My alma mater never fails to impress me. It is enchanting that I can still learn from my alma mater after four years of graduating. Recently, the Lady Shri Ram College Alumni Association has become quite active and I have volunteered as a Batch Representative for the 2011 batch. I contributed in the organisation of a couple of events- some big scale and others small- and it was a wonderful experience- going back to college and connecting with alumna who graduated anywhere between 1 year to 40 years back!
We started a Book Club recently. (All ELSAs invited to join! http://www.lsralumna.org/become-a-member.php).
The first book was Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami. I had never read a Murakami book so first I read up about the author online and found that he is an intriguing author. This book contains short stories - which is an unusual format for me- I prefer novels.
I started reading the first story on a flight. I read the first story and while completely engrossed, by the end of it, I was zapped. It had a meaning, but I couldn't get it. I thought I'll move over to the second one and felt the same again! How I missed Google Search at that moment!! I decided to keep the book aside- what did the connotations mean? Why couldn't I interpret them? Why had the author provided such vague details?
That is the sense of Murakami. Later, I read up online on those stories and found other people who felt like me. I usually need interpretations of ambiguous things- just for my satisfaction. But these stories made me realise that sometimes life has no answers. Murakami picks up instances, experiences and thoughts from daily life of people and gets you so involved in the story. Then, would give you lot of detail but leave out some part on which you would reflect later and keep wondering what could have been! This was my first experience of reading Murakami. I had mixed feelings. But now having read half of the book, I am enjoying this! And not all the stories are that vague, for some, I have found my meaning :D
He compels people to think of things they might not have paid attention to but are essential parts of their lives. For instance, in "The Mirror", he makes you realize that the biggest fear you can have is yourself. If one tells you that, you wouldn't take it. But when you read this story, it is impressed upon you that how much you control your thoughts and mind- which can influence you!
That was just one example, but I have had fun reading Birthday Girl, A Perfect Day for Kangaroos, and A Folklore for My Generation too.
Definitely going to read more by the author!
