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. I could not get into Oryx and Crake by the same writer so I am returning it to the library. Year of the Flood is described as a dystopic masterpiece on amazon.

Yes, I had to look up the meaning of dystopic. It means anti- utopia, a negative vision of future society. So, while utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, dystopian fiction is the creation of a nightmare world. This comes under the genre of science fiction and speculative fiction.

I am enjoying Atwood's nightmarish world. Toby starts off as the narrator. She seems to be alone in the world because of a "Waterless Flood". I don't know what that means yet. She is telling the story of her life before the flood; how she had to go undercover in a world where the CorpSeCorps rules, how she ended up working at a place that sells burgers made of questionable meat judging from the cat fur, how she became a sex slave to her boss at Secretburgers, how she was rescued by a vegetarian religious cult called God's Gardeners. I am on page 59. There are two other narrators. Adam one who leads the Gardeners and Ren who seems to be a teenaged girl in the cult.

Wikipedia, of course, has a list of dystopian literature, if you care to know more.

Political Gossip

I am finally reading Game Change and I am enjoying it. Some amazon reader(s) calls the book political gossip. Hey, I read People magazine so I guess I would be entertained by something like Game Change that is based on interviews of persons in the 'know" involved in a US presidential campaign.

Will move on to Oryx and Crake , an apocalyptic science fiction novel, soon.