I am in Japan right now and need some books to get me off Amazon. I've been trying to tackle Infinite Jest but think it's too clever for me at the moment.

I am looking for, the best way for me to describe it, is for something Human. Raymond Carver/ Denis Johnson- Jesus Son type thing where it is a person not truly extraordinary but still their story moves you.

Great writing is a must. Perhaps a love story done differently then is normal.

The last few books that really hit me were: The Road-Cormac Mccarthy(that was the writing mostly), Ian Mceawan-Atonement, Jack Keourac- On the Road, Into the Wild and Junot Diaz- Drown

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there was actually pretty good if informal book exchange to be had among expats. Of course I lived in the total sticks, otherwise I probably would have been reading less.


>I am looking for, the best way for me to describe it, is for
>something Human. Raymond Carver/ Denis Johnson- Jesus Son type
>thing where it is a person not truly extraordinary but still
>their story moves you.

Have you tried A Suitable Boy? It's enormous, but it's great. And if you start it and like it, it'll probably be a while before you need another book.

>Great writing is a must. Perhaps a love story done differently
>then is normal.

See above.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

You might also consider Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder, and/or The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman. Both are nonfiction, both will grab ahold of you and not let go, and both will give you a new way to look at your life.

On fiction, consider The Last Samurai, by Helen De Witt. It's not about Japan and only about samurais in the respect that the son uses Seven Samurai as a model for searching for his father.
It's about what makes a worthwhile life or a life worth living.
And it's about the value of granting an individual autonomy over his/her own existence and what, if anything, we can responsibly do to aid a person who is in distress without compromising their autonomy.
And it's about what it means to look for your father, and who is a father, and what is it to have a father.
And it's about brilliance and the limitations of brilliance.



Also, Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell -- It might be too clever, if Infinite Jest is too clever, but take a minute with it and just see if it resonates. It's a book that's most like those Russian nested dolls. You open one and there's another, and you open that, and there's another one. Cloud Atlas is six nested stories, all different genres, all very lightly connected thematically. Story A begins and abruptly stops in the middle, and then Story B begins and, again, abruptly stops halfway through. Same with C, D and E. Then you get all of Story F, then the last half of Stories E, D, C, B, and A. Sounds gimmicky and very complicated. And yes, it's a gimmick, but it works. And yes, it's complicated but the stories are so different that they're easy to keep track of.

So then, past the structure, the substance of the book is really remarkable. It's about bondage and freedom and how we bind ourselves and how others enslave us and where true freedom lies. And there are portions of it that are really so beautiful and sad that you'll cry.


~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

When I read Possession (not long after A Suitable Boy, incidentally), I seriously thought it was one of the best books I'd ever read, but I've got some foggy notion that you didn't love it.

I've read a bunch of her other books and haven't been particularly impressed, though. So *shrug*

Can't believe it was ten years ago I read both of those. Man, time is flying. And I haven't even read much in the intervening ten years.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

and I thought it was a little overdone or pretentious or something, I forget exactly now, yeah, as you say, it's been a while. Yikes.

Just yesterday I was listening to a talk given by a teacher I really respect, that I attended when it was given and have on tape, and that I regularly copy for people, and I realized that the talk was in 1998. Hold up, that's 11 years ago! I don't even know what to think about that

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

>and I realized
>that the talk was in 1998. Hold up, that's 11 years ago!

you just made me realize it was '98 when I read both of those books, which was very clearly NOT (only) ten years ago.

I could wax on about how weird that all is for a while...

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

and really do enjoy it. Another word for Infinite Jest is too smart. Not that I struggle with the comprehension, I just can't keep going.

But I definitely appreciate the lengthy post and will look into the books you mentioned

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>I am looking for, the best way for me to describe it, is for
>something Human. Raymond Carver/ Denis Johnson- Jesus Son type
>thing where it is a person not truly extraordinary but still
>their story moves you.

Have you read The Sportswriter by Richard Ford? That would be my strongest recommendation. A beautiful work on grief and regret. I read that Carver and Ford were friends and Carver thought highly of Ford's writing.


>Great writing is a must.

Marilyn Robinson's Housekeeping has the greatest writing I've come across so far. But then again I'm not well-read so make of that what you will. LOL.


>Perhaps a love story done differently
>then is normal.

Love story? I don't know how normal it is or not, but Norwegian Wood worth looking into particularly if you like stories framed as memory / recollection. I enjoyed it.


