"Wanted", Grotesque, Going to hospital tomorrow
I saw "Wanted" earlier today (Tuesday night here) and it was so-so. Angelina Jolie is, of course, a very attractive woman, but I wasn't so enthused about the fact that she's the only female in their Fraternity. Or she's the only one besides the main character who gets some kind of back story. It seems to rest too much on her and McAvoy and...yeah. I mean, it's action-filled, for sure, but I'd say more worth renting/borrowing the DVD than paying money to watch it (and buy snacks :P). Of course she turns out to be the principled member of the Fraternity in the end. And seriously, all the jumping through glass and not a single cut on the face??? Puh-lease! As an online friend said, this is definitely a movie where you have to suspend disbelief! I also found myself disliking the car chase scenes and train scenes because of all the innocent people who die or get injured. Lately the increasing number of such scenes in movies has made me cringe and decreased my enjoyment in them for the sake of the movie. I suppose I'm still carrying my sensitivity about/fear of car-accidents into the cinemas.
I also bought something floral. It’s a black-and-white jacket. I’ll probably take pictures of it/me wearing it later. I hope I can go to my friend’s party next week!
I have finished Grotesque and I don't think I will be able to clearly articulate how I feel about it. On Goodreads.com I put the books on my shelves of "Psychology," "Mystery-Crime," "Foreign/translated lit" and "Society/Culture" because it does encompass all this, even as a work of fiction. Or perhaps especially as a work of fiction. This book is told through first-person narratives. There's the initial unnamed narrator who is half Japanese-half Swiss. This story takes place in Japan, though some characters look to their past to events in China or Switzerland. Her younger sister, Yuriko, is "monstrously beautiful." There's also Kazue Sato, a classmate of the first narrator (UN for "unnamed narrator") in Q High School for Young Women, which is a competitive high school. It turns out Yuriko and Kazue are both murdered after becoming prostitutes, and about twenty years after they were all in Q High School for Young Women. The story is told through UN's narration, as though she's speaking to us, Yuriko's journal (after her death), the accused man's writings of his "crimes" and Kazue's own journals (after her death). All the journals were given to UN after the murders and part of her "showing" to "us" what she knows. There are other characters who influence the plot, as well.
It is a bizarre book, in a good way. At first, going through UN's part of the story I was impressed by how unflinchingly honest she was about herself, even if she was manipulative and malicious. She made no excuse for it. However, as time went on, I started to doubt whether UN was as self-aware or truthful as she seemed to be. The characters become more desperate, pathetic and chilling. It also made me wonder who I was most alike, if anybody. I have no idea.
This book belongs on the “Psychology” shelf because it really does make one try to find the motives behind the characters’ actions and ponder one own’s morality, as a review states. Or perhaps not one’s morality, but what morality is in the first place. Where the line is drawn, if a line can be drawn in the first place. The characters can be seen as completely out of touch with reality, or too principled they can’t compromise on anything or frightening. Characters either seem unable to see past what they’re born into and spend so much time yearning for what they wish could be they fall to really low depths, or they aspire so hard to be what they may not be able to achieve they fall, too. I don’t know who to believe or what to believe, sometimes.
“Society/Culture” because it draws a lot from Japanese and Chinese society to explain why/how the characters are like. The competitiveness and elite-ness in the Q High School for Young Women makes me glad I never attended such a place. The High School is part of the entire Q system, where one can join from elementary school and go all the way up to university. Those who have joined since elementary are part of the “insiders” circle and those who just join in High School are seem as “uncool” and can never be part of the “insiders” circle, though they can be “orbiters.” Some girls try so hard to fit in, or lie where they live so they can seem more affluent. Then there’s how things “work” in the workplace. And women’s role in society and how to hold “power.” A lot of things I don’t agree with, some I do sometimes.
“Mystery-Crime” because it is what the story starts with - two murders years apart. That is how we are introduced to UN. Even at the end I’m unclear about who killed one of the women.
“Foreign/Translated lit” because it is work of Japanese by Natsuo Kirino translated into English by Rebecca Copeland.
I gave this book 5-stars because it is thought-provoking and well-written/well-translated. :P It’s probably not one I would reread in a moment of vulnerability/low self-esteem but a book I can’t forget ever.
