The Little Stranger

Title: The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah Waters
Pub: Riverhead, 2009
Pages: 466
Genre: Gothic, Spooky, Ghost Story, Literary Fiction

I signed up to read The Little Stranger for the readalong over at Estella's Society but then failed to actually complete it in a timely manner because various other obligations and enticements came my way (I'm specifically looking at my ipod and the audio deliciousness of Steven Weber).

Also, I should probably mention that this is my first Sarah Waters.  I have had some of her books on my TBR shelves for a bit but I admit, I've been little weary on reading any.  You see there is such a large Sarah Waters following out there in the interwebs that I was largely afraid that I would not get it and then have to pretend to get it like I was back in my college literature circles where we pretended to have read EVERYTHING EVER CREATED IN LITERATURE.

Why yes.  I can be a wee bit dramatic.

What makes this book perfect and totally atmospheric for a Halloweeny Octoberish read?  There's a haunted house.  Well...at least, we're led to believe that there's a haunted house.  That, or a family that's just good and nuts, which is equally as fantastic.

And let me back step just a bit.  This house isn't JUST a house.  It's an estate.  It's ginormous. It's a legacy and has this ominous dark historical Importance.  Dr. Faraday is our narrator and we see and feel the Hundreds Hall through his eyes (Its name, folks! I'm gonna name MY home too one day). He remembers when his mother used to work for the Ayres when he was a young boy.  And even then he was infatuated with its brilliance.

Events bring Dr. Faraday back to the Hundreds and the Ayres world.  And there's so much going on but not really, which sounds weird but it's true.  Like, the plot sorta meanders which is why it took me so blasted long to finish the book...but it doesn't meander in a way that makes it boring.  Instead, I feel like I'm watching the events unravel...or even better, like, this book should have been made into an Alfred Hitchcock film except you know, that's not possible, since we can't make AF films anymore.  But still...it had that sort of presence.

Also, I adore that Dr. Faraday tries to be a scientific narrator, but actually ends up being quite enveloped in the craziness of the house while still claiming oh that can't happen.

Freakin' brilliant.  I love this book!

Norweigan Wood - The End

We reached the end!  Everyone in this readalong deserves a bottle of wine.  How did we make it through this "love story" without wanting to succumb to the desperation of Life WITHOUT drinking? Who knows.

As always: spoilers (might be) abundant!

So first, I've got to put this out there...was anyone surprised when Naoka offed herself? Did anyone else feel (slightly) relieved?

Okay, now that that's out there....

I have to admit, the end swayed me from rating this a two star book.  Instead, it gets a solid three stars.  There were moments when I just knew that Mr. Murakami just got it.  Life that is.  And all of its Despair that goes along with it.  I'm still on the fence that someone would encounter THAT many people who would commit suicide, but who knows.  I don't think that's the real point of the book, you know?  Rather, I've grown accustomed to thinking each of the deaths as a representation.  [1] But more importantly, I feel that this is a book that is filled with unreliable narratives.  And having THAT mindset, I enjoyed the ending much more.

I think it's safe to say that we all loved Midori.  Man she had the patient of a saint didn't she?  But that whole convo where she's like, if I'm thinking more about you than my BF then there's a problem.  And of course, BF agreed, so breaking up with him just seemed to make sense.

I read the afterward...or rather, the translator's note. I found it interesting that Murakami considered this a love story.  Because I didn't get that at all.  But I wonder if I walked into it thinking that it was a love story, my perception would have been different.  I can finally see how it's a coming of age story.  There is a lot of growing up going on.  I can see Toru's struggle with his desires and his honor (and by honor, I mean, him honoring Naoko and his promise to her.  And I think he finally got angry when he told the ghost of his friend he always had her.

I just finished reading a review on Goodreads that clarified some things for me.  I'm too dense to figure out how to link the actual review, but if you go to the Norwegian Wood page it's the first review.  One thing in particular that I didn't consider because of course I put things in perspective of my own universe, is the rate of suicide in Japan.  And after a quick search, Japan recently has one of the highest suicide rates.  I imagine in the 60's and 70's it was higher.  So maybe how I associate certain drug usage as a staple in American college culture, the conflict of suicide is common in Japan.  #ignorance

I might eventually change my whole view of this book the longer it settles.  I'm also drinking wine right now so that might add to my acceptance. 


_____
[I'm still working on this theory and might need to mull it over a wee bit longer to figure out what each represent]