65. The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura

The Thief follows the story of a pickpocket in Japan, an unusual pickpocket, a pickpocket with a conscience, morality, a pickpocket who cares. If the choice of a pickpocket as the protagonist wasn't unique enough,  the execution in showcasing the skills and the day-to-day life of a pickpocket was above average as well. There are flashbacks, missing friends and demons from past life. There is an imaginary tower, visible/not visible to the protagonist, which seems to be the equivalent of some kind of a moral compass, this part of the book though remained too underdeveloped and undercooked. There are a few minor characters, a young mother and her kid, intermingled in the life of the pickpocket, characters which were irritating at best, probably forced onto the story to attain one of the objectives.

And finally, there is a super villain - a know it all, controller of fates, puller of strings, a most dangerous yakuza with a plan.

To me the entire package read like a plan gone awry, a good concept ruined due to lack of application. There is lack of rationality evident throughout the book and the pace of the book seemed always wrong, either too fast skipping stations, or slow and bumpy. 

My third Japanese author was not a hit. What could have been a really good book, remains a not-above-average read.

64. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Halloween 2013#7

My final read this Halloween, and may I say, the best of them all. Saving the best for the last, well, not really. This one also happened to be the most voluminous of my reads this Halloween. Not that the higher word count was unwelcome, there was no endless drudging past long details and explanations, no meaningless characters and characterisations – everything fits nicely into a neat puzzle. For all its length, the book was quite fast paced, or at least it gave the impression to be, and that’s what is important, right?

Finally we know what happened to the kid, Danny, left with his unique gift (?) at the end of The Shining, less a, even if brutal, father. The growing up, the fall, the further fall to rock bottom, repentance, and the eventual redemption. We also gain a little more insight into the mysterious gift, the shining, the advantages and the risks.

Add a vampirish race, with the long tooth, but without the blood-sucking mess. They do suck something, but it is a little less tangible, even if more horrific – these of the True Knot, as they like to be called, have little use for virgin girls, however they relish in torturing and killing small kids.

Then there is an entirely adorable kid, turned teenage girl, Alba – Dan’s protégé – his support, his one last shot at redemption – a girl who is as much his protector, as she needs protection – the focus of the entire book.

Stephen King, not one to waste characters, adds a bunch of them – from kind old men, loving grandmas, loving parents, some characters reaching out from beyond the grave, most of them benign – a bit too much goodness for a King novel. Perhaps, he craves a happy ending too…sometimes…