Kafka on the Shore/The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2002)

What a wonderful conundrum. I feel like I understand the events in this novel as best as I possibly could, yet I have no idea how to describe in words exactly what actually occurs in Kafka on the Shore, the first Murakami novel I've read. I loved every single character, especially the two main ones. The novel combines gorgeous prose and magical realism with philosophy, mystery and sometimes even terror. What this book excels at is its imagery, unbelievability and creepiness (of which there is much more than I expected). The few complaints I have are that the dialogue comes across as a little too innocent and naive, and at some point (and I can't even place exactly where this happens) I started to lose interest in the story. That being said, Kafka on the Shore still ended up being everything I hoped for and so much more. This disturbing (in the best ways) story of love and companionship takes place in a world where cats talk, evil formless beings use human bodies and souls as vessels (which is so Final Fantasy) and our shadows or spirits act out our innermost desires. In other words, despite its imperfection, Kafka on the Shore is perfectly up my alley, and it did not disappoint.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (2007)

Despite getting an arrogant vibe from the author and not being able to read an irritating amount of the book due to having abandoned my high school spanish skills long ago, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was still an enjoyable if not great read. Sure, all the Watchmen and Lord of the Rings references (along with all the other sci-fi and fantasy ones) sprinkled throughout helped, but the story was truly fascinating. Sometimes the shift in narrator and the vast amount of book that wasn't actually about the lovable main character got annoying. But, all that was made up for in other ways, namely in the fascinating events that take place (love after love lost and then finally gained, third world upbringings, magical realism-esque curses, attempted suicides, horrendous beatdowns, the footnote side-plot showcasing the backstory of the Dominican Republic dictator Trujillo, etc.). While I sort of hinted at and complained about the fact that the majority of this book focuses on characters that aren't the main one, Oscar, they are still interesting and likable ones who's plots were intense and twisted in their own wonderful ways. The passion evident in Junot Diaz's writing is a bonus, even if he's trying too hard to sound young, hip and informal in such a formal arena as a novel. Criticisms aside, there is way more that is good about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao than bad, and I would recommend it to pretty much anyone.