Some quotes from the book:
”Men live by rules they’ve made for themselves. And among these rules is the one specifying that women are merely commodities for men to posses. A daughter belongs to her father, a wife to her husband. A woman’s own desires present obstacles for men and are best ignored. Besides, desire is always for the man. It’s his role to make advances on women and to protect his women from the advances of others. I was a woman who was seduced by a member of her own family. Among the rules in a man’s world, this was a big taboo. And for that reason, Karl was terrified.”-pg 115
“I suspect there are lots of women who want to become prostitutes. Some see themselves as valued commodities and figure they out to sell while the price is high. Others feel that sex has no intrinsic meaning in and of itself except for allowing individuals to feel the reality of their own bodies. A few women despise their existence and the insignificance of their meager lives and want to affirm themselves by controlling sex much as a man would. Then there are those who engage in violent, self-destructive behavior. And finally we have those who want to offer comfort. I suppose there are any number of women who find the meaning of their existence in similar ways. But I was different. I craved being desired by a man. I loved sex. I loved sex so much I wanted to screw as many men as I could. All I wanted were one-night stands. I had no interest in lasting relationships.” - pg. 143
“ ‘…At heart, a man truly hates a woman who sells her body. And any woman who sells her body hates the men who pay for it. You get two people together with all that hate, somebody’s going to kill someone before too long. I’m just waiting for my day to come. When it does, I don’t plan to fight. I’m just going to let myself be killed.’ ” - pg. 404
“Women have only one reason for turning to prostitution. It’s hatred for others, for the rest of the world. No doubt this is incredibly sad, but then men have the capacity for countering such feelings in a woman. Still, if sex is the only way to dissolve these feelings, then men and women really are pathetic. I will launch my boat on a sea of hatred, my eye on the far shore, wondering when I might make land. Ahead I hear the roar of water. Might my boat be headed for a waterfall? Perhaps I must first plunge into the falls before I can set out upon the sea of hatred. Niagara? Yguazu? Victoria? My body trembles. But if I can make the first descent, the path that opens from there will be surprisingly pleasant, won’t it?” - pg. 467
“Mitsuru and I were like a mountain lake formed by streams of subterranean water. The mountains are deep and lonely and the lake desolate. No travelers pass by. But in the earth beneath the surface, the waters are always flowing and always moving in unison. If I went beneath the surface, Mitsuru did as well. If I surged, so did she.” - pg. 166
“I remembered that when we were in high school, I used to think of both Mitsuru and myself as mountain pools formed by underground springs. If Mitsuru’s spring was deep beneath the surface of the ground, so was mine. Our sensibilities were complementary and our train of thought was exactly the same. But now those springs had disappeared. We were now two separate pools, lonely and remote. Moreover, Mitsuru’s pool had already gone dry, exposing the cracked earth at the bottom.” - pg. 305
“The naked human is powerless against nature. As a scientist, I clothed myself with knowledge and believed that one could not live without the study of science. But now I realize that science alone is not enough. I suppose that when I taught school, all I taught was the heart of science; I am ashamed to think of it now.” - pg. 309
I particularly like the one about science. :P Kidding.
I should go and pack up for my hospital visit tomorrow. I may stay until Friday if the surgery is needed, if not I’ll be back later Wednesday, I think.
I also bought something floral. It’s a black-and-white jacket. I’ll probably take pictures of it/me wearing it later. I hope I can go to my friend’s party next week!
I have finished Grotesque and I don't think I will be able to clearly articulate how I feel about it. On Goodreads.com I put the books on my shelves of "Psychology," "Mystery-Crime," "Foreign/translated lit" and "Society/Culture" because it does encompass all this, even as a work of fiction. Or perhaps especially as a work of fiction. This book is told through first-person narratives. There's the initial unnamed narrator who is half Japanese-half Swiss. This story takes place in Japan, though some characters look to their past to events in China or Switzerland. Her younger sister, Yuriko, is "monstrously beautiful." There's also Kazue Sato, a classmate of the first narrator (UN for "unnamed narrator") in Q High School for Young Women, which is a competitive high school. It turns out Yuriko and Kazue are both murdered after becoming prostitutes, and about twenty years after they were all in Q High School for Young Women. The story is told through UN's narration, as though she's speaking to us, Yuriko's journal (after her death), the accused man's writings of his "crimes" and Kazue's own journals (after her death). All the journals were given to UN after the murders and part of her "showing" to "us" what she knows. There are other characters who influence the plot, as well.
It is a bizarre book, in a good way. At first, going through UN's part of the story I was impressed by how unflinchingly honest she was about herself, even if she was manipulative and malicious. She made no excuse for it. However, as time went on, I started to doubt whether UN was as self-aware or truthful as she seemed to be. The characters become more desperate, pathetic and chilling. It also made me wonder who I was most alike, if anybody. I have no idea.
