This book features Kaito, a skilled assassin who trained at a very young age.  His day job is at a flower shop, and a mysterious woman comes there to give him his assignments.  He then uses lilies as a guise to kill his victims.  Kaito does have a heart, though, and even takes in a homeless boy.  He also cares for his brother who is in a coma.

There are three mini-stories in this book, and some of the drawings are fairly graphic in nature so I would recommend this for adults only.  Kaito is drawn in such a way that at first I didn’t know if he was male or female.  However, he uses that as a disguise sometimes to lure his victims.

I would read the second volume, if only to fill the need for another ‘X’ title.  Mangas are a new and very different genre for me.  If you like manga and know of a series I might like, please let me know.

2006 for the English translation, 200 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5

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Many thanks to Hachette Book Group and Dewey!

The goal of Frances’s challenge is to read six works in translation.  I’ll plan on having at least 6 different languages respresented as well.  This will be a good one!

1. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (Japanese)
2. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda (Spanish)
3. Thousand Cranes by Kawabata (Japanese #2)
4. X-Kai- Vol. 2 by Asami Tohjoh (Japanese #3)
5. Fear and Trembling by Amelie Nothomb (French)
6. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Japanese #4)
7. The Reader by Bernard Schlink (German)
8. So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (French #2)
9. Solaris  by Stanislaw Lem (Polish)
10. A Tale of Two Gardens by Octavio Paz (Spanish #2)
11. The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho (Portuguese)
12. Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories  by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Yiddish)
13. The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez (Spanish #3)
14. Ravel by Jean Echenoz (French #3)

Some titles I’m thinking about:

• The Good Women of China by Xinran (Chinese)
• Kafka on the Shore by Murakami (Japanese)
• The Devil and Miss Prym by Coelho (Portuguese)
• Ficciones by Borges (Spanish)
• The Girl Who Played with Fire by Larsson (Swedish)
• The Summer Book by Jansson (Swedish)
• To Siberia by Petterson (Norwegian)
• Measuring the World (German)
• Effi Briest by Fontane (German)
• Night Train to Lisbon (German)
• ? by Zweig (German)
• Inkspell (German)
• Inkdeath (German)
• The Piano Teacher (German)
• The Neverending Story (German)

I do enjoy reading from authors outside the U.S., and I’ve been happy with my results for 2008 so far.  I’ve really enjoyed being a part of both Canadian Challenges.  I’ve read three each by L.M. Montgomery and Atwood with hopes to read more of both authors next year.

What’s also amazing was that I read two books (in translation, of course) originally in Icelandic and none (so far) in Spanish.  I never would have predicted that!  Here is the breakdown by original language:

• Japanese (5)
• French (4)
• Hungarian (3)
• Icelandic (2)
• German (1)
• Chinese (1)
• Italian (1)
• Norwegian (1)
• Swedish (1)

The list below is by author nationality.  If a book is set in a different country, it is noted.  Also, some of the authors have moved from their original country, and if known, that is also indicated.  I should have a few more titles to add to this list by the end of the year.  (I’m behind on my reviews, but eventually they’ll get there.)

Australia

• The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (set in Great Britain)
• Breath by Tim Winton

Canada

• Sitting Practice by Caroline Adderson
• Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
• Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
• Kanada by Eva Wiseman (set in WW II Europe)
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (set in former Yugoslavia)
• The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy (originally in French)
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (now lives in U.S.)
• Jacob Two-Two’s First Spy Case by Mordecai Richler
• Bear by Marian Engel
• The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
• Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Anne-Marie MacDonald
• Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen (U.S., but born in Toronto and on GG shortlist)

China

• Sky Burial by Xinran (set in Tibet; author now lives in Great Britain)

Czech Republic

• The Castle by Franz Kafka (originally in German)

France

• Snow by Maxence Fermine (set in Japan)

Great Britain

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
• The Sister by Poppy Adams
• On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
• Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall
• What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn
• The Photograph by Penelope Lively
• Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (now lives in U.S.)
• Children of Men by P.D. James
• Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories, edited by Roald Dahl
• The Twits by Roald Dahl
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (2003, 896 pp.)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (2005, 652 pp.)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Hungary

• Embers by Sandor Marai
• Kaddish for a Child not Born by Imre Kertesz
• Detective Story by Imre Kertesz (set in South America)

Iceland

• Independent People by Halldor Laxness
• The Pets by Bragi Olafsson

India

• The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Iran

• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (now lives in France)
• Persepolis II by Marjane Satrapi (now lives in France)

Ireland

• The Gathering by Anne Enright
• The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Italy

• Silk by Alessandro Baricco (set in Japan)

Japan

• Strangers by Taichi Yamada
• After Dark by Haruki Murakami
• Silence by Shusaku Endo
• X-Kai by Asami Tohjoh
• Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi

Nigeria

• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• Purple Hibiscus by Adichie (reading now)

Norway

• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Russia

• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (later lived in U.S.; set in U.S.; originally in English)

South Africa

• Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee

Sudan

• The Translator by Daoud Hari

Sweden

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

U.S. authors with books in foreign settings

• The Only Road North by Erik Mirandette (Africa)
• Maus I by Art Spiegelman (set in WW II Europe and the U.S.)
• Maus II by Art Spiegelman (set in WW II Europe and the U.S.)
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (various world locations)

Hosted by Wendy and lasted all of 2008.

For this challenge I committed to 6 books, hoped to read 8, and ended up with 9!  My favorites by far were The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Unaccustomed Earth, and Out Stealing Horses.  My least favorites were Breath and On Chesil Beach.

