Holloway mourns death of student - The Founder

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16 The Founder | Monday 8 December 2008 E X T R A 1001 Books to Read Before You Die... The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami Vikki Weston When a friend of mine told me he’d only read books by one author in the last several years and offered to lend me one to take a look at, I was sceptical and definitely expecting Dan Brown. Much to my surprise he leant me an enormous volume of fiction by a man called Haruki Murakami. At this point you’re probably thinking one of two things; either a) why on earth hasn’t she read Murakami already? Or b) Murawhat now? I, of course, checked out Haruki Murakami on my 1001 list and, lo and behold, there he was. ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ is a 600 page marvel of Japanese literature relating the story of a Japanese man named Toru Okada losing his cat. Not to say that this is the entire story-line, it’s just the start and it’s pretty important but to tell you any more would not only ruin the novel but also take up my entire column space. ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ is a confusing tale of interconnected individuals revolving around the narrator Toru. It is set predominantly in Tokyo but also inside Toru’s head and in war-time Manchuria. Like I said, it’s confusing. Murakami’s book could easily be too bewildering to read coherently, but his fluent and effortless writing style coupled with, what I can only assume to be, the dazzling translation skills of Jay Rubin (who is the only person to have translated a version of ‘Wind-Up Bird’ for Western publication) renders the volume easy to read yet beautifully intricate. Most good critics say that ‘Wind- Up Bird’ is one of Murakami’s finest works. It’s a quietly popular book. It’s not in Richard and Judy’s book club but whenever I was reading it in public a complete stranger would come over to tell me it was the best book they’d ever read. In my, limited, experience it is rare to find a work of fiction that inspires a stranger to let you know that they have such a trivial thing in common with you, particularly in Britain. People will see you with this book and come to talk to you; it’s not just a work of fiction it’s a key social networking tool. Murakami’s writing is overtly surreal but also tenderly human. ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ is a particularly good example of this; contrasting characters such as the other-worldly medium Malta Kano and the matter-of-fact teenager May Kasahara are demonstrations of the bizarre variations of human nature to be found within the bounds of Murakami’s imagination. If the size of a book is likely to put you off then perhaps ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ isn’t for you, but this doesn’t mean that you should be steering clear of Murakami altogether. He’s a literary gem; seriously, he’s been compared to so many writers of varying styles that it’s been suggested that he must be an original. If you’re not keen on lengthy tomes then perhaps you should take a look at ‘Norwegian Wood’ a smaller and slightly less complex work or ‘The Elephant Vanishes’ which is a collection of short stories (some of which were adapted for the stage “ In my, limited, experience it is rare to find a work of fiction that inspires a stranger to let you know that they have such a trivial thing in common with you ” by Complicité Theatre Company, for you theatre buffs out there). For a true work of contemporary brilliance that is neither typically Japanese nor traditionally Western pick up Haruki Murakami, any Haruki Murakami and be enlightened, like I was. If I’ve learnt anything from Murakami’s book, other than the geography of Tokyo, it’s not to judge people by their reading habits; especially if they offer to lend you ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’. And now for something different... ...Columnist Roz Carter delves into some interesting social activities Good Morrow to you, readers of the Founder, I trust you are well and rested after the lengthy Christmas holidays? Well, if you are, then you are a lucky so and so as (and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this) I find that actually it drains time, energy and of course MONEY! I had a very nasty shock when I looked at my balance and found that *oops* I might have spent my rent money on those shoes that I simply had to have as they were half price (for all the girls out there they were irregular choice with miniature chocolates on them… how could I not?) But in the doom and gloom of January I have uncovered a few entertaining activities to take your mind of impending doom and gloom of January bank statements. I am very fortunate in that my lit- tle sister Danielle happens to love the theatre as much as I do and so I thought I would kill 2 birds with one stone and take her to see a show for her Christmas present: Cunning I know. The show in question was Potted Potter: A Parody by Dan and Jeff and if I am completely honest it was one of the funniest things I have seen since John Cleese walked in a room with a dead parrot. It is all 7 Harry Potter books retold in 70 minutes by 2 men and various wigs. With a minimal budget Dan and Jeff manage to include a game of Quidditch, a Hungarian Horntail and even a powerpoint presentation on book 3. Dan and Jeff ’s play uses the time classic method of “dumb one” and “smart one” to keep the audience in stitches from the opening of book one to Voldemort singing Gloria Gaynor. However