174. "The Apprentice" by Lewis Libby

Lewis Libby's debut novel, The Apprentice, is one of those books that's difficult to review immediately; I feel like I need more time to process it, but I'm also not sure more time would help.

The story revolves around an apprentice innkeeper who, during the course of a snowstorm, faces moral dilemmas, murder, suspicion, political intrigue, and first love. The writing is poetic at times and overly clunky at others; even though readers learn many of the characters' names, Libby continues to refer to them as "the apprentice," "the girl who had worn the yellow cloak," "the tiny girl," etc., which makes for awkward narration. The resolution is deliberately ambiguous, which contributes to my own ambivalence about the novel.

170. "Real World" by Natsuo Kirino

Real World, Natsuo Kirino's third novel to be translated into English, opens with a high school boy murdering his mother. The girl next door, also a teenager, overhears the crime take place, and then she has an odd encounter with the boy, whom she has nicknamed Worm. For reasons she can't explain, she lies to the police and her parents about her interaction with Worm. In the meantime Worm, who has stolen her cell phone, begins calling the girl and her three closest friends. Each of them has her own distinct reaction to the crime and the criminal, and he brings out conflicting urges and motivations that will have profound ramifications for them all.

I didn't think Real World was as good as Kirino's previous works Out and Grotesque (which is an excellent and troubling read; I found myself wondering how, as a writer, Kirino lived with such nasty characters without becoming totally unhinged), but it's still a strong novel and very cognizant of the challenges surrounding the surreal lives of Japanese teenagers. Kirino points out the constant sense of threat adolescent girls face and the dangers they encounter daily; this pervading aura of dread and fear shapes the characters and their actions.

169. "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden

I figured I should at least attempt to read Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, for the sake of being culturally conversant (same reason I read Twilight), but I didn't expect to enjoy it. To my surprise, I found it engrossing and, mostly, very good. The last 50 pages weakened the effect, because I didn't like the resolution of a major plot point, but they didn't ruin the novel. Very interesting insights into the geisha culture, obviously, but also Japanese society before, during, and after World War II, and the limited options available to girls and women in that society.