The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: Japanese
Diary Of A Void – Emi Yagi
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie A translated work in which a Japanese office worker fakes a pregnancy to avoid menial cleaning and tidying jobs that her male counterparts are never burdened with. However, the hoax becomes all-absorbing, and the boundary between her lie and… Continue Reading “Diary Of A Void – Emi Yagi”
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Suzy Keiko is a young Japanese convenience store woman who enjoys the repetitive nature of her job, often referring to the store manual to act and respond to requests appropriately. Her simplistic life is ridiculed by friends and family for… Continue Reading “Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata”
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki & His Years of Pilgrimage – Haruki Murakami
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo The protagonist of this book is Tsukuru Tazaki, a Japanese man in his 30s who designs railroad stations. He recalls his younger years, where at high school he had four best friends whose names all include a colour: red,… Continue Reading “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki & His Years of Pilgrimage – Haruki Murakami”
The Memory Police – Yoko Ogawa
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo On an unnamed island, people’s memories are slowly deleted by the controlling authority, the Memory Police. ✚ “Censorship and authoritarian surveillance are at the thematic heart of this novel. Items that represent art, cultural identity and independent thought… Continue Reading “The Memory Police – Yoko Ogawa”
Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo A romantic, 1960s coming-of-age story recaptures a young man’s first, hopeless, and heroic love. ✚ “Norwegian Wood is the book that made Haruki Murakami famous. Which some would say is surprising considering it is a move away from… Continue Reading “Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami”
Kafka On The Shore – Haruki Murakami
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel A teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, runs away from home to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy and search for his long-missing mother and sister. ◉ “One day in 2006 I bought this book new off the shelves in an… Continue Reading “Kafka On The Shore – Haruki Murakami”
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel This seemingly simple story of a Japanese man whose cat runs away is anything but. ❖ “I couldn’t wait to re-read and share this, my #1 favourite book of all time. I was nervous too, knowing how much of an emotional… Continue Reading “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami”
The Garden of Evening Mists – Tan Twan Eng
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A former Japanese prisoner of war becomes an apprentice gardener and tries to make sense of her life © Supreme Court judge Teoh Yun Ling retires from her role prosecuting war criminals in Kuala Lumpur and returns to the Malaysian hilltops… Continue Reading “The Garden of Evening Mists – Tan Twan Eng”
Nip The Buds, Shoot The Kids – Kenzaburo Oe
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Nip The Buds, Shoot The Kids tells of a group of boys from a Japanese reform school who are evacuated to a remote mountain village during wartime. They are forced to cope with hostile villagers, fight a breakout… Continue Reading “Nip The Buds, Shoot The Kids – Kenzaburo Oe”
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel This seemingly simple story of a Japanese man whose cat runs away is anything but. It is a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II and… Continue Reading “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami”
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