Two Japanese novels I really enjoyed are:

-Kawabata's Sound of the Mountain (a beautiful work on aging, regret, memory, mortality)

-Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters (an epic work that looks at a modernizing Japanese society through a family; kinda like a Ozu film)

with the exception of the Japanese novels I haven't read.




PEACE

"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." - Kundera

>with the exception of the Japanese novels I haven't read.

The Kawabata novel is beautifully written. His Snow Country was a pleasure to read as well (not content-wise; it's melancholic). I don't think he always wrote that way, but in those 2 novels his style is lyrical. The Master of Go is my next Kawabata. Sounds like an interesting read.

I'm just starting Tokyo Year Zero, which is about Tokyo at the moment of and shortly after the surrender to the US in WWII. I think it's also a detective story, but I really just started it. But so far it is incredibly dreamlike and weird... in a good way.

I don't think it's high art. But so far I think I like it.


~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

No, I haven't. What do you recommend?

>I'm just starting Tokyo Year Zero, which is about Tokyo at
>the moment of and shortly after the surrender to the US in
>WWII. I think it's also a detective story, but I really just
>started it. But so far it is incredibly dreamlike and
>weird... in a good way.
>
>I don't think it's high art. But so far I think I like it.

I went to the library yesterday after reading your post. Taking into account that you think you like it so far and Pelecanos' blurb on the back cover, it's now on my to-read list. I read the first three pages, and it's looks like something I'm gonna take a while to get through. I'm a slow reader.

By the way, I'm sorry if I've asked you this before as I don't remember if I did or not, have you read any Steve Erickson besides Zeroville? That's the only Erickson I've read.

it'll take me a minute to remember which of them really grabbed me the hardest.

I also just started The China Lover by Ian Buruma. I loved his little nonfiction book Murder in Amsterdam and I saw The China Lover in the bookstore a couple of times before I succumbed. I halfway figured I didn't want to read his fiction and also maybe that the topic wasn't arresting, and now I think I might have made a big weird mistake reading it in tandem with Tokyo Year Zero, but we'll see how it goes. Tokyo Year Zero takes more attention than I might always be able to bring to it, and The China Lover looks like I can just sink into it.

Okay, Erickson.... It was either Days Between Stations or Rubicon Beach, and I kind of think it was the latter, that I liked the best.

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

>Tokyo Year Zero takes more attention than I might always be
>able to bring to it, and The China Lover looks like I can just
>sink into it.

Cool. I'll keep an eye out for you thoughts on them in the next book post.

>Okay, Erickson.... It was either Days Between Stations or
>Rubicon Beach, and I kind of think it was the latter, that I
>liked the best.

Much appreciated. I enjoyed Zeroville. Do you know if Silverblatt talked about it in a past show? The book has a Silverblatt blurb but it could have been regarding another novel.

I scrolled through some of the older shows but if Erickson was on them, I missed it.

Hey, you know Nicholson Baker was on last week talking about The Anthologist? It was the first time that he interviewed a writer about a book *after* I had read the book, and it was great, although it did make me want to re-read the book so maybe it's better to listen to the interview first after all LOL

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Paul Auster. I love his New York Trilogy the best but your post made me think of Moon Palace. I recommend all his books.

also Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. Her writing is nothing like Carver's but she definitely tells an unconventional romance in an unconventional way.

also Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms. Classics if you haven't read them and pretty similar to what you're requesting.

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"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King." - Tom Waits

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/theprivateers_music.htm

because I just finished The Sun Also Rises as my last book. Probably rubbed off on me

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Well if you're looking for more Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms would fit the criteria you mentioned.

Also, if you're looking for more Cormac McCarthy, his Border Trilogy (All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain) is amazing, my favorite works of his. Great romances in there as well. If you saw the All the Pretty Horses movie and didn't like it, don't let it put you off the book.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King." - Tom Waits

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/theprivateers_music.htm

I think it fits in with Carver/Johnson.

it's short stories as well and won a Pulitzer.


PEACE

"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." - Kundera

and also was lucky enough to see her read during colllege. She is an interesting writer, one who I don't know how I feel about and will probably have to delve into her other books to see if I like her or not.

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Great science fiction. Both books are the same story told from the perspective of two different characters, and match up perfectly.

The End of the World as We Know It by Robert Goolrick

It's a memoir that is very human and very raw, often times humorous but equally as depressing in some areas. Very well written, too.

Nice page turner...interesting story about a dude that steals and sells prescription pharmaceuticals to support his increasingly demanding obsession w/vintage toys...

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

i am not a reader in the truest sense, but enjoyed every minute of that novel.