if you can’t afford a trip into our Capital then there is an alternative that shouldn’t cost you more then £5…Board Game Night. Wait! Don’t throw down this paper in disgust and let me explain why this is actually a great night. I was trying to seduce this guy and I was trying to think of a situation were we would be in close contact and not in the Monkey’s Forehead. And then it came to me… BOARD GAMES! So I rounded up some of my good friends and we hit the games, Harry Potter Scene-It and Cranium to be exact. Although very confusing, playing Cranium proved to be hilarious as there is nothing funnier then watching your best friends try and act out the phrase “full of beans” As long as you are prepared to accept that tempers and objects may fly while playing these games it is a great way to get your mates together without spending a fortune. I warn you though the phrase “You’re S**t at life, You’re dumped” did get screamed several times during the evening. Potted Potter has finished playing but Dan and Jeff ’s new play Potted Pirates is currently showing. www. pottedpotter.com How Much?: £20 a ticket Why Go? Because it is pure comedy genius! Rating 5/5 Board Game Night: How much?: Free if you have games or pick some up cheap from Oxfam Why? When trying to seduce men nothing says “look, I’m actually a bit bonkers” then the roll of the dice. Rating 3/5
The Founder | Thursday 15 January 2009 Comment & Debate 17 The Freedom Society: A new perspective Dave Paxton Freedom is Royal Holloway’s society for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals. I put off investigating the society for a year, but having finally added myself to the Facebook group, I am interested to see what it can offer the second-year homosexual. The society advertises itself as appealing to ‘anyone who’s open minded or not really sure’, as well as to those ‘interested in the lifestyle’. That reference to ‘the lifestyle’ troubles me. What is this specific, monothematic lifestyle that we gays enjoy? I return home of an evening, put on a CD of Bach, open up a book, and drink a few glasses of red wine. Is this really ‘the lifestyle’ that Freedom refers to? A look at the posted photographs on Facebook clarifies the society’s position. Here are emblems of the path that I should be leading, as promoted by Freedom: seductive bitches entwining tongues like cogs in machines, divas in resplendent white wigs, towering purple and mauve fans, Elton John, the youthful Leonardo di- Caprio, ‘Pink Parties’ and ‘Rainbow Parties’, explosions of gaudy colour, splashed like industrial rainbows across my computer screen. This is Freedom’s idea of homosexuality. Am I the only one to find this utterly nauseating? It is certainly commendable that the society exists. Though Britain luxuriates in grand (and admittedly often unrealistic) claims of equality and liberalism, homophobia – implicit or explicit – is rife. For example, it is most likely that you know someone who uses ‘gay’ as a derogatory term. Or perhaps you do. Societies like Freedom exist to combat prejudice, propagate equality and provide a safe haven for those of a minority gender role or preference. Yet they do more harm than good. Freedom attempts to fight prejudice, while at every stage reinforcing the popular stereotype of the colourful homosexual, the image promoted by the media – willingly digested by society – and the one image that overwhelmingly leads to prejudice. Will and Grace, Julian Clary, Elton John and their gay peers construct society’s picture of the ‘camp’ homosexual, and this flamboyant genderacting comes to define homosexuality in general. A non-existent, and Photos from the Freedom Society Facebook group frankly homophobic link, between sexual preference and social behaviour is created. Freedom asks us to explore ‘the lifestyle’, the ‘culture’; we must ‘camp up’ for social events; we must manipulate our exteriors into erotic aesthetic constructs, of a sort demonstrated by the Facebook photographs. It is no wonder that homophobia exists; even I am repelled by this gender vision, and wish to combat it. The worst sort of heterosexual drapes DD-breasted women over his Herculean muscles as a signifier of social status, grunting that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind; the worst sort of homosexual parades his limp wristed diva-adoration as a distinguishing gender-attribute. Societies like Freedom, by promoting ‘Rainbows’ and ‘Pink Parties’, reinforce convictions, doing an especial disservice to the thoughtful gay who wishes to assert himself as a person, not as a ‘type’. Freedom does not represent a call for equality; it alienates itself from the heterosexual society, and affirms the homosexual stereotype, which itself leads to prejudice and so negates the very possibility of equality. A convincing counter-argument could be made, if it trod a Shakespearian path, in the sense that we’re all acting a role, and one choice of part is as valid as another; my argument fails as the heterosexual society fails, in that it assumes a ‘norm’, against which an ‘other’ is created and defined, nebulously so. These are not, however, productive arguments to make, if twenty first century prejudice is to be quashed and something approaching equality is to be striven for. Properties to rent in Englefield Green for the next academic year Private landlord No agency fees ! To arrange a viewing call: 07956444169
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Holloway mourns death of student - The Founder

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