I'm embarrassed to admit that I picked this book up on a whim. At the time, recommendations from friends felt too familiar, so I asked the staff at Brookline Booksmith to find me a good read, with the hopes of discovering something I wouldn't otherwise find. At the time, Murakami hadn't hit big yet — …
Brightly written, started off with terrific pace. Strong narrative voice, strong tone that made the Napoleonic era feel real. Wonderful attention to detail in the setting. Then suddenly downshifted into what I can only call the getting-ready-for-a-long-series pace. The ending was a complete surprise–not the content, but: “Oh. Oh! So that must have been the …
Deconstructing books is never fun, so I'm not going to go on about why this one doesn't work. If you have any interest in this book, watch the Showtime series instead. The series takes everything good in this book and builds on it, adding complexity, structure, and nuance where they were absent in the book. …
I was aware before starting Shadow and Claw that it was not pedestrian fiction. It is not something to plow through, or relax with. It is an allegory-heavy, literary, fantastic tale. Having said that, it's about a torturer who is exiled from his guild, ends up with a mysterious and powerful relic, and then sleeps …
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