Three for a third

It is a third of the way through the year and I have read three of my designated Mood Boosting books. I have enjoyed all three of them, at the very least it is good to escape into another person's ideas and view of the world. The three reviews I have written for the books are below.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

I got on well with this book, which is interesting as the main character is always going on about preferring books to people. The story concerns a young Swedish woman who arrives in an American small town, Broken Wheel, and almost inadvertently opens a book shop. The book features many soothing descriptions of everyday life and many quirky characters. The book has a happy enough ending and I felt it was a very comforting read.

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

This is a sweet book. You get to know a bit about the Japanese economy and housing crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as how a small cat can come to mean so much to an aloof, literary couple. The book was poignant rather than happy, it had a touch of sadness about it, as the march of technology and big business rides roughshod over a dwindling amount of city green spaces. It was also a quick read, it only took a week out of my life.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

This book is mostly about the growing pains of a fifteen year old boy, Kafka Tamura, as he runs away from home, in a vague attempt to grow up and find himself. The book features quite a bit of death, sex and violence, but also a library, poetic visions, music and art, as we follow Kafka's journey towards manhood as well as the poignant journey of a strange old man called Nakata, who can talk to cats and knows a lot of weird stuff, even though he's quite backward and childlike. This is the first fiction book I have read for over a year, it didn't disappoint; it was mostly sheer escapism.