Book 38 - Julian Barnes "Nothing To Be Frightened Of"

Julian Barnes "Nothing To Be Frightened Of" (Vintage)





Most personal nonfiction is addressed outwards; as if the writers need the assurance of public eyes to validate their experience. One thing I quite liked about this book was how internal it was: it's like eavesdropping on a conversation Barnes is having with himself, attempting to console himself of his existential fear of death. I go through phases of grappling with the very same questions--is there a God?

What is death? I am devoutly grateful that Barnes never does have an epiphany; it would profoundly disrupt the sense of internal conversation, of good-natured anxiety, that makes this a surprisingly worthy little read.

Book 39 - Seichō Matsumoto "Tokyo Express"

Seichō Matsumoto "Tokyo Express" (Penguin)





A man and woman are witnessed by Tatsuo Yasuda, and two others, getting on a train in Tokyo and one week later are found dead: result of a double suicide in Kyushu. They are found neatly put together and everything seems to be typical of a suicide. But one Fukuoka detective, Jutaro Torigai, finds a strange receipt and starts to believe something is off. He passes along his investigation to a Tokyo detective, Kiichi Mihara, who finds himself chasing a man from Kyushu to Hokkaido. They know this man is part of this suicide, but how? The answers can be found in a train timetable with the intersection of points and lines.

A classic in Japanese mystery (so my Japanese boyfriend says) and certainly interesting. I was able to come up with the how on my own but the why was a bit more mystical as it wasn't really investigated until the last chapter. Still, seeing the amount of detail that goes into an investigation was interesting and seeing the frustration of the detective as he went against a perfect alibi made you really sympathize with the character.