Journey Under the Midnight Sun

You know how the sun rises and sets at a certain time each day? In the same way, all of our lives have a day and night. But it’s not set like it is with the sun. Some people walk forever in the sunlight, and some people have to walk through the darkest night their whole lives. When people talk about being afraid, what they’re afraid of is that their sun will set. That the light they love will fade.

Keigo Higashino is an acclaimed mystery novelist from Japan, and one of my favourite authors. He started writing novels in the 80’s and was popular in Japan for quite some time. But the world came to know about him when his crime thriller, Yōgisha X no Kenshin, was translated to English as Devotion of Suspect X. He writes perfect crimes which are, indeed, page-turners.

Journey Under the Midnight Sun takes us through a time span of two decades. A murder is committed, and the specifics of it remains unresolved. Time goes by, life of everyone associated changes, but the tenacity of Sagasaki, the investigation officer, doesn’t. He pays attention to the ramifications of the murder all these years, and continues his search for answers even after his retirement, which leads to interesting discovery about the past.

The intricate structure of the plot is purely mesmerising and shows the sheer brilliance of the storyteller. You come across these unanticipated subplots, with new characters and events, that just pops up and connect with the main storyline afterward. The ending of the book is kind of abrupt, but gives a logical closure to the crusade.

“When you wander in the dark too long, you start to see things that aren’t really there.” — Keigo Higashino

If you haven’t read any books by Keigo Higashino, I would recommend reading Devotion of Suspect X first. I had trouble remembering all these Japanese character names. But that one didn’t have many characters and it helped me to focus on the story instead of going back and forth to see who is who. This wouldn’t be a problem if you have read Japanese novels before.

Zen Pencils — Creative Struggle: Illustrated Advice from Masters of Creativity

And that’s what separates the pros from the hobbyists, the ability to create when you don’t feel like creating. The ability to “master their disinclination”

Zen Pencils always lift my spirits. They are good for a quick shot of inspiration. The latest book is no different. Like Zen Pencils: Cartoon Quotes from Inspirational Folks and Dream the Impossible Dream, Creative Struggle is yet another collection of inspirational comics, most of which are available to read for free in zenpencils.com. I love to keep hardcopy versions because they are worth it, and are good for gifting.

Gavin Aung Than gives colours to these magnificent and inspirational quotes by famous personalities and transform them into stories. He illustrates the struggles they went through, how they conquered the fears and created their best pieces of work. He also gives a glimpse of the unexplored sides of these famous personalities we know.

Norwegian Wood

“Letters are just pieces of paper,” I said. “Burn them, and what stays in your heart will stay; keep them, and what vanishes will vanish.”

This is my first Murakami. I’ve been hearing about his books for a long time, but I never really picked up one until last month.

I was slow in the beginning. It took me some time to get into the story. Once that happened, I could connect with the emotions of this always-so-nice protagonist, and of almost all the characters. The characters are amiable, funny and mostly suffering. I was experiencing the story, not just reading it. A mix of emotions were carrying me through the book while I was reading the story of Toru, Naoko, Midori and Reiko. I’m skipping the summary part. It’s better to read and experience it yourself.

I read that it was author’s first attempt to write a ‘regular’ novel. This isn’t just a romance. It’s a beautiful and well-written story. I no longer wonder why Haruki Murakami is one of the famed writers in the world.