1Q84. By Flickr usr id:semicolon

Thanks to a cleverly silent promotional campaign, in which merely the title and the release date were announced, only those who bought it know what kind of world Murakami has created for his readers this time.

The book will be soon translated into other languages but in the meantime some Japanese bloggers, who devoured the book in few days, have already been debating the eagerly awaited novel.

Fushigi quotes what Murakami said in an interview appearing on Time magazine last September.

I've been writing that book for close to two years and it's going to be the biggest book I've ever written.
All my books are weird love stories. I love weird love stories. And this book is a very long, weird love story.

But how did the readers actually interpret the story and what fascinated them most? Below we present some quotes of bloggers who analyze in their posts the atmosphere, the message and the content of 1Q84… making sure not to reveal any significant details of it!

The blogger at Life is a MacGuffin seems to highlight the mysterious atmosphere of the plot.

いやあ、面白かったです。ある意味で自分の期待を裏切るような方向に話がどんどん進んでいったんですけどね。もちろん村上春樹作品なので、普通のミステリーのように最後に全てがきれいに解決するわけじゃないと覚悟はしてました。

[…]

この作品では、2つの月が浮かぶ夜空が出てきたりして、虚構であるところはあくまでも虚構でしたけど、特定の団体（連合赤軍、ヤマギシズム、オウム真理教、エホバの証人）や、若い女性作家に芥川賞を取らせようとするところ（綿矢りさor金原ひとみ？）など現実世界の事象を容易に想起させる記述もありました。そういう虚構と現実のバランスがすごくよかったです。

As in the post above, many readers noticed the significant influence in the novel of those ‘new' religions and the associations to them related, on which Murakami investigated when he wrote the nonfiction work Underground in 1997.

Geiheimagent analyses what, in his opinion, is the message implicit in 1Q84.

もっと言ってしまえば、ポスト・オウム的な小説である。

[…]

また、治癒をとりあげて作品を眺めてみると、この作品全体が治癒の物語と呼ぶこともできよう。おそらくそれは斎藤環がうんざりする類の典型的な「トラウマ話」と呼ぶことができる。このような物語は、言ってしまえば『リーサル・ウェポン』と同様だ。しかし、『１Ｑ８４』では治癒が最終的な救済として描かれることはない。

[…]

　とどまり続けることがこの作品のなかでは肯定されているのだろう。あちら側に足を踏み入れることなく、別な生き方を選択することの可能性が提示されている、と言っても良い。全面的かつ最終的な救済はありえない。しんどいことは再びやってくる。しかし、それを受容しなければ、また別な幸福の可能性もあり得ないものとなる。それは的を射た意見だし、同意もできる考え方だと思う。

Yumi51 invites people who haven't read the book yet and don't want to know the underlying details not to read this post further. (However, because we don't have any intention of spoiling it for the reader, we will only translate some innocent comments)

下巻の最初の方で村上春樹自身が以前に、この１Ｑ８４について「恐怖」がテーマの一つとなる作品だみたいなことを言ってたらしい、ということを思い出して、納得した。
その恐怖って言うのも、派手なものじゃなくて、だんだんと得体のしれない何かが、自分を蝕んでいったり、身の回りにおかしなことを起こしたりする、っていう感じの「恐怖」。
映画で例えるなら「シャイニング」？
最近読んだ本で例えるなら「ねじの回転」？
主人公たちのまわりが少しずつおかしくなって、だんだんと親しい人がいなくなるあたり。
恐怖が忍び寄ってくる感じは印象的だった。

[…]

１Ｑ８４が今までにない、というか新鮮だなと自分が感じたのは「私には愛があります」みたいなことを言えちゃう主人公の存在。
大事なところで、そんなストレートで暗示的じゃないことを言う主人公は今までいなかった気がする。
１Ｑ８４の主人公は、そもそも女だし。

Photo courtesy of Hard Break kid

AnakBrunei wrote a heart warming post on ensuring that these special citizens are given opportunity to participate in sport activities and to compete in global events. The intention is not only to ensure participation but to be part of a global community.

