Sixty~Nine by Ryu Murakami ~ Started: 03.03.11 ~ Finished: 08.03.11
Synopsis ~
In 1969 we were seventeen. We listened to the Beatles, the Stones, the Doors, the Velvet Underground, the Grateful Dead, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan. We read Rimbaud, played guitars, smoked pot, fell in love, rebelled against the establishment, protested the war in Vietnam, barricaded our high school, and produced the first rock festival in our home town - a small city in a remote southwestern corner of Japan. "69" is a roman de clef about coming of age during a time that left its mark on baby boomers around the world - a time when we really believed we could change the world before it changed us. By turns hilarious, cynical, frivolous, and poignant, the book is infused from start to finish with Ryu Murakami's relentless energy and optimism; and it simply refuses to get tedious, preach, or "literary" for a single moment.
The Story ~
Its 1969 and Kensuke Yazaki is 17 years old and the world is his oyster, well his world in the small city of Kyushu and his school, Northern High. Its all about the music, poetry and his endless pursuit of girls for Kensuke (or 'Ken' as he preferred to be called). Along with his friends, Adama and Iwase, Ken wants to set up a music festival and make a film, highlighting the hypocrisy of education and life in general because when you are 17 years old the whole world is against you.
What I thought of 'Sixty~Nine' ~
'Sixty~Nine' is different from the previous novels by Ryu Murakami I have read, 'Piercing' and 'In the Miso Soup' were darker and showed the other side of Tokyo. 'Sixty~Nine is a lighter and funnier read, and a departure for Ryu Murakami, which made for interesting reading. Ken, the main character was funny and very self involved, my favourite character was Adama, he was the voice of reason for all of Ken's endeavours, Ken lived in a dream world at times whilst Adama remained on earth and he was also very funny, especially the part with the neurotic chickens.
A fun, feel good read.
Rating ~ 8/10