A book club - with a difference.

Great idea for a thread. The most recent fiction book (I mostly read non-fiction these days but that could change) I completed was 'Strange Pictures' by Uketsu. It's translated from Japanese, and I found its format a very compelling one. Basically the book is made up of four mysteries, where a picture, or series of pictures is actually given to you among the text on the printed page (so I doubt they could ever do this as an audiobook? Not sure, maybe highly detailed descriptions could make it work for the patient - maybe autistic levels of patience!- listener), which are in their own way self contained... and yet also connect in an ingenious way. I wasn't quite clever enough to work out the complete solutions before they arrived, but had deduced fractal elements of that... which was pleasing enough in itself. It also gives you a rewarding sense that you're learning the 'what to spot' skills as you go, slowly building your skill levels while you try to work things out alongside the protagonists' attempts at doing the same. Though the eaxact nature of the 'game' shifts just enough each time to mean that you never get *too* good at it. Well, I didn't.  

There is death involved (and a couple of murders) and it is very fleetingly graphic a few times so that you get a sense of the stakes and need for justice... but don't let that put you off if (like me) you're somewhat squaeamish, as the main tone is often light, even regularly humorous, and some of the protagonists are just good people with a social conscience and desire to make things right. The writing is very simple, plain-speaking rather than flowery (nothing wrong with the latter), pretty conversational all in all.

Maybe that's a popular modern Japanese style, as it felt strongly reminiscent in the elegance/simplicity balance that was effortlessly present in 'Convenience Store Woman' (different writer, and a book I read a couple of years back). Incidentally, the main character in that is almost certainly autistic, though that is never explicitly stated, she's just strongly coded that way and clearly intentionally so. I liked it. Oh, and similar thing with 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' (which my fiancee introduced me to)... which also has that free and easy style in the telling to some extent, even as it casually lays out some extroardinary things tucked away among the everyday...

Strange Pictures is one in a series (Strange Houses, Strange Buildings etc.)  - thematically linked rather than a matter of retained characters as far as I know. So I'm going to read the others too, if spared. 

Anyway... recommended. :-) 

Great idea for a thread. The most recent fiction book (I mostly read non-fiction these days but that could change) I completed was 'Strange Pictures' by Uketsu. It's translated from Japanese, and I found its format a very compelling one. Basically the book is made up of four mysteries, where a picture, or series of pictures is actually given to you among the text on the printed page (so I doubt they could ever do this as an audiobook? Not sure, maybe highly detailed descriptions could make it work for the patient - maybe autistic levels of patience!- listener), which are in their own way self contained... and yet also connect in an ingenious way. I wasn't quite clever enough to work out the complete solutions before they arrived, but had deduced fractal elements of that... which was pleasing enough in itself. It also gives you a rewarding sense that you're learning the 'what to spot' skills as you go, slowly building your skill levels while you try to work things out alongside the protagonists' attempts at doing the same. Though the eaxact nature of the 'game' shifts just enough each time to mean that you never get *too* good at it. Well, I didn't.  

There is death involved (and a couple of murders) and it is very fleetingly graphic a few times so that you get a sense of the stakes and need for justice... but don't let that put you off if (like me) you're somewhat squaeamish, as the main tone is often light, even regularly humorous, and some of the protagonists are just good people with a social conscience and desire to make things right. The writing is very simple, plain-speaking rather than flowery (nothing wrong with the latter), pretty conversational all in all.

Maybe that's a popular modern Japanese style, as it felt strongly reminiscent in the elegance/simplicity balance that was effortlessly present in 'Convenience Store Woman' (different writer, and a book I read a couple of years back). Incidentally, the main character in that is almost certainly autistic, though that is never explicitly stated, she's just strongly coded that way and clearly intentionally so. I liked it. Oh, and similar thing with 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' (which my fiancee introduced me to)... which also has that free and easy style in the telling to some extent, even as it casually lays out some extroardinary things tucked away among the everyday...

Strange Pictures is one in a series (Strange Houses, Strange Buildings etc.)  - thematically linked rather than a matter of retained characters as far as I know. So I'm going to read the others too, if spared. 

Anyway... recommended. :-)