The Friday Face-Off: A Cover Featuring Eyes

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.

I felt that it was time to join in another Friday Face-Off, so here we go!

This week's topic is:

‘Eyes wide shut' – a cover featuring eyes

So while looking through some book covers in an attempt to find one for this week, I found many covers that had close ups of faces or a half of a face that showed eyes, but hardly any with just one eye. I wanted to try to find something that was more focused on the eyes specifically, and there are a lot of books out there with eyes on the cover, but it seems I haven't read them. I settled on The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami because I love the eyes that are on the cover--they have a really fun cartoon style, but there's also more to them which fits the mysterious and unpredictable atmosphere of the short book. I was disappointed to see that only one other edition also had the eyes, but I loved all the other covers so much that I just wanted to share all of them and use it for this week's topic, so here we are!

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

   

US Knopf 2014 PB || US Harvill Secker 2014 HC || Persian Edition

  

French Edition || Arabic Edition || Turkish Edition

My choice:

 

 

I'm choosing U.S. cover as my favorite probably because it's the one I read and I just love those eyes, but I also love the French and Arabic editions! They all have something to do with the story and I  think they are all so well done, particularly the Arabic one.

Which covers do you like best?

Buy it! Amazon | Book Depository

Never miss a post of bookish fun by subscribing to Forever Lost in Literature!

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to pause adblock to see it!)

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlight is:

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
Publication Date: October 9th, 2018

Knopf
704 pages

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository 

From Goodreads: 

"The epic new novel from the internationally acclaimed and best-selling author of 1Q84 

In Killing Commendatore, a thirty-something portrait painter in Tokyo is abandoned by his wife and finds himself holed up in the mountain home of a famous artist, Tomohiko Amada. When he discovers a previously unseen painting in the attic, he unintentionally opens a circle of mysterious circumstances. To close it, he must complete a journey that involves a mysterious ringing bell, a two-foot-high physical manifestation of an Idea, a dapper businessman who lives across the valley, a precocious thirteen-year-old girl, a Nazi assassination attempt during World War II in Vienna, a pit in the woods behind the artist’s home, and an underworld haunted by Double Metaphors. A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art—as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby—Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers."

Haruki Murakami is one of my all-time favorite authors. Every book he writes is an auto-buy for me and I've probably read all but one or two of his books. I just cannot get enough and often consider his books a 'palette cleanser' when I'm feeling overwhelmed by life or other books. All that being said--I'm beyond thrilled for this book! My boyfriend went to Japan last summer and brought me back the Japanese edition of this book (since it came out in Japanese last year), so it's been a cruel irony to have the book in my possession but not be able to read it. But our turn is almost here!

What do you think about this upcoming release? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Never miss a post by subscribing to Forever Lost in Literature!

Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to pause adblock to see it!)

     

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

x

This week I'm once again participating in Book Traveling Thursday!

"Book Traveling Thursdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Catia from The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle's Book Blog. The idea of this group is check out the list of weekly themes for each month in this meme's Goodreads page and simply pick a book to match the theme! Once you've found a book, explore different covers of various editions for that book and make a post about it.  To find out more, you can check out our Goodreads group!

This week's theme is a freebie, so I chose to go with:
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami. 
There are so many English and international covers for this particular book, so I just chose a few of each! I am fascinated by the endless ways different places seem to decide to depict the sheep on the cover and had a lot of fun going through all of these.

Original Cover Design:

 

Other editions:

Top Row: UK, US Vintage remake, Romanian
Second Row: Turkish, First Edition Hardcover US,  Polish
Third Row: Portuguese, Vintage US, Vintage US
Fourth Row: Czech, Japanese, First Edition, Vintage US
Bottom Row: Georgian

These covers are a lot really interesting to me. As I mentioned, I'm intrigued by all the different ways the sheep are portrayed on many of these covers. I really love the original Japanese edition, but they're all pretty great. (Also, I just had to add the Georgian one because I so rarely see them!)

What do you think of these covers? Do you have a favorite? Have you read this book?

Never miss a post of bookish fun by subscribing to Forever Lost in Literature!

Waiting on Wednesday: Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

This week's upcoming book spotlight is:

Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

Publication Date: May 17th, 2017
Knopf
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

From Goodreads:

"A dazzling new collection of short stories--the first major new work of fiction from the beloved, internationally acclaimed, Haruki Murakami since his #1 best-selling Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. 

Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all. 

Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic."

Anyone that knows me probably is aware of the fact that Murakami is one of my absolute favorite authors, so a new release by him is one that I can't wait to read. Plus, I just think this one sounds really interesting on its own.

What do you think about this upcoming release? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Never miss a post of bookish fun by subscribing to Forever Lost in Literature!

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, translated by Alfred Birnbaum. 1993, Vintage Press. Paperback/Softcover. 400 pages.

When it comes to Murakami, I am never entirely sure where to begin my review. There is so much to say, yet also so little that can capture the quality and content of his writing. But alas, I shall do my best.

The world created by Murakami in Hard-Boiled Wonderland the End of the World is both familiar and unfamiliar. I always look forward to reading Murakami. His books aren't just ones that I pick up on the fly and read here and there; I almost always wait until I'm not overly busy to read his books, because they have this wonderfully cozy, calm effect that is perfect for those lazy days or breaks from the monotonous events of life. I always feel wonderfully refreshed after finishing one of his books, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland was no exception.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland is divided into two narratives. The first of these follows an unnamed man who works as a 'Calcutec' in a somewhat realistic, yet still entirely surreal, world setting. The other is set in a much more surreal, otherworldly setting called The End of the World, where a young man is separated from his shadow upon entering. I'm choosing to not divulge anything further, as you really need to explore it firsthand, plus it would be rather difficult to attempt to explain.

This book deals heavily with the ideas of reality, and what one's reality is, whether they are aware of it, and how it influences or doesn't influence their own reality. The two realities introduced above exist simultaneously, and Murakami sort of leaves it up to the reader to determine what similarities or connection may exist between the two. This is a very mind-bending book that plays with the idea of the conscious and subconscious, and the characters within take great interest in playing with the brain and how it works.

There are an abundance of heavy and somewhat complicated topics in this book, and the amount of discussions and explanations did actually get a bit exhausting at various points. It wasn't an exhaustion that was a result of boredom of lack of interest, but rather one where I just found myself becoming overwhelmed and I needed to put the book down for a while so that I could clear my head and refresh. Otherwise, the topic became too much for my brain to continue to comprehend - but hey, that could just be me.

Murakami's prose was, as usual, wonderfully crafted and calming. Even in moments of what would be perceived as 'high stress,' I can't help but feel calm and relaxed while reading it. He includes countless details that are both important and seemingly unimportant, but they never begin to feel like a drag, and I remained engaged. I actually love the little details of Murakami's writing: his vast music collections and mentions, the in-depth descriptions of food and food preparation, and the quirky and clever actions and words of each character.

I would also like to tip my hat to the wonderful translator Alfred Birnbaum who, although I have not read the original, does a wonderful job translating Murakami.

Overall, I am giving Hard-Boiled Wonderland four-and-a-half stars for its unique and thoughtful themes and story. I can't say that this has been my favorite Murakami, but it is still a great book that I would certainly recommend.

               Get more reviews and book news in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

You might also like:
Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Vintage; 2006. 480 pages. Paperback/Softcover.

Oh Murakami, where do  I even begin? So far, I have loved every book I have by Mr. Murakami. There is something in the way he writes that simply draws me in and holds me tight.

I can completely understand how his style might not appeal to everyone. It's very different, and I can understand the arguments saying that it's slow, boring, or too philosophical; it's understandable. But that's what I love about Murakami. he can write these incredibly stunning novels where at times it feels like absolutely nothing is happening, yet at the same time there is so much occurring. His writing is the ultimate calming presence; it really allows me to just stop, breathe, and calmly read a book. In my opinion, you can't rush through reading one of his books. Rather, you have to savor each word, each glance and movement of a character.

But, I digress, let us move on to this specific review...

Kafka on the Shore, as you can probably guess, was truly wonderful. We are introduced to the main two characters early on: Kafka Tamura, a teenage boy who decides it is time for him to leave home and embark on his own life journey, and Nakata, an elder gentleman who lives a very simplistic life, but is suddenly called away from this normalcy to embark on his own important journey. Along the way, both characters meet a wonderful cast of supporting characters, each with their own unique personality and outlook on life. Nakata and Kafka are drawn together in a not-so-obvious way, and their paths intertwine in an offbeat manner, resulting in the unveiling of a personal discovery of themselves.

As always, the characters Murakami brings to life are extraordinarily dynamic and have extremely unique personalities and ways of looking at life. He creates characters that are at the same very relatable, but also just different enough that we stay intrigued.

Murakami does wonderful work of blending reality with the metaphysical, doing so in such a way that they work hand-in-hand to create a unique narrative that keeps you hooked at every moment.
This novel is extremely blunt, yet also incredibly secretive. There's no shying away from sexuality, violence, or heavy philosophical debates. However, there's always something left unspoken, almost as if the reader is the one that should be left to decide what the true meaning of something is, or why certain things happened. It's an extremely addicting quality, and one that must be executed very carefully in order to be successful. Luckily, this particular instance was very successful. It's a thinking book, and a darn good one at that.

Also, there are talking cats. I think that speaks for itself.

Kafka on the Shore will be receiving five stars from me due to its beautiful prose, extraordinary plot, and delve into the philosophical aspects of life. If you have never had the chance to read Murakami, I highly suggest you do that. Norwegian Wood is also wonderful, and I highly recommend, as well as 1Q84, though it's a bit of a longer read; if you're looking for a short, more simplistic introduction to Murakami then I would highly suggest Norwegian Wood. Happy reading!