Hi folks, I’m into the third day of self-isolation (nothing wrong with me, just being on the safe side after hitting five countries and taking 14 flights in the last 7 weeks). I’ve caught up with Better Call Saul and Picard, and decided not to bother with The Witcher (though I might come back to it if this goes on more than two weeks). I’m reading Surfacing by Kathleen Jamie, Killing Commendatore by Murakami Haruki and Gutter 21, and I’m learning the solo to Cherub Rock. I keep telling myself that I’m going to get back to studying Japanese but haven’t yet.
Mainly I’m waiting for my copy of Irene Sabatini’s An Act of Defiance to arrive from Indigo Press. I have a history with this book, and first read it in manuscript form four years ago. It is, quite simply, breathtaking, and I am so so so glad that the rest of the world can enjoy its brilliance. Get ordering it from your local indie and dive into it while you have all this free time.
I wrote a piece on Murakami Haruki’s Underground for the Japan Times. It’s 25 years since the Tokyo sarin attack and 20 since the English translation of this book (two books technically) was published. Read about why it is key to understanding Murakami’s later period here.
If you’ve had a chance to read The Only Gaijin in the Village perhaps I could trouble you to head over to Goodreads or Amazon to leave a (5 star) review. These things really do matter and drive sales, so be a star, go on. Ah, go on. You will. You will. You will. You will. You will. You will.
Iain Maloney 