This book belongs on the “Psychology” shelf because it really does make one try to find the motives behind the characters’ actions and ponder one own’s morality, as a review states. Or perhaps not one’s morality, but what morality is in the first place. Where the line is drawn, if a line can be drawn in the first place. The characters can be seen as completely out of touch with reality, or too principled they can’t compromise on anything or frightening. Characters either seem unable to see past what they’re born into and spend so much time yearning for what they wish could be they fall to really low depths, or they aspire so hard to be what they may not be able to achieve they fall, too. I don’t know who to believe or what to believe, sometimes.
“Society/Culture” because it draws a lot from Japanese and Chinese society to explain why/how the characters are like. The competitiveness and elite-ness in the Q High School for Young Women makes me glad I never attended such a place. The High School is part of the entire Q system, where one can join from elementary school and go all the way up to university. Those who have joined since elementary are part of the “insiders” circle and those who just join in High School are seem as “uncool” and can never be part of the “insiders” circle, though they can be “orbiters.” Some girls try so hard to fit in, or lie where they live so they can seem more affluent. Then there’s how things “work” in the workplace. And women’s role in society and how to hold “power.” A lot of things I don’t agree with, some I do sometimes.
“Mystery-Crime” because it is what the story starts with - two murders years apart. That is how we are introduced to UN. Even at the end I’m unclear about who killed one of the women.
“Foreign/Translated lit” because it is work of Japanese by Natsuo Kirino translated into English by Rebecca Copeland.
I gave this book 5-stars because it is thought-provoking and well-written/well-translated. :P It’s probably not one I would reread in a moment of vulnerability/low self-esteem but a book I can’t forget ever.
Some quotes from the book:
”Men live by rules they’ve made for themselves. And among these rules is the one specifying that women are merely commodities for men to posses. A daughter belongs to her father, a wife to her husband. A woman’s own desires present obstacles for men and are best ignored. Besides, desire is always for the man. It’s his role to make advances on women and to protect his women from the advances of others. I was a woman who was seduced by a member of her own family. Among the rules in a man’s world, this was a big taboo. And for that reason, Karl was terrified.”-pg 115
“I suspect there are lots of women who want to become prostitutes. Some see themselves as valued commodities and figure they out to sell while the price is high. Others feel that sex has no intrinsic meaning in and of itself except for allowing individuals to feel the reality of their own bodies. A few women despise their existence and the insignificance of their meager lives and want to affirm themselves by controlling sex much as a man would. Then there are those who engage in violent, self-destructive behavior. And finally we have those who want to offer comfort. I suppose there are any number of women who find the meaning of their existence in similar ways. But I was different. I craved being desired by a man. I loved sex. I loved sex so much I wanted to screw as many men as I could. All I wanted were one-night stands. I had no interest in lasting relationships.” - pg. 143
“ ‘…At heart, a man truly hates a woman who sells her body. And any woman who sells her body hates the men who pay for it. You get two people together with all that hate, somebody’s going to kill someone before too long. I’m just waiting for my day to come. When it does, I don’t plan to fight. I’m just going to let myself be killed.’ ” - pg. 404
“Women have only one reason for turning to prostitution. It’s hatred for others, for the rest of the world. No doubt this is incredibly sad, but then men have the capacity for countering such feelings in a woman. Still, if sex is the only way to dissolve these feelings, then men and women really are pathetic. I will launch my boat on a sea of hatred, my eye on the far shore, wondering when I might make land. Ahead I hear the roar of water. Might my boat be headed for a waterfall? Perhaps I must first plunge into the falls before I can set out upon the sea of hatred. Niagara? Yguazu? Victoria? My body trembles. But if I can make the first descent, the path that opens from there will be surprisingly pleasant, won’t it?” - pg. 467
“Mitsuru and I were like a mountain lake formed by streams of subterranean water. The mountains are deep and lonely and the lake desolate. No travelers pass by. But in the earth beneath the surface, the waters are always flowing and always moving in unison. If I went beneath the surface, Mitsuru did as well. If I surged, so did she.” - pg. 166
“I remembered that when we were in high school, I used to think of both Mitsuru and myself as mountain pools formed by underground springs. If Mitsuru’s spring was deep beneath the surface of the ground, so was mine. Our sensibilities were complementary and our train of thought was exactly the same. But now those springs had disappeared. We were now two separate pools, lonely and remote. Moreover, Mitsuru’s pool had already gone dry, exposing the cracked earth at the bottom.” - pg. 305
“The naked human is powerless against nature. As a scientist, I clothed myself with knowledge and believed that one could not live without the study of science. But now I realize that science alone is not enough. I suppose that when I taught school, all I taught was the heart of science; I am ashamed to think of it now.” - pg. 309
I particularly like the one about science. :P Kidding.
I should go and pack up for my hospital visit tomorrow. I may stay until Friday if the surgery is needed, if not I’ll be back later Wednesday, I think.