The Evolution of Science Fiction

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: 100 Word Book Review*

Haruki Murakami's Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a novel about abandonment, loss and coming to terms with the past. Tsukuru Tazaki was one of a group of five friends, who finds that he has been cut off by the other four during a visit home from college. Each of these friends, except for Tazaki, had a color (Red Pine, White Root, etc.) as part of their surname. The novel chronicles the resulting depression, recovery and his eventual reconciliation with the surviving friends several years later. This novel, though exploring very deep and powerful emotional issues, seems very restrained. The characters lack the emotional excesses common to American fiction. This was not a problem for me, but some readers may not appreciate the cultural difference. Although not the type of novel that I ordinary read, I found Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage an engaging and interesting book. A-

*100 word reviews are 100 words long, more or less. Often more.

The Poetry of Sylvia Plath: Crash Course Literature 216

Langston Hughes & the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Literature 215

Slavery, Ghosts, and Beloved: Crash Course Literature 214

PTSD and Alien Abduction - Slaughterhouse-Five Part 2: Crash Course Literature 213

Race, Class, and Gender in To Kill a Mockingbird: Crash Course Literature 211

To Kill a Mockingbird, Part I - Crash Course Literature 210

Things Fall Apart, Part 2: Crash Course Literature 209

If One Finger Brought Oil - Things Fall Apart part I: Crash Course Literature 208

Reader, it's Jane Eyre - Crash Course Literature 207

Ophelia, Gertrude, and Regicide - Hamlet II: Crash Course Literature 204

Ghosts, Murder, and More Murder - Hamlet Part I: Crash Course Literature 203

Fate, Family, and Oedipus Rex: Crash Course Literature 202

Today I am posting episode 2 of Crash Course Literature rather than the scheduled Thursday Book Report. I have not had the time to catch up on my reading these last couple of weeks, but hope to finish the Detroit book over the weekend. I blame television. The Walking Dead. True Detective. Grimm. Hannibal. Once Upon A Time. Arrow. Criminal Minds. Agents of SHIELD. Intelligence. Those Who Kill. Bates Motel. Person of Interest. Vikings. Helix. And the new Cosmos. I've also been busy at work.

I hope to have something to post tomorrow in lieu of this video, which I am posting today.

A Long and Difficult Journey, or The Odyssey: Crash Course Literature 201

New Friday Feature for this blog will be another video, this week part 1 of Crash Course Literature: