The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami's novels are a bit like Rube Goldberg machines:  the main character gets involved in an increasingly bizarre series of odd events without much rhyme or reason.  Sure, it's kind of entertaining while it's going on, but at the end of the story the reader is scratching their heads at what the point of the whole thing was.

In the Wind-up Bird Chronicle, the main character, Toru Okada, loses both his cat and his wife, which somehow causes him to get involved with psychics, haunted property, an evil brother-in-law, and some very vague stuff about evil spirits living inside of people.  The meaning of it all is never clearly explained, and the ending leaves tons of loose ends.  Toru is also a frustratingly passive protagonist.  He repeatedly says that he wants to get his wife back, but seems content to wait around while other characters come to him to move the plot along.  His major dramatic action for the first half of the book is to climb down inside a dry well, to think.  The characters' dialogue has a stilted, artificial quality to it, but this might be because of the translation.  

Murakami does try to bring some gravitas to the book by weaving in a story about Japan's involve in China in World War II, but it ends up being yet another unresolved tangent in a book that's packed with them.  For a novel about Japan and its World War II history that's much more satisfying, may I suggest Carl Shuker's excellent book "The Method Actors"?

Loom Knitting Primer

In the past week I have come across an online loom knitting community. It's completely awesome, because I had never heard of looming until I came across knitting looms at the craft store. I was just walking by and out of the corner of my eye, I saw this circular thing and the package said it was easy, and that I could learn to knit on it. So, I was sold! Seemed easy enough and even better, it was barely an investment.

I picked up Loom Knitting Primer because Phelps seems to be a leader in the loomer community. It's been recommended for its stitch tutorials and full rundown on how to use circular looms and knitting boards. Loom Knitting Primer is a great guide and introduction to the tools, stitches, and terminology of loom knitting. As a beginner, I found Phelps online video tutorials more effective when practicing stitches. The instructional images in the book are helpful, but obviously minimal compared to the free online videos...The book is a great resource if you don't have the Internet handy.

I also have to mention, Phelps could have used more instructional images when creating a flat panel on a circular loom. I say that because it's what I am trying to tackle now. I also feel, as a beginner's guide, instructional images should have been added with the patterns as well. Maybe I just learn better visually or maybe I am just too needy...A slow learner? No, I am just learning something totally new to me on my own. I'll get better at looming. I'll get better because outside Phelps' book, there is small, but large looming community online with other knitters offering their own guides to an ever fast growing obsession with looming. I am glad I caught on.

I am just being hard on Phelps book, because I am looking for the easy way to learn. I am picking it up slowly. Reading it over and over and practicing. I never thought I'd be able to knit anything, but over the past week I've been able to knit a small hat, and it's primarily due to the fact that knitting on a loom is so easy. Knitting a hat is probably the easiest thing to do on a circular loom, but it's an achievement for someone who struggles with knitting needles. Yay! Now, I will get back to reading literature.