People with an intellectual disability are often misunderstood or ignored, yet when they are given a fair chance they can, and do, participate as valuable members of the community. For this belief, Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam endeavors to provide sport for all people with an intellectual disability, regardless of their skill level. Through sport, Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam  (SOBD) aims to give our special athletes the opportunity to get fit, develop skills, make friends and be part of a community.

Let us be together and united in supporting our nation’s special athletes. Let us be together and united in helping them to be part of the community, to achieve their potentials and most importantly, to fulfill their dreams. Let us be together and united in supporting their mission:

Let me win, But if I cannot win, Let me be brave at the attempt…”

Ultimate Foodie Bloggers' Challenge

It was a coincidence that some bloggers got together over dinner and decided to do a charity event to raise funds for SOBD.  Within a few days after discussions over emails, invitations were made to to get bloggers and non-bloggers alike for the first Ultimate Foodie Bloggers’ Challenge,  held on 26th April 2009. Support was also provided by Blogging Nation. As reported in one of the local papers:

“In an interview with Senor Pablo, a representative from the organising committee, he said, “The competition is one of the meaningful ways to contribute to the society. As part of bloggers community, food is a common theme that binds people, so I thought why not organise a foodie challenge, which invites not only food bloggers but also food enthusiasts.

“The event was organised by well-known local bloggers in Brunei with support from food contributors. Bloggers and contributors had contributed 49 good recipes and the recipes will be collected and compiled into a book made available for everyone. The recipe book will be sold during the Special Olympic Brunei on May 3, and all the proceeds will go to charity. — Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin”

One of the dishes from the recipe book

Much work took place within a week to get the book ready for the Special Olympics Bazaar on 3rd May 2009. Efforts in producing the recipe book were made through recipe contributions from local bloggers and others, with editing, lay-out design and cover design done by local bloggers. Since we didn’t have any funds to pay for the printing cost, we managed to get a local printer to sponsor the cost of producing the book.

The bazaar was the event to start the sales of the Recipe book. For the whole day, we managed to sell 100 copies of the book. With the price of $10 per book and all 100 percent sales donated, we raised B$1,000, which was handed over to the SOBD Committee on the same day.

Turquoise and Roses got a booth set up at the bazaar with special emphasis on selling the recipe book.

“We sold exactly 100 copies of the Foodie Bloggers’ Recipe Book with the help of Pablo, Muaz, and our wonderful volunteers!!! Thanks boys and girls!…I am very glad that the spirit of voluntarism and activism is alive in our youth. They make volunteering seem cool! Keep it up!”

AnakBrunei reported on the bazaar, whereby a special copy of the My favourite Recipe book, signed by Her Royal Highness Princess Azemah was auctioned, to raise more funds for the SOBD.

Ranoadidas organised a first local blog auction.

“There’s one limited edition “My Recipe Book” which was personally signed by Her Royal Highness ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah during the Charity Bazaar and this signed recipe book will be going for auction and the starting bid will be BND50.00. Oh yeah, the special book will be framed with the picture of HRH signing the book. So that’s a pretty good buy indeed. The deadline will be on Saturday midnight.

A special thanks to Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah for signing the Recipe Book as well as giving the consent for the Recipe Book to be auction for the Special Olympics Brunei Fundraiser campaign. A big thanks also to those involved in the making the auction possible and Mr. Reeds has kindly sponsored the frame for the limited edition book. A shout also for Pilihan FM and Kristal FM for plugging the auction.

As of now, the 500 copies of the books have been sold out with less than a week. Now that I have say is a great achievement and it’s comparable to achieving a platinum status on CD sales. So what’s next? Bloggers’ Singles compilation album? *lol* Well, you’ll never know but there are just thousand of ideas that we can come up with. All I can say is if we bloggers do something, it always start with a BANG.”

