The Radleys is a vampire novel that isn’t a vampire novel. The family are vampires, to be sure, but vampirism here is a metaphor for identity in general. The novel, then, explores the consequences of denying one’s true self; the facade erected by the Radleys alienates the family members from each other, and the family unit from society at large, ironically, as the facade is constructed for the single purpose of fitting in. The Radley parents, Peter and Helen, are abstaining vampires — they don’t […]
“It’s not me but the world that’s deranged.”
Where do I even begin to describe a book like 1Q84? This was my first Murakami novel, and though I felt, at times, that certain minutiae for which he is apparently infamous (food preparation, repetitive dialogue and re-iteration of expository detail) contributed unnecessary padding to the 1157 pages, overall I found myself quite swept away in the lyricism of the writing and the surreal but precise detail in observing the world of 1Q84. The central characters are Tengo, a cram school (assuming this is an […]
Creating Your Dream Guy Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be
If you’ve never been in the position our heroine finds herself in – 30, single, and at a family wedding being smothered by pitying glances and “it’ll be your turn someday”s – then her decision to make up a boyfriend might sound a little ridiculous to you. That’s alright; that’s reasonable. But let me just add in a couple of factors for you, see if they help clear things up a little. Not only is Grace Emerson single & semi-desperate, but her ex-fiance has just […]
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