Lost In Translation

Transit: Auckland

My room at the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Auckland in transit to Tokyo.

The lobby of the Stamford.

Skycity.

The Luminaries

The Luminaries (2013), winner of the Booker Prize, by Eleanor Catton was bought as background reading for my winter trip to New Zealand. I had heard of it, but didn't know much about, aside from the fact that it takes place in the gold fields of the South Island of New Zealand at the turn of the 19th century. I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed it.  It seems to have rubbed some readers the wrong way; given some of the responses to the novel I have seen on book reviewing sites. That being said, I enjoyed the "Dickensian" approach to the story: multiple major characters, long character descriptions, long-winded soliloquies, period language, and digression from the main story. Perhaps, it's greatest aspect can also be considered "Dickensian": the plot. It is a literary mystery that sped toward it's conclusion. There were heroes and villains, tragedies and joys, a courtroom drama, and moments of suspenseful action. My lack of familiarity with astrology and star signs caused me to miss the fact that each chapter is half as long as the predecessor (each assigned one of the 12 star signs) and other devices throughout. But the mystery and the descriptions of time and place as well as the unfolding stories of background characters made this a pleasant dash through more than 800 pages. I suspect this will be a hard read to top as best book (so early in the year as well). It was impressively researched for period details of a mystery story told in flashback-the unfolding of the plot was masterful. That being said, the ending had me trying to piece the story together since it didn't unfold in a simple linear manner-the reader must piece together the details from earlier in the story to gain a full understanding of what events transpired and I must admit that there are still some aspects of the story that I am trying to get straight in my head.

Jack's Point Clubhouse And Restaurant

The Remarkables from the parking lot of Jack's Point Clubhouse And Restaurant near Kelvin Heights where we were staying.

In the lobby of the restaurant.

Inside the main dining area.

Tewa Burger with smoked cheddar, melted onions, bacon, and brioche. It was the best burger I had in Queenstown (Sorry Fergburger...you come in third of three).

A rare dessert: Affogato ice cream, espresso, Frangelico, and chocolates.

Cycling To Lake Hayes And Mt. Crichton Loop Track

Paragliding in downtown Queenstown.

A cycle to Lake Hayes from Arrowtown.

Dave and Maisey.

Our cycling reward at the New Orleans Hotel Restaurant.

My last hike, Mt. Crichton Loop Track.

Sam Summer's (a prospector) cabin.

2014 My Year In Books

I always like to review the books I read in a given year and identify trends in my reading. This year I read 57 books, less than last year-I suppose some of them were longer than those read in 2013. Anyway, for 2014, one trend I noticed was books by South American masters: Conversations in the Cathedral and The Real Life of Alenjandro Mayta by Mario Vargas Llosa, Blow-Up and Other Stories Julio Cortazar, and The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I also always try to find time for a classic or two: The Immoralist Andre Gide, Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, Under the Jaguar Sun Italo Calvino, Days: A Tangier Diary by Paul Bowles, Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles, Scoop by Evelyn Waugh, A Clergyman’s Daughter George Orwell, The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, and Young Hearts Crying Richard Yates.

Cinema and films have been a constant reading subject in recent years: Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts (Arthur Phillips and Julian Stringer editors), BFI: An Actor’s Revenge by Ian Treadwell, BFI: L’Adventura by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, The Japanese Film by Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie, BFI: Il Conformista by Christopher Wagstaff, Shohei Imamura (James Quandt editor), The Cinema of Naruse Mikio by Catherine Russell, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaajte, Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema by David Bordwell, and The Cinema of Takeshi Kitano: Flowering Blood by Sean Richmond.

I am often inspired ot read certain books in anticipation of / or while travelling: (Vietnam): Matterhorn by Karl Malantes, (Italy): Good Italy Bad Italy by Bill Emmott and Naples ’44 by Norman Lewis, (Brazil): Granta 121: Best of Young Brazilian Novelists John Freeman (editor).

And travel itself is often a subject of my reading: Travels Without My Aunt by Julia Llewllyn (also about Graham Greene), Granta 124: Travel Josh Freedman (editor), and Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari by Paul Theroux.

Contemporary fiction is also always a constant: Salvador by Joan Didion, The Pale King by David F. Wallace, The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, and  Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Japanese literature is another constant: Botchan and Kokoro by Natsume Soeseki, The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe, Palm-of-the-Hand Stories, Snow Country, and Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata, and The Tale of Genji by Shibiku Murasaki.

And this is related to books about Japan, given it's my country of residence: Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration by Marius Jansen, The Inland Sea and Japanese Portraits by Donald Riche, Tokyo from Edo to Showa 1867-1989 and Genji Days by Edward Seidensnicker, Ways of Forgetting, Ways of Remembering by John Dower, A Curious Madness: An American Combat Psychiatrist, a Japanese War Crimes Suspect, and an Unsolved Mystery from World War II by Eric Jaffe, and tangentially related-The Shochu Handbook by Chris Pelligrini.

Nonfiction is also a major category with various subjects: (autobiography): Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart, (biography): Greene On Capri by Shirley Hazzard (essays-mostly films): Totally Tenderly Tragically by Phillip Lopate, (rock music): Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones by Bill Janovitz, and (TV): BFI: Deadwood by Jason Jacobs.

Glacier Burn Track and Remarkables Lake Alta

Lake Wakatipu on the way to Glacier Burn.

Glacier Burn Track.

We had to take our shoes off and cross a creek to start the hike.

At St. Olmer Park in Queenstown.

The view from part way up The Remarkables, by car.

Lake Alta.

The view on the way down.

Otago Wine Tour

Aimsfield Winery, the first stop on the wine tour. I bought a 2011 Pinot Noir for $45.

Bungy jumping.

Lola in front of Chard Farm Vineyards, where I picked up a bottle of 2012 Tiger Pinot Noir ($74).

 

Wild Earth Winery, where we had lunch with a 2011 Pinot Noir ($45).

The barrel BBQ lunch for $25 with three meats (steak, lamb, chicken) and three salads (cesar, pasta, pumpkin).

The river from the bridge at Wild Earth Winery.

Waitiri Creek Winery.

Outside Peregrine Winery, where I picked up a 2012 pinot Noir ($45).

Gibbston Valley Cheesery & Winery, we got some cheese for the second time (we also had gotten some in Arrowtown at a food fair earlier in the week).