The progress of the auction

$100 –> $200 –> $250 –> $300 —–> $386 —-> $400 —-> $486 —-> $500 —> $1,000 —-> $1,086 —-> $2,000 —-> $2,086 —–> $3,000 —–> $3,386 —-> $4,000 —> $4,186 —-> $5,000 —-> $5,586 as of press time (11:20pm 9th May). Bid ends at BND 5,586.00. Thank you to the two bidders who made the bid very, very interesting and your kind gestures are very much appreciated.

Emmagoodegg bought the book and in her post, listed out the recipe contributors and  wrote:

“I feel most guilty at not being able to partake, but hopefully there'll be a next time. I've read that the recipe book gathered some vitriolic discussion over on RA's tagboard over some missing ingredients in some recipes, well-intentioned people simply using the book for fame and glory, the usual defeatist comments that seems all too common in our country. All I can say is My Favourite Recipes is a commendable and worthwhile effort and that at least these folks stepped up to the plate and gave their time for charity.”

Brunei Lifestyle reported on the outcome of the auction bid:

“The successful bidder of the My favourite recipe limited edition signed by HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah is Sheikh Khalid of the Arab families. Sheikh Khalid placed the highest bid of $5,586 almost 40 minutes before the stroke of midnight last Saturday night, the deadline to bid, to get a copy of the edition.

What I can say about the whole project is that the book has managed to collect $10,586 with all of its 500 copies sold in two weeks time. Thats an amazing feat. Bravo! Bravo! bravo! and take a bow Pablo! Also Rano…oh they both end with an ‘o’. Whats next Senor? To Alin, the Kurapak man for designing the front cover . Thank you too to the Arab families for your kind gesture. May God repay you and family for your kindness. Amin. I myself, look forward to contribute in the near future.”

The recipe book project earned $10,586. The funds collected will be passed to the Brunei Special Olympic Team. The project has a quick turn-over: from conceptualizing the project, to the production and selling of all 500 copies within a month. As part of the organising team, I feel honored to be part of this charity drive, an effort organised by local bloggers with no fund to start with. This also shows that bloggers can contribute and support local causes. I also hope that this will be a start of various initiatives organised by bloggers to support local charity and to contribute their spare time on good causes. On behalf of the  event organisers, we now wish the Brunei Special Olympic Team much success in their training and participation in the 2011 World Event.

Bubisher..Books for Western Sahara children in refugee camps

Bubisher means “a bird bringing good news.” According  to Roge Blog, it is also the name of a Saharaui poetry book. But for hundreds of children living in refugee camps in Western Sahara, it is the name of a bus full of books, explains Haz lo que debas.

Gonzalo Moure, a children's book author and the man behind Bubisher says:

El Bubisher no lleva libros regalados o sobrantes, sino un plan de lectura, con 4 o 20 ejemplares por titulo, para un fondo inicial de 1400 libros.

Abueliki blog encourages us to read the Bubisher blog, meet the creative bus and support the endeavour - not only with funding but through sharing experiences and learning about the exemplary way in which volunteers engage in the project and love it. Among them are politicians, universities, publishing houses and ordinary people.

EL PAJARO QUE TRAE LA BUENA SUERTE from Irene Bailo on Vimeo.

Kalandra Blog explains more:

Además de libros en castellano, donados por editoriales como KALANDRAKA, el Bubisher también incorpora una selección de literatura infantil y juvenil en árabe, lo que afianza los lazos de la multiculturalidad. Frente a la carencia de libros y de espacios de lectura, el Bubi supone “una biblioteca abierta y que se acerca a los lectores”, tal y como ha expresado Gonzalo Moure. Una biblioteca rodante, en constante movimiento.

Would you like to volunteer with Bubisher? You can do it by joining their 120 Bubisher friends initiative which partners with classrooms or even schools to collect some funds or you can donate books or funds on your own. You can also translate their materials from Spanish to other languages or you can just forward the Bubisher poster to your friends and print it to show it to your offline community.  And there is more, you can visit the refugee camps as a volunteer and share some good readings with the children.

In conclusion, I would like to quote Bubisher creator Gonzalo Moure, discussing literature and books:

Eso es la literatura: corazones que no dejan de latir, pensamiento sin la barrera del tiempo. El corazón del abuelo latiendo en nuestro pecho. El aliento de Homero en nuestros oídos. Leer es vencer al tiempo, tener mil corazones

Bantu Mwaura, an award winning Kenyan performing artist, director, playwright, storyteller, poet and university lecturer is dead.

Bantu Mwaura at the Poetry Africa Festival in South Africa

He was found dead outside his gate at the Sunlight estate in Nairobi’s Lang’ata area, on Monday (today) morning. His family had reported him missing on Friday evening. Police are currently investigating the cause of his death.

Bantu was also a very vocal political and human rights activist and a cultural theorist who worked mostly with civil society using theatre and performance in human rights and developmental work.
The news was first broken publicly online on a news website by one of the leading Kenyan media companies.

However, a Kenyan Writers group on Google were the first to inform writers, critics and Bantu’s comrades of this tragedy.

Renee Mboya, an artist working with Dreamaker Africa in providing Economic solutions for the arts posted this on the forum.

Just to say Rest in Peace Bantu Mwaura. Anyone got details…something
about a car jacking on Langata Road. :-(

Other renown Kenyan writers and poets who have worked with Bantu on numerous occasions such as Rasna Warah, Muthoni Garland, Shailja Patel, Al Kags, Binyavanga Wainanina, Phillo Ikonya, Neema Mawiyo and Simiyu Barasa were equally dumbfounded by the news as scanty details of his death tickled in.

It is still not yet clear, what or who killed him.

Yet another young promising Kenyan male has died today. Bantu Mwaura, a
friend, an academic, a brilliant mind passed away today. No news of how or
whether it was murder. More on this when I get more information. I, for one,
will miss him deeply.
Rasna

Although the news of Bantu’s death did not receive any slot on any of the Local TV station’s prime time news, many bloggers, online forums and groups are conveying their condolences as they reminiscence their past encounters with him.

KenyanPoet says this on her blog:

I got to know Bantu through the monthly Kwani open Mic nights in its early days where he never failed to read one or two of his poetry. Most of his poetic work was in criticism of the Kenyan Political scene through sarcasm.
A fellow thespian and activist, Phillo Ikonya who is also the President of PEN International Kenya conveyed her deep shock as she wrote the news to a Google forum for poets of which I am a member.

My heart goes out to his Family at this time. I will post more information as I receive it.

Gukira, a blog ran by Keguro Macharia posted this:

The Tragedy of Bantu Mwaura

I have yet to confirm the circumstances of his death. Assassination and suicide are the two competing narratives.
There are many tragedies here, and I choose an idiosyncratic one: human rights defenders have been assassinated in the past few months, allegedly by government forces. As a result, every single suspicious death of a human rights activist is clouded, and the tag cloud is dominated by government-funded figures.

Peter Kimani, a journalist with the Standard group, says this about Bantu’s death

Bantu Mwaura, who has died at the young age of 40, was a leading light in the Kenyan arts whose star dimmed when the skies were starting to brighten.
I recall the bleakness that engulfed the land at our first meeting 15 years ago. Artistic freedoms were very limited, and those who had dared speak out were either in detention or exiled.

Reclining on a pillar supporting the Rahimtullah Memorial Library in downtown Nairobi, and where Bantu was a star performer, I asked what his dreadlocks meant to him

The Nairobi Chronicle, an on-line journal based in the city of Nairobi, Kenya posted this:

It is still not clear how he died but there are several theories doing the rounds in Nairobi. Speculation ranges from assassination by a government hit squad to suicide. Police are already investigating the death.
The news comes amidst revelations that the dreaded KweKwe squad has been renamed as “Eagle” squad. The mission of Eagle Squad is to kill anyone it suspects of having links to Mungiki.

CapitalFM, a Kenyan radio station has also posted the news of Bantu’s Death in a story written by Bernard Momanyi:

Dr Mwaura died on Sunday night but many of his friends and former students at the University of Nairobi said they learnt of the death on Monday afternoon.

“I cannot believe Dr Mwaura is dead, he was such a good lecturer. He taught me two years ago,” a former student at the University of Nairobi said.

It is clear from the comments posted in the various online spaces that many have not yet come to terms with this tragedy.

Incognito posted this comment on the Capital News website(April 28th, 2009, 8:57 AM)

I still cant believe that Bantu is really dead…it so breaks my heart for Bantu was the rarest of species, a free spirit that roamed the world freely and he touched a number of hearts. I hope the truth shall be known. Bantu may the Good Lord rest your soul in eternal peace. You will be greatly missed and you will forever remain in my heart.

St. Lawrence University where Bantu Mwaura was an adjunct faculty member have created a Memorial Web Page for all those wishing to send in their condolences

Indeed, Kenya has been robbed of one of the greatest minds to ever grace our literary scene, human rights platform and lecture halls.
Below is one of Bantu’s poems:

The Politician

This donkey is a politician
It don't care
It kicks it owner
Who voted for it!
Toils hard to get kickbacks
From every deal
At the expense of its owner
The voter
This politician is a donkey
It don't care

…

This politician is a praying mantis
It prays and teases
To mate with the male!
But soon as it sucks life's juices
It snaps off the life of its lover
This praying mantis is a politician

(*All poems' rights remain with the author)

Bantu leaves behind his wife, Susan Bantu and 2 daughters, Makeba in honor the late South African diva, Miriam Makeba and Mekatilili, in memory of the Kenyan heroine who led the Giriama in resisting the British invasion at the turn of the 20th century.

First on my discovery list was Denise Bombardier, a journalist, novelist, essayist and media personality from Quebec, well known for her outstanding reporting and often scathing sense of humour. In «Nos hommes» (1995) she writes, as quoted in Nicole Savard's literary blog [Fr]:

Les hommes sont, dit-elle, des êtres qui nous inspirent sur chacun d'eux, chacun d'eux étant la facette de ce qu'est un autre. De plus, l'homme est cette personne qui nous révèle à nous-mêmes, nous les femmes. Ils sont un peu ce que nous voulons qu'ils soient: amoureux, amants, fougueux, touchants, amicaux, professionnels, séducteurs, parfois cruels, et souvent terrifiés par le pouvoir qu'exerce la femme sur eux. Enfin, ces hommes sont à l'image de ce que la femme veut, croit ou “désespère d'être”.

Camille Laurens [Fr] represents a controversial trend in French literature, called «autofiction», combining autobiography and fiction. In 2000, she published «Dans ces bras-là» («In those arms»), which earned her the Femina prize, a book ballerines ou converses loved [Fr]:

Les hommes. Quel sujet ! Passionnant. Je regrette d’avoir été une femme en lisant ces lignes. J’aurais aimé être masculin pour mieux comprendre ce qui se passe dans le ventre des femmes face à nous, mais je suis fille, je ne fais qu’aquièscer au chemin chaotique et amoureux de l’héroïne. Car il y a toujours une histoire d’amour avec un homme : qu’il soit père, grand-père, fils, frère, ami, amant, mari, patron, collègue.

But my favorite is no doubt My Men by Malika Mokkedem, an Algerian writer established in France, where she studied medicine and long practised as a nephrologist, before deciding to dedicate her time to literature.
The daughter of an illiterate, formely nomadic family of South Algeria, she succeeded in wrestling her independent life against the heavy traditions of the time and her family, and through the sheer power of her determination, became what she irrepressibly craved to be. She writes [Fr]:

I left my father to learn how to love men, a continent still hostile, because it is a foreign one…. I made myself with and against them. They embody everything I needed to conquer, in order to attain freedom.

