The plot, in as much as there is one, revolves around 19-year-old Ryu (yes, the main character has the same first name as the author) and his friends as they drink, get high, shoot up, screw, and party amongst themselves, out in public, and with some US military officers who they've befriended. Almost Transparent Blue reads like the half-remembered flashes of someone's memory of a long, drunken-orgy-of-a weekend and is sometimes difficult to follow because it doesn't follow a clear narrative; however, that's kind of what I like about it.
Despite this, the novel is full of descriptions, and I don't just mean sexual. Murakami describes the events and images with such clarity (despite the haziness) that I kept wondering just how autobiographical Almost Transparent Blue was. The first chapter alone is just five pages long, but I couldn't get over how utterly descriptive it was and how well I felt I knew the main character, Ryu, after just that short amount of time. Towards the end of the book, the only thing I could think to compare it the story to is the 1996 film Trainspotting, but even that is a poor comparison. Trainspotting I remember had some plot elements and some character arches. This, however, felt like one continuing story where you're just hanging on for the ride.
Almost Transparent Blue is one of the more unique stories I've read in a long time. It sort-of reminded me what someone once told me I should have felt reading The Great Gatsby, like a whirlwind. Despite that feeling, and how it was difficult for me to get into the story considering how the novel is essentially "plotless", I liked the book in how it described the characters, their surroundings, and the mind-numbing actions.
Rating: 4 of 5.
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2 comments:
Interesting premise -- kinda weird that the author and the character are the same name, though, especially considering the subject matter. Could it be that he wants to be the character, or it really all happened to him? This might be an interesting read but I might need to be in the right "mood" for it, but not sure what mood that would need to be! Okay, now I might have to pick it up if I'm this conflicted!
This "other murakami" has kind of been on my radar for a while - but mostly because of his name. I don't think I've ever read any reviews of his stuff, sounds like it might be time for me to look further into his work.... I also have this weird attraction to books in which the author and narrator have the same name (like how "Paul Auster" shows up in Paul Auster's "New York Trilogy") so on that alone, I should probably read this book.
-- ellen
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