The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami translated by Jay Rubin

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 

by Haruki Murakami

translated by Jay Rubin

Rating: ** (two stars)

Book Length: 607 pages

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Mystical Realism, Japanese Litterature

This book is a difficult review for me to write. This book is extremely well written (or translated since I did not read it in original Japanese) in terms of sentence structure and word flow. Yet the story did not flow well for me. I wonder how much of this has to do with me not reading a ton of Japanese Litterature. I wonder if it is my fault that I did not connect with this book in the slightest. I finally realized that every book I read is a link between the words the author puts down and my own experiences. 

It may seem dramatic to say that I counted down the pages until this book was over. It wasn't torture reading the words. It was torture reading the story. There are subplots within subplots throughout the entire story. All contain a mystical theme. The theme itself didn't concern me, however how they were connected did. They weren't connected. They were fragments that seemed like they should all flow together yet never did. 

I still do not get why there needed to be a Lieutenant Mamiya at all. The story would not have lost anything by cutting out his story completely. What is the point of May Kashara. Was she suppose to be some stand in while his wife was gone? If so why make her underage - so that they can never be? It seems that Creta Kano filled the same purpose and he had no problem walking away from her to look for his wife. Why have separate characters for Malta Kano and Nutmeg Akasaka. The all filled the same role. Why have one set of characters leave to introduce a new set? Is this suppose to represent his short term mystical connection? Would it have made any difference to have left Malta Kano and Creta Kano in these roles? Why is there such a strong sexual connotation in the beginning of the novel that is completely absent in the later part of the novel? Why not leave it out in the beginning or at least give it meaning in the later part of the book. As you can see the story just didn't add up to me. It was made unnecessarily confusing. 

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Book Length: 370 pages

Genre: Science, Non-Fiction, Biography

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is almost three different stories that are highly interconnected until they are woven into one cohesive book. 

The first story is almost a memoir of the author Rebecca Skloot. She is very much present in the book as most of the present day stories are narrated as her experiences. The experiences may be about her interactions with the Lacks' family but you will finish the book with a connection to the author as much as to the subject of the book. 

The second story is the history of the HeLa cells that were harvested from Henrietta Lacks and were grown to finance an entire medical field. These cells have done more for medical history than perhaps anything else. The story is a record of that history. This record is written in a way that is gripping and understandable to individuals who do not have a medical background. Yet it is engaging and through enough to be of interest to even those who have worked directly with these cells. 

The third story is a story of Henrietta Lacks and her family. This is a story of a rural African American female whose parents were slaves. It is the story of her daughter Deborah who lacked formal education yet educated herself of anything to do with her mother's cells. When she didn't understand something she would work until she at least had a concept of the idea. The story is about how her family was wronged by the medical community that made millions off her mother's cells yet left her family in poverty. It is the story of how she strived for better for the future Lacks children. 

The first two stories were highly fascinating. It is the third story that left the biggest impression as I read this book. I have read about the civil rights movement and accounts of desegregation. No other book put the chronology as clearly in my mind. Rebecca Skloot, who was alive during the early 2000s was the granddaughter of slaves. Within her life she was denied basic human rights. Reading about this family put it into perspective for me better than memorizing dates from any history class had. 

I wish this book was required reading for everyone. 

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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Book Length: 211 pages

Genre: Children's Chapter, Fantasy

There is no way for me to review this book unbiasedly. If I was to name one book that was my most influential in my childhood it would be A Wrinkle in Time. I must have read this book over 100 times.

The main reason that I love this book is due to Meg. Meg is ordinary surrounded by extraordinary. She has two brothers that excel at the social world and a younger brother that is a genius. Meg does not completely fit into either world. She doesn't even get the gift of being average. She stands out and she doesn't know how to stand out.

Meg goes on a fantastic voyage and ultimately finds out that she is, in fact, extraordinary. She is extraordinary because she is exactly who she is. She didn't have to grow up or change, she only had to recognize who she is. I think this is why I fell in love with this book in my youth.

Reading it as an adult the book is still magical. It still resonates with me. It is still an amazingly well-written story.

I have loved a lot of books in my time, yet A Wrinkle in Time will always have a special place.

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