Jet lag feels like a long walk along a long pier, you keep hoping it will end but it doesn't until you manage to sleep again and then get your body clock adjusted. But I find a good book helps. I thought my book of the year, so far, would have been Donna Tarrt's The Goldfinch, though it does have some very obvious flaws and isn't quite the classic it has been trumped as. Although the echo story works well, for me it got a little preposterous at the end and ultimately closed a little like she got tired of writing it. But that just might be me. Luckily, I followed reading it with A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki. Rarely have I come across a novel so complete, a real story from start to finish. I really love the way it deals with the issue of Japanese/American culture on such a personal level. And the combination of Nao's narrative with Ruth, the writer, is truly inspired. A really wholesome, thoughtful novel, full of insight and humanity. My novel of the year, so far and by far. Oh, and it was nice to see the 'crow' motif appear because its a part of my Scottish culture. I was so pleased to see it is not ours alone. The book begins and ends with an echo:
I wonder about you.
You wonder about me.
Who are you and what are you doing?
Me, I am walking along a long pier and going nowhere very slowly, listening to Paul Buchanan singing very quietly:
