It is a rare writer who can combine the spectra of recent history in its full horror, the dreams of love, and the mysteries of the soul. So is Monsieur Murakami. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle was published in Japan in 1995, and once again, I regretted my inability to read the novel in the writer's language. … Continue reading In a deep well, reflections on reading Haruki Murakami’s Wind-up Bird Chronicle
Japan
The Edge ~ Céline, de cinq à sept
Diary of Céline Jeurève, February 12, 2048 Charles: how I miss him this maverick husband of mine, he who sends me those erotic little messages that never fail to affect me (in a sweet way)! He has to be away when I am getting more and more anxious - is this how I feel? - … Continue reading The Edge ~ Céline, de cinq à sept
#AtoZChallenge: April 29, 2013 ~ Yalta (Conference)
Yalta Conference, February 4-11, 1945 It was their last meeting, the last Allies Conference of the War, that was to reorganise Europe in “peace-time”. WWII was drawing to a close: soon Hitler would be dead in the ruins of Berlin, soon the USSR, and her martyrs, would win the war, at last, at the price … Continue reading #AtoZChallenge: April 29, 2013 ~ Yalta (Conference)
#AtoZChallenge: April 11, 2013 ~ Japan
When I was a very young man, a boy still really, I imagined Japan as a beautiful and mysterious - hence unattainable - woman. For at that age, one looks at countries one has not visited, let alone lived in, as one does those unfathomable creatures of the opposite gender, with a sense of wonder. … Continue reading #AtoZChallenge: April 11, 2013 ~ Japan
Daily Prompt: Judgment Day
If you were to judge your favorite book by its cover, would you still read it? 1Q84, Haruki Murakami's masterpiece, is a long poem to love and the irrepressible human spirit: this cover is a joy to look at - the butterflies in the greenhouse, and the two moons. The two moons signal that this … Continue reading Daily Prompt: Judgment Day
#DPChallenge ~ 2 AM Photo
It’s 2AM and your phone has just buzzed you awake, filling the room in white-blue LED light. You have a message. It’s a photo. No words, no explanation. Just a photo. Tell us all about it. And what happens next. As usual I wake up in seconds. And immediately I know where this pic comes … Continue reading #DPChallenge ~ 2 AM Photo
#WritersWednesday: September 12 – The Greatest Longing
Inspired by Wednesday Writing Prompt, courtesy Amanda L. Webster (@missmandy76) The Greatest Longing He was away for a few days, the first time in nearly a year that they were apart for more than a few hours. On the morning he left she drove him to the airport: “I’ll be back in a sec…” he … Continue reading #WritersWednesday: September 12 – The Greatest Longing
#WritersWednesday: August 1st
Yukio Mishima, the last Samurai He was one of the most gifted and original writers of his generation, straddling western modernity and, at the same time, rooted in the heroic traditions of his country, Japan. His death, following the samurai ritual of the seppuku, confirmed his uniqueness, in what he saw as an age of … Continue reading #WritersWednesday: August 1st
Playing tag!
A big smile and thank you to Holly Michael (@HollyMichael) for tagging my photoblog and inviting me to tag in turn! As is the tradition, here are my answers to 11 questions, and then my tags... 1/ If you could change your name, what would you change it to and why? I probably would not, but, say, … Continue reading Playing tag!
#AtoZChallenge: April 28 – Y is for ¥
The Yen is Japan’s national currency. Its importance in the world foreign exchange (Forex) markets reflect the size and dynamism of the Japanese economy. Japanese Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of an industrial nation’s economic strength, is third worldwide, after the US and China. Since the demise of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1973, … Continue reading #AtoZChallenge: April 28 – Y is for ¥
