I was three fourth from finishing the novel Norwegian Wood by Murakami, when I suddenly got reminded of this uncle whom I met on the plane from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu last break. I was reading Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret? so intently cz it keeps me from having small talk with strangers on a plane. I can't switch seats with the woman besides Dayana, so I make do with the seat I got. Then the uncle asked me, "Memang suka membaca ke?" then I was like "Ah sudah," I nodded politely with a meek smile, "Haah."
"Selalu suka baca buku yang macamana?" and the conversation went on and on to topics like where did I study and he'd once studied in India too at Gujarat, but that was the 70's, and he had been to Germany also, blah blah blah and each time I answered prompt questions and nod, nod, nod politely until he finally noticed that I'm too tired to listen to his antics and waved me away, "eh takpelah, sambunglah baca, kesian awak pakcik cakap banyak."
He reminded me of my mum, who also thought that it's okay to use the book someone is reading as a conversation starter. When I told her that it's not nice and people might wanna read in peace instead of talking, she'll rebutt it with "ah orang macamtu sombong betul." Gah.
The conclusion is, when people brought books and were reading it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DISRUPT OUR AFFAIR WITH THE BOOK. We don't wanna be impolite but, we might hate you so deeply that we were reminded of you in the midst of reading Murakami in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon.
Haha. Salam, have a nice day.
And I believe you've finished the book, right? Try Tsukuru Tazaki next by the same author, if you haven't. Or if you want something lighter, get After Dark. Both are good reads though. I like the mysticism Murakami brings with his works, and I like the fact that he hated becoming famous for Norwegian Wood, that he writes to express himself, not for the money. And in the end you can relate to the self-appreciation and self-discovery that he wanted to convey. Okay, I'll stop here. Too much rambling, hehe
ReplyDeleteAku baru nampak komenmu ni Bun! Bha bagus ka buku2 tu, aku beli dua2 la. Thanks bg suggestion! :D Aku ada love-hate thing sama Murakami. I like how he brings people into his writings tapi some things I wish he just keep to himself seja. Anyway, aku bukan professional critic pun lol. Nanti bila aku baca suda suggestions ko aku kestau ah. Btw, I'm waiting for new chapters of Arif Razak! ;)
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