With each year comes one concrete, consistent thing that forever entertains, comforts, and enlightens me... that would be books. According to Goodreads I read more in 2013 than 2012. I felt a little surprised, certain that it was the other way around for some reason. Still, I had a few decent books on that list that I cropped through to find my 7 Favorite Reads of 2013 that I wanted to share on the blog. Some of the books I've never written about; this is the perfect time to do so. I also have another list comprising of a few of the books I rather leave in 2013. Neither list is necessarily numbered in order of greatness, flavor, or level of entertainment. It’s just a list of the books I walked away from feeling mostly inspired (or uninspired) by.
Here goes…
1. The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
Natsuo Kirino is a Japanese crime writer best known outside of Japan for the English adaptation of her grizzly novel, Out. I was introduced to her by that particular book, after a bored bookstore stroll for new titles to read. Quickly put, Out is about four hard-up Japanese women working in a bento factory while disposing bodies for extra cash. Their method of disposal? Divide the bodies into pieces before each takes a part to an undisclosed location for dumping. It doesn't take long before their trust with one another, concerning money and their nasty dealings, begin to unravel from within. And true to its nature, some of these women don't make it till the end of the novel. While Out may sound like some sort of ABC crime novel under the streets of Tokyo, the psychology Kirino goes through with each of the women places this book a whole step above. That exploration into a character's dark psychology (and impulse) is familiar in Japanese crime novels. You see it in authors Keigo Higashino and Miyuki Miyabe as well. Nonetheless, I was sold by Out's synopsis and have been a fan of Kirino since.
The next novel adapted into English was her book, Grotesque. Just as dark as Out, Grotesque follows the story of two Japanese sisters weighted by the inferior treatment of women in Japan. One sister has turned to prostitution underneath the weight. When I say this story will take you down some dark and scary places--I mean it. It is one ride that will keep you hanging on just to find some kind of resolution with these sisters. If you can stomach it, of course. In 2008 the English adaptation of Kirino’s Real World was released. Here we had another dark story featuring a group of Japanese teens assisting a murderer-on-the-run within their group. Naturally, Kirino’s dark stories reflect societal concerns, particularly bullying and the heavy amount of pressure placed on Japanese students and academics, so addressed in Real World.
So what is Kirino’s fourth English adapted book about?
Almost the same theme concerning the overthrow of women in Japanese society; however, it’s told underneath a retelling of an old Japanese kwaidan-like myth. The Goddess Chronicle takes place on a Japanese island shaped like a teardrop (let’s go ahead and push the symbolism). On this island we’re introduced to two sisters born and designed to fulfill a local prophesy. One sister, Kamikuu, must be a representative of purity and light, whereas the other sister, Namima, resides in the shade. Natural to Kirino’s characters and storytelling, Namima wishes to escape her position underneath her sister’s shadow. This wish becomes increasing dire when Namima is ordered by tradition to serve the goddess of darkness. To serve the goddess is to live in isolation without the island’s graveyard, attending to the dead. However, Namima carries a secret that breaks her tabooed position as a servant of the darkness. Namima devises a plan to escape the island. Should the tradition-baring locals find out about her secret, the consequences could equal up to her life. Where Namima's eventual escape leads her is to the Realm of the Dead, where she meets the goddess of darkness herself. It's here that Namima realizes that she has a lot to relate to with the goddess herself. They both share the pain of the betrayal. Now to find absolve (or maybe revenge) within those betrayals are the women’s common goal.
Now the 3 books I'd probably leave in 2013 follows...
1. Jazz by Toni Morrison
Seems a little off I'm sure. It's not that I disliked the book, it just wasn't what I'd hoped for. I've learned that much of Morrison's material post-80's has what I see as a distracting dip in vivid prose and language. The problem for me is that that "distracting" sometimes lures me away from gathering some sense of the plot of the book, or even the order of the plot. Add in the multiple themes and narratives in Jazz; I just didn't leave fully connected with overall story. However, some of the individual narratives in the book stood so strongly that it was like reading an individual short story inside the book. Glimpses of pieces of the past that made the two main characters was where I enjoyed the book the most. In any regard, it's definitely a book that needs a second, focused read.
2. The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams
The Urban Fantasy genre has failed me over the years. After Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series set the tone for what to avoid while writing/reading in the genre, I've been sketchy on picking up anything that even distantly suggests a girl must sleep with vampires and werewolves for a plot. Save for the authors who introduced me to the genre (sadly, Hamilton is one), I try to look carefully for new authors in the genre. I'm afraid they'll try to pull me in with a ridiculous plot about sex and a she devil who thrives on it to survive. Williams, luckily, isn't any of those things. However, what did annoy me about this particular book was that the heroine spent a little too much time than I cared for ruminating on her affection between two guys. One guys is labeled bad. One guy is labeled good. We got a love triangle and the whole time I just wished the main character, McKenzie, would give up the need for romantic stability and just start slaying heads. Something tells me that's a personal taste of mine. Nevertheless, I'm actually on the fence about continuing the series. I'll let it get a few books in then see.
3. Deadline by Sandra Brown
She has some good ones. She has some boring ones. This was a boring one. I hate to say it, but many times Brown's characters are all the same. Their careers are different, but their desires are not. Predictable in many senses. I saw a lot of that in Deadline. Same as in 2012's Low Pressure. Same as in 2011's Lethal (which I actually liked). As I said before, Brown's books sometimes read like Lifetime movies--and that's not a bad thing. But here's what I see too often that annoys me. There's a guy. He's often a suspect involved in the murder contained within the book. He likes the girl. She's often related to the victim in some way. They're either on the run from cops or bad guys. Between that running, she is a wall to his desperate sexual advances. She cracks. He makes way. Together they become a force to smoke out the true killer. That's been her last 3-4 books.
That's the end of my list folks! Wish I could've written about them all, but trust and believe me when I say that the ones that I didn't write about would've required an entire post. Any suggestions or comments? Do you have a list 2013 book list of favorites? Share and let's compare notes!
