Ms. Hen reviews After Dark

 

After Dark

Haruki Murakami

Vintage International

2007

Translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she wanted to read more Haruki Murakami. That's all. This book sat on Ms. Hen's shelf for a while before she read it; it's not that she didn't want to read it, but she was waiting for the right time.

This novel is about a young woman, Mari, who is killing time between midnight and the morning. She starts at a Denny's reading a book, and is interrupted by a young man named Takahashi who she had known when she was younger. He tells her he has a practice session with his band, and he plays the trombone. Mari drinks her coffee, and after he leaves is interrupted again by the owner of a love hotel, or love ho. She wants Mari to be an interpreter for a Chinese customer at the hotel.

Mari goes with her to the hotel, and she is shocked that the young woman was attacked, and everything was stolen from her, including her clothes. She is a Chinese prostitute. Mari gets to know the people who work at the love ho. Her sister is asleep at home, and has been asleep for two years. We see her in her room reflected in a mirror, but we don't know what's real.

This novel is different from others by Murakami in the way that it is very simple. It makes Ms. Hen think of a really long short story. She read this quickly, faster than she usually reads a book. It reminded her a little of a Japanese show on Netflix called MIDNIGHT DINER, which Ms. Hen loved. It's a show about a diner in Japan that's only open in the middle of the night, and wacky characters come in, and the owner cooks for them. This show might have been inspired by this book, or by real life.

Ms. Hen thinks Murakami is always a good idea. This novel is haunting in in the right way. It's like real life, with a twist. That's what a good book should be, the right amount of fantasy to take the reader away from the world. We all need that.

Ms. Hen at the Boston Public Library

Ms. Hen reviews The Price of Salt

 

The Price of Salt

Patricia Highsmith

Coward McCann, Inc.

1952

Ms. Hen discovered this book because she was researching banned books, and this one came up. Ms. Hen is interested in banned books because she likes to know what people in power don't want the public to read, since those are usually the most interesting books. She read another banned book recently, AUGUST IS A WICKED MONTH, and she liked it, and she wanted more like that.

This novel is about a young woman named Therese who works at a department store, but wants to be a set designer for the theater. A woman comes in to buy a doll for her daughter, and Therese decides to send her a Christmas card. Carol and she have lunch, and Therese becomes fixated on her. Carol is about to get a divorce from her husband.

Therese's boyfriend, Richard wants her to go to Europe with him in the spring. She likes his family, but wants to spend time with Carol. Carol asks Therese if she wants to go on a trip with her, and Therese says yes. Richard is upset. Therese and Carol drive west, and have an affair. Carol's husband does not want her to have custody of their daughter, Rindy.

Ms. Hen does not this this book is very risque or graphic compared to today's standards, but she understands why it was controversial in its time. Two women having an affair would have been a scandal in 1952. Ms. Hen read that this was the first and one of the only lesbian novels to have a happy ending. Ms. Hen isn't sure it's a happy ending, it's more bittersweet.

Ms. Hen thought this book reminded her of a few different books. It has essences of CATCHER IN THE RYE, in the way that the character is young and confused about what she wants in her life. Ms. Hen thought that Therese and Holden Caulfield could have walked by each other on the street in New York. It also reminds Ms. Hen of THE STRANGER by Albert Camus, since the character is detached and possibly pathological. The travel scenes make Ms. Hen think of ON THE ROAD.

Ms. Hen liked this book, even though she didn't really understand the character. She is aloof, and is single-minded, all she wants is Carol. Ms. Hen doesn't understand what is it about Carol that she falls in love with, but some things have no explanation.

Ms. Hen watched the film CAROL, which is based on this book, right after she read it. She thinks this is a fantastic film, and might be better than the book, if that's possible. The cinematography brought the 1950s to life, and Ms. Hen was transported back in time. The actors were fantastic also, with Cate Blanchett in the lead role.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel, and she understands why it was banned, but she doesn't think books should be banned, because people will just want them more. Ms. Hen dreams of one day writing a banned book to bring people into a frenzy. Ms. Hen dreams of a lot of things, and she hopes some of them might come true.

Ms. Hen reviews The Doll's Alphabet

The Doll's Alphabet

Camilla Grudova

Coffee House Press

2017

Ms. Hen picked this book up because it was recommended to her online. She got it from the library she patrons. She thinks this is a very strange book, but she liked it a lot.

One of the blurbs on the back of this book said something like, if fairy tales had dreams, these nightmarish stories are what you would come up with. Ms. Hen agrees. All these stories are creepy, and haunted Ms. Hen. But she loved them. She wished this book would have gone on longer.

In "Waxy," an alternate past, a woman works in a factory, but does not find a man who takes exams; they have a baby they have to hide. "The Sad Tale of the Sconce," is about a sconce that is the product of an affair between an octopus and a mermaid figurehead on a ship, and how the sconce is passed around, going from place to place. "The Moth Emporium," is a story about a young woman who starts to work at a used clothing store where she and her sister broke a mask years before; the store is filled with strange things from all over the world.

This collection reminds Ms. Hen of a few books she has read: ST. LUCY'S HOME FOR GIRLS RAISED BY WOLVES, A SPINDLE SPLINTERED, and STRANGER THINGS HAPPEN. This is Ms. Hen's favorite kind of book to read, about alternate messed up worlds. Ms. Hen thinks this world is dysfunctional enough, and she does not like to spend time in it, or reading about reality, because it can be too hard.

Ms. Hen says that if you want to be transported to strange worlds for a little while, read this book! It's very short, but should be longer. Ms. Hen loves weird things, and this book is full of them, things like buttons, dolls, tinned meat, octopuses, sewing machines, and women who do what they want, or what they don't want. Ms. Hen is a weird hen, and she admires other weird things in the world.