All I asking for is my body by Milton Murayama

This is the story of the coming of age of Kiyoshi Oyama, a Japanese American boy who lives in Hawaii on a sugar cane plantation in the 1930's. Throughout the book, Kiyoshi (Kiyo) relates his experiences as he explores various parts of Japanese culture, particularly the idea of the filial responsibilities of sons to their parents. Themes such as the importance of education, poverty (especially generational poverty), gambling, the paying of debts, love/sex/marriage, boxing, superstition and religion are also explored by Kiyo throughout. We see how his attitudes towards these themes develop with his various experiences, including the onset of World War Two and its affects on the Japanese American population.

While this is a short book and a relatively quick read, I would not consider it an easy read. The book is actually divided into three parts; the first two parts consist of only a single chapter. It is really difficult at this point to see where the story is going, or if there is actually a story. The reader seems to just jump into the middle of everyday events at the sugar cane camp with no explanation of why we are there. Things started to flow a little better for me in part three, which consists of 23 short chapters. There is more flow and, as a reader, you get to know the characters and the story a little better which helps generate some interest in what is going on. It is also important to note that the author infuses a lot of local language into the text, which seems to add a sense of authenticity to the reading.

Overall, I like this book better at then end than at the beginning. To be honest, though, I'm glad that it was only about 100 pages long, as I didn't find it to be especially interesting.

Appearance, 2.5/5: The cover of this book wasn't appealing to me, although after reading the text I can understand some of the symbolism (red sun = Japanese flag, palm trees = Hawaii??)
Readability,  3.5/5: I liked the short chapters as you felt like you could accomplish the story one chunk at a time. On the other hand, it didn't always flow easily because some of the language was unfamiliar and it was certainly not a "can't put it down" read.
My Points, 7/10: Like I said, by the time I was finished with the story it had grown on me, but I don't think it was something that I would readily recommend.

Total Points: 13/20

The Alchemist

I don’t want to sell this book short. It is a very well written and potentially quick read. The thick metaphor throughout is also extremely compelling. For me, however, I was never getting enough. The book is a constant journey full of short stories and I would have liked to have been able to savor the resolution at the end of every minor climax and that was not the writing style. I am confident the author had a purpose behind this and I can appreciate their art but its effect on me was to kind of give up on the book. Not that the journey wasn’t interesting, but if I’m going to read through it I want my pay off.

I enjoyed the religious themes and the call to a personal legend. The concept of the book, I believe, is universal and the lessons offered can apply to anyone. I was especially intrigued by the many different statements about love, falling in love, and love’s effect on your personal journey.

I think one of the biggest moments in the book for me was on page 120 (The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho) “You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love…”

Appearance, 4/5: The cover has some mystique to it! If I was passing through a store I would pick it up to investigate. Perhaps it's a little misleading since the book is about a shepherd but and a lot of desert action. But compelling nonetheless!

Readability, 3/5: Even though the book is short and there is a constant struggle and journey, it took effort to stay invested since stories were not always deeply developed or resolved.

My Points, 8/10: Because of the message throughout the book I don’t want to knock it too much simply because I didn’t love the writing style. I wouldn’t want someone to not experience this read because I wasn’t as rapt as I could have been.

Total: 15/20