La muse agitée, the blogger of the Vallauris bookshop, is enthusiastic [Fr]:

Voici le « carnet de bal » de Malika Mokkedem, qui déroule le fil de sa vie comme on ouvre un tiroir aux souvenirs. Y sont rangés son enfance de petite fille algérienne qui compte moins que ses frères et à qui on demande d’être la plus transparente possible, son adolescence de jeune fille qui trouve dans les livres et l’instruction une porte ouverte à la liberté, une jeune femme avide d’amour, indépendante et déterminée, une femme construite avec ses blessures, sa culture, sa rage et son besoin viscéral de reconnaissance.
Les hommes de sa vie sont ceux qui ont compté et l’on soutenue, ceux avec qui elle a bataillé, contre qui elle a dormi, pour qui elle a fait l'amour. Leurs traces intimes imprègnent de forces conjuguées et de déceptions cuisantes la vie de l’auteur. […]

Le livre se lit comme un récit de vie, un témoignage, une confidence, une sorte de gifle à l’ordre établi, l’ignorance et la servitude, une vérité toute crue qui n’accuse pas mais enveloppe l’avenir d’un espoir encourageant pour les femmes algériennes. […]

This obstacle race facing women leads us to great Algerian novelist Assia Djebar, who is also a translator, filmmaker and a professor of Francophone literature at New York University, one of the few women ever accepted into the Académie Française. Among her most famous works and memorable reads are L'Amour, la Fantasia (1985), and Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement (2002). On his blog Le bateau libre, literary critic Frédéric Ferney points, about her latest book Nulle part dans la maison de mon père («Nowhere in my father's house», 2007) [Fr]:

Le titre sonne comme une dénégation et un aveu, il tient sa promesse.
[…]
Grandir, est-ce apprendre à désobéir? Et comment grandir sans (se) trahir? Comment être fidèle à soi sans renier les siens? Assia Djebar a cette phrase: “Se dire à soi-même adieu” que chacun est libre d'interpréter comme il veut.

What brings together most of French-language Algerian writers is their style, their rich and vivid, energetic and never starchy handling of language, as well as the audacity of their subjects. So, finally somehow drifting from women's destinies, I feel compelled to end this short round-up with the entrancing books of Yasmina Khadra (a pen name for a man, to avoid military censorship during the Agerian civil war), whose Wolf Dreams (1999), The Swallows of Kaboul (2002) The Attack and The Sirens of Baghdad (both 2006), among others, aim to «give the readers in the West a chance to understand the core a problem that he usually only touches on the surface [that is, fanaticism].

More about this fascinating writer on these blogs : Un oeil sur la planète, and Cocola's [Fr].

Serrano, who also directs another open book project called Libros Minimos [es], received collaboration from other well-known authors like Javier Payeras of El Intruso [es] and Denise P.P. of La Maleta [es]. Many of the bloggers included photographs or illustrations that they felt best complemented the text included on their sites.

Other fragments of the book can be found on blogs such as Notas Poco Rigurosas [es], which is hosting a poem called “The Center of America is a long asphalt road”, while Fe de Rata [es] shares with his readers “Marta Julia is the name of the Cascabel snake at the park” and is accompanied by a handmade drawing. The blog Noticias para Dios [es] is hosting a poem about a taxicab and prefers to illustrate it using a photograph of a woman sleeping in a car. Diario Paranoico [es] offers his space to publish “No, life is not this” adding music in the form of a Sui Generis video.

Photo from the public domain

Guatemalan bloggers, who participated in the project include Utopía del Pensamiento [es], El Pepian [es], Brevediario [es], CinesobreTodo, Matilisguate [es], The Magical and Curious world of Lissy [es], La Filistea [es] and AcheAche [es].

All the links in this roundup are in portuguese.