Murakami and Rowell

Hey..

It has been too long since my last post. Hope everyone is well. 

My exam week is over. Yet after all the moping and whining, I still feel this lack of motivation, lurking and distracting me in over my head. As a temporary distraction, I've returned to my in-born hobby: reading. I kind of missed it, the old habit of reading a book after the other. It might as well be just because I left my hard-disk (full of movies and drama series) at home in Depok, but I've had the intention of bringing back the hobby for such a long time, but it never came through because of the chaotic scene of exams and studying, and studying. 

What I've been reading: Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood (my first Murakami, yes! Thanks to beloved Dila for lending it to me) and Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park

I'm really sorry for the long duration of not-writing anything and the sudden appearance of a new post about a mere book. But I don't know what else to say, life has been so-so. However, don't misunderstand, I am happy as a bird, but school's been...well, mundane (?) with its challenges and joy, there's nothing much important to tell. I've been lucky enough to spend last weekend with both sides of my family, with big feast to accompany all the talks, hugs, and kisses. It's a more than enough refreshment before going back to school again, today. I've missed them so, and to see for yourself that they have been doing great and the relief of knowing that no one's sick, put me in such a good mood (yes, tired too) that I slept like a baby for approx. 9 hours that night. It is also a whisper of reminder that I have to have the spirit of doing great in school with so much support pushing me and expecting me to do great. 

About the book.. I can truly say that I'm not one bit disappointed in reading my first Murakami. When they say that Murakami is great, well they weren't lying. I couldn't put it down for even a minute (a lie of course, but you get the idea). 

Murakami has this way of explaining the beauty of something in impeccable details. I feel like I was watching a movie, an old movie that runs with a projector, and it almost felt like I was an actor playing each of its character, feeling the emotions and thinking their exact thoughts. It was an amazing reading experience. And the story is forever embossed within your heart, and I can still now tell you the exact story of the book without leaving anything, I'm not kidding. The story is deep, the character is deep, everything about the book holds a depth equal to a woman's heart. 

Eleanor & Park, in contrast, felt shallow to me, maybe it was because I had only finished reading Norwegian Wood an hour before, but it left no deeper impression than Murakami. I loved it though, for its simpleness of true love, it wasn't exaggerated too much to be real. It was young, simple, and real enough to be true. It was imperfect, as imperfect as true love can be, and Eleanor makes you want to be an underdog for a change. The story excites you in so many ways, it made me squeal in each attention Park gave to Eleanor, and made me cry in the effort to hold such fragile love. 

When Murakami was giving you the stillness, depth, and beauty of a warm sunset of Japan, Rowell will give you the excitement of love in a county fair in the set of Omaha. They're both very different but equally lovable to any book lovers out there. 

Happy reading :)