(Also) Reading:
Even the title sounds like a koan
So far, the story is really captivating. The writing style is putting my off somewhat, but perhaps the author (David Mitchell) intended it to be — it’s almost haiku-like. Or Sei Shonagon-like; it has a dreamy cadence.
Let’s see how it finishes. And then I have to return to Imajica and Early India and…
Ok so I finished it now. This is what I can say – for the most part, it’s a rather weirdly, ‘literary’-written, James Clavell-alike period piece, set in a very interesting time and place (I remember around 2009 when I first learned about the Dutch colony at Dejima, what a surprise it was). However, the final pages are almost unbearable to read – they are that good. Of course, one reads through one’s own experiences, so I’m obviously bringing my own baggage here; but the last few pages are what make the novel for me; it ceases at that point to be a thriller, ‘Asia’ story, etc. Last time I was so moved I guess was when I read ‘A hundred years of solitude’.
Which means, I will probably never read either book again (even if I find myself in Cartagena someday). Hitting too close to home.