The books I read in order of enjoyment:

1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
2. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
3. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
4. After Dark by Murakami (I’m thinking of changing this to a ’4′)
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Too many deaths)
6. The Cloud of Unknowing by Thomas H. Cook
7. The Gathering by Anne Enright (Even though this is rated higher, it was mostly because of the writing. It’s not really a book I ‘enjoyed’)
8. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (I’m thinking of lowering this rating)
9. Breath by Tim Winton (I actually liked the first 3/4 of this)

These are listed in reverse order of completion and/or challenge end date, so completed challenges are at the bottom of the list.  Further updates can be found at this link.

• 101 Books in 1001 Days 32/101 (ends 12/28/2010)
• German Reading Challenge – 0 of 6 (ends 12/31/09)
• Countdown Challenge – 13 of 45 (ends 9/9/09)
• Canadian Challenge II – 6 of 13 (ends 7/1/09)
• What an Animal Challenge – 6 of 6 (ends 6/30/09)
• Book Awards II – 7 of 10 (ends 6/1/09)
• 1% Well-Read Challenge – 5 of 10 (ends 2/28/09)
• Unread Authors Challenge – 9 of 6 (ends 1/31/09)
• Japanese Literature Challenge 2 of 3 (ends 1/30/08)
• The Nobel 5 Challenge – 3 of 5 (ends 12/31/08)
• A-Z Challenge – 47 of 52 (ends 12/31/08)
• Africa Reading Challenge – 4 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Short Story Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
• My Year of Reading Dangerously – 7 of 12 DNF
• Russian Reading Challenge – 1 of 4 (ends 12/31/08)
• Classics Challenge – 5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Well Rounded Challenge – 5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• “What’s in a Name?” Challenge-5 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Cardathon Challenge 5 of ?? (ends 12/31/08)
• TBR Challenge – 5 of 12 DNF
• Notable Books Challenge – 7 of 6 (ends 12/31/08)
• Jane Austen Mini-Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
• Inklings Mini-Challenge (ends 12/31/08)
• 2nds Challenge – 1 of 4 (ends 12/31/08)
• I Heard It through the Grapevine Challenge – 1 of 3 (ends 11/30/08)
• Book to Movie Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Decades ’08 – 11 of 8 COMPLETE
• 100+ Reading Challenge – 102 of 100 COMPLETE
• Graphic Novel Challenge – 10 of 6 COMPLETE
• Triple 8 Challenge – 64 of 64 COMPLETE
• The Wind-up Book Chronicle – 2 of 6 DNF
• Whitcoulls Challenge – 12 of 12 COMPLETE
• R.I.P. III Challenge 4 of 4 COMPLETE
• 10 out of 100 out of 1001 – 0 of 3 DNF
• In Their Shoes Challenge – 8 of 6 COMPLETE
• Herding Cats Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Non-Fiction Five Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• ARC Reading Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• End of the World Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Summer Reading Challenge – 1 of 3 DNF
• Southern Reading Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Orbis Terrarum Challenge – 9 of 9 COMPLETE
• Banned Book Challenge – 8 of 8 COMPLETE
• Canadian Book Challenge – 13 of 13 COMPLETE
• Man Booker Prize Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Chunkster Challenge – 7 of 7 COMPLETE
• Themed Reading Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Spring Reading Thing – 7 of 12 (DNF)
• Once Upon a Time II – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Here Be Dragons – 3 of 3 COMPLETE
• Young Adult Challenge – 13 of 13 COMPLETE
• The Initials Reading Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Series Challenge – 5 of 7 (DNF)
• Spring Reading Challenge – 2 of 4 (DNF)
• Novella Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• Eponymous Challenge – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Expanding Horizons Challenge – 4 of 4 COMPLETE
• Jewish Literature Challenge – 6 of 6 COMPLETE
• The Pub ’08 – 8 of 8 COMPLETE
• Book Awards Challenge – 24 of 24 COMPLETE
• Winter Reading Challenge – 12 of 12 COMPLETE
• Sci-Fi Experience – 2 of 2 COMPLETE
• From the Stacks – 5 of 5 COMPLETE
• Japanese Literature Challenge – 3 of 3 COMPLETE

My favorites were probably the oldest book, Dracula and the first three books of the Anne of Green Gables series. Maus I and II were my favorites of the newer titles.

Want to join Decades 2009?  Just head on over to the Decades blog to sign up.

What I read:

1890’s

• Dracula by Bram Stoker

1900’s

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

1910’s

• Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

1920’s

• The Castle by Franz Kafka

1930’s

• Independent People by Halldor Laxness (1934-1935)
• Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938)

1940’s

• Embers by Sandor Marai

1950’s

• Things Fall Apart by Achebe (1958)
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

1960’s

• 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)
• The Pigman by Paul Zindel
• The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (a re-read)

1970’s

• Bear by Marian Engel
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Detective Story by Imre Kertesz
• Transformations by Anne Sexton
• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

1980’s

• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood (1988)
• Life & Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
• Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Strangers by Taichi Yamada
• Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
• The Twits by Roald Dahl

1990’s

• The Borden Tragedy by Rick Geary
• Darkness Visible by William Styron
• Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Anne-Marie MacDonald
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
• Jacob Two Two’s First Spy Case by Mordecai Richler
• Kaddish for a Child Not Born by Imre Kertesz
• Maus II by Art Spiegelman
• Silk by Alessandro Baricco
• Snow by Maxence Fermine
• The Children of Men by P.D. James