Haruki Murakami

Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present.

South of the Border, West of the Sun

国境の南, 太陽の西 / Kokkyō no minami, taiyō no nishi

For a long time, she held a special place in my heart. I kept this special place just for her, like a Reserved sign on a quiet corner table in a restaurant. Despite the fact that I was sure l’d never see her again.

 I felt as though these friends were trying to crush me all the time and I had to always be prepared to defend myself. 

How can a person not read this and be reminded of someone they’ve loved the greatest, love that’s pained them the most. How can someone read this and not immediately fall utterly in love with nostalgia and this book all over again.

Anushree Taparia

"For a long time, she held a special place in my heart.I kept this specialplace just for her,like