DAILY PHOTO: Colorful Houses of Kanyakumari
Reply
BOOK REVIEW: The Three-Cornered World by Natsume Sōseki
The Three-Cornered World by Natsume SōsekiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
This novel was originally entitled Kusamakura or “Grass Pillow,” and it’s the Alan Turney translation that bears the title The Three-Cornered World. Turney drew from a concept that Natsume presents in the book – i.e. that an artist lives in the triangle created by the collapse of a corner called common sense. It’s a poetic and philosophical novel that is very much character-centric. In other words, if you must have an intriguing story, this book is not so much for you. However, if you find ideas and clever use of language appealing, you’ll love it.
The premise is that an artist takes retreat in the mountain countryside, and becomes infatuated with a local woman with a storied past. As the book tells us of the artist’s experience, it discusses aesthetics, the philosophy of art, and the place of emotion in artistic experience. This book is often compared to Bashō’s travelogue (i.e. Narrow Road to the Deep North) as it involves a great deal of elegant imagery and the occasional interspersed poem.
While the book is light on story, I was wowed by the author’s thought process and his use of language. While I’ve never read the original in Japanese, Turney’s translation is beautiful writing in its own right and I suspect it captures the sparse beauty for which Natsume’s work is famed. It is definitely worth reading.
View all my reviews
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
BOOK REVIEW: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha ChristieMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
This is one of Agatha Christie’s most popular and beloved murder mysteries, in large part because of the atmospherics and premise of the book. It’s not just that the murder takes place on a long-distance luxury train, an exotic and exciting setting to be sure, but that said train is stopped indefinitely by a build up of snow on the tracks in the mountains. What this does is to cut the detective, Hercule Poirot [who just happens to have ended up on the train,] off from the usual resources he would have at hand to solve a case – e.g. forensic science, law enforcement officers, etc. (Though forensic science wasn’t so advanced during the early twentieth century when the story takes place.) This requires Poirot to solve the case with only his wits, encyclopedic knowledge of crimes, and skepticism to piece together a solution to this locked-door mystery.
This was the first Agatha Christie novel I’ve read, and I felt it was a fine entry point into her work. While Poirot – like Sherlock Holmes – is a recurring character that features in a number of short stories and novels, this is a completely standalone story that requires no knowledge from the nine Poirot books that precede it. Poirot has other aspects in common with Sherlock Holmes, but is also quite distinct. Both detectives know pretty much everything there is to know about investigating crimes, but Poirot is much more personable and suave. This makes the Frenchman a more likable but less interesting detective than Holmes – i.e. Poirot is unflawed but correspondingly less believably brilliant.
I enjoyed this story. It does a spectacular job of building intrigue, and that is no doubt largely responsible for the book’s great success.
View all my reviews
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Rock at the End of the World [Haiku]
rock swells from sea, a perfect perch to think on the world's end
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Still Water [Haiku]
DAILY PHOTO: Stone Mountain Walk-up Trail
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Only Up [Haiku]
DAILY PHOTO: Boulder Beach
Tiger Riding for Beginners 