Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (2013) by Haruki Murakami is a story about lost friendship. In his youth, Tsukuru Tazaki had four close friends: two boys and two girls. Each of his friends’ names has a colorful meaning, while Tsukuru Tazaki’s name is colorless. His male friends are named Akamatsu and Oumi, which mean “red pine” and “blue sea,” respectively. His female friends are named Shirane and Kurono, which mean “white root” and “black meadow,” respectively.

While in college, in 1995, Tsukuru’s friends decide to break ties with him completely. He is left isolated, depressed, and alone. Tsukuru drifts through life, only finding satisfaction in his job as a railroad engineer. Sixteen years later, in 2011, Tsukuru begins dating a woman named Sara who suggests that he track down his friends to learn the truth about why they cut him off. She refuses to commit to a relationship with him until he resolves his issues about this loss.

With Sara’s help, Tsukuru begins to track down his friends. Oumi talks with him and explains that Shirane (Shiro) accused Tsukuru of rape, and that this was why all his friends stopped speaking to him. Six years ago, Shiro was strangled to death. He then visits Aka, who tells Tsukuru that he didn’t believe Shiro’s story. Next, he visits Kuro in Finland. Kuro tells him that Shiro was mentally ill. Although Kuro knew that Tsukuru had not raped Shiro, she said that someone did rape Shiro and that she was pregnant and miscarried. His friends decided to cut Tsukuru off to avoid confronting Shiro and alienating her.

After following Tsukuru’s long quest, I found the explanations dissatisfying and disappointing. The idea that a woman would falsely accuse a friend of rape was disturbing. Moreover, the way Tsukuru viewed women was sexist. This novel was the first Murakami story that I read, and I was expecting a better ending.

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The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau

The Happiness of Pursuit (2014) by Chris Guillebeau is a book about creating and pursuing complex, long-term, personal goals. Guillebeau’s own goal was to visit every country on Earth by age 35. He writes about his journey in detail and how he overcame challenges along the way.

In addition, Guillebeau describes the passions, pursuits, and quests of many others through storytelling and interviews. He talked with people who had committed themselves to many types of quests, including artistic, athletic, environmental, culinary, and interpersonal endeavors.

This book was a nice one for me to end the year with. It was full of inspiring stories about the joy of pursuing challenging goals and finding your calling in life.

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The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

Jill Lepore’s The Secret History of Wonder Woman (2014) is a biography of William Moulton Marston, who created the iconic comic book heroine. It describes Marston’s personal life and work and how factors in his life influenced the development of the superhero Wonder Woman.

William Marston was a psychologist who was educated at Harvard University. He was an inventor and developed an early version of the lie detector test. In addition, Marston was a writer, who penned academic essays and screenplays. In the 1940s, Marston created the character Wonder Woman as a powerful female superhero. The character was illustrated by the artist and cartoonist H.G. Peter. When Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in 1941, male superheroes abounded in comic books. Wonder Woman was a novel creation, a woman who represented the feminist ideals of strength, sisterhood, anti-violence, and respect for human life.

The book delves into the personal, titillating details of William Marston’s complex family. He was married to Elizabeth Holloway Marston. Elizabeth contributed to his work on the lie detector test and to the development of Wonder Woman. Together, William and Elizabeth had two children together. Marston also had a relationship with his psychology student Olive Byrne, who was the daughter of Ethel Byrne and the niece of Margaret Sanger. In 1916, Ethyl and her sister Margaret opened the first birth control clinic in the US in Brooklyn. Olive moved in with William and Elizabeth Marston, and William had two children with Olive. Even after William Marston’s death, Elizabeth and Olive continued living together.

These women influenced Marston and contributed to his ideas of Wonder Woman as powerful and good. Marston’s lie detector became Wonder Woman’s “Lasso of Truth.” Olive Byrne’s bracelets inspired Wonder Woman’s indestructible bracelets. The fight for women’s liberation is reflected in Wonder Woman’s repeated escapes from bondage. I especially liked the presentation and descriptions of old Wonder Woman comics that illustrated these themes. The book was a fascinating, surprising read.

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Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1934) by James Hilton is a look back at the career of an English schoolmaster named Arthur Chipping. Mr. Chipping first arrived at Brookfield as a young teacher in 1870. Through his care and commitment, he changed the lives of his students, who gave him the nickname Mr. Chips. Arthur is briefly married to a charming woman named Katherine, who dies in childbirth. Over time, Mr. Chips is known for his solitary, bachelor life.

After more than forty years teaching, Mr. Chips retires in 1913. During the war, he’s asked to return to work at the school, and following the war, he returns to retirement. The book is a reflection on his life and career, his brief marriage, the profession of teaching, and the isolation of growing old.

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A Lantern in her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich

A Lantern in Her Hand (1928) by Bess Streeter Aldrich is a story of maternal sacrifice and pioneer life. Abbie Mackenzie is full of dreams to be a lovely woman like her grandmother. She has a beautiful voice and dreams of singing and playing music on the stage. She wants to write something and make her mark on the world. As the story plays out, it's painful to watch Abbie put away and sacrifice her dreams one by one.

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Not Now, but Now by M.F.K. Fisher

Not Now, but Now (1947) is the sole novel written by M.F.K. Fisher, who is best known as a food writer. The book has four main chapters, each telling a story set in a different time and place that all feature the same character named Jennie. Jennie seeks conquests, wealth, and adulation. She corrupts those around her, bringing them pain and destruction. A recurring motif is Jennie’s reptilian accessories, symbolizing both her evil nature and the way she can shed her skin. She can slither out of one time and place to form a new life for herself in another.

M.F.K. Fisher described the book saying, "To my mind it is really not a novel at all... It is a string of short stories, tied together more or less artfully by a time-trick. The female Jennie appears everywhere, often with heedless cruelty or deliberate destruction to her docile associates, and then slips away in her little snakeskin shoes..." It’s a curious and very different type of story.

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