Books - What are you reading?

Great story, if you like the Japanese stuff, I can heartily recommend Murakami - Spring Snow. It is the first of 4 books and in my opinion, by far the best of his "Sea of Fertility" series.

Yukio Mishima wrote the Sea of Fertility series, not Murakami.

I'd recommend Mishima's Forbidden Colours, and Confessions of a Mask. But if you're talking about 'raw' Japanese literature, then surely you must start with The Tale of Genji? I guess if you're interested only in post-Westernised Japan then Akutagawa's Rashomon is the best starting point for modern Japanese literature.

I'm reading The Castle by Kafka right now (or have been for the last few months): having read the short stories some time ago, I decided on the novels next. The Castle is my least favourite Kafka story ever, I've really struggled with the futility in it (for some reason The Trial did not affect me so negatively).

I read Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake alongside it last week - excellent, and great as a companion to The Handmaid's Tale.