Finished The Miracle at Speedy Motors [6/24/2008]

As usual, the latest installment in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is an easy and enjoyable read. A nice diversion from heavier books, my only complaint is that it was too short.

I'm always impressed by the richness of the descriptions of life in Botswana. The beauty of the land shines off of the pages like a national geographic photograph.

Finished Kafka on the Shore [6/15/2008]

The characters in Kafka on the Shore form an ultimate karass that is clouded in doom. Everyone seems to be living in a dark, stormy otherworld. Only Oshima is able to escape being dragged along by fate and prophecy. Kafka seems to willfully act out his curse. Throughout the whole book, I felt like everyone would die at the end. I was surprised that some characters made it out alive.

I kept looking for a connection that explained why the characters were linked together, especially Kafka and Nakata. In that sense the ending was not satisfying because I'm still wondering.

I wonder if in the future Sakura and Hoshino will meet and fall in love. I think that would be cool. It's strange to have two of the secondary characters being the most lovable (at least for me).

Despite all the blatant and excessive foreshadowing I still enjoyed the story because of the mystery and magical-realism.

Southland Tales [6/06/2008]

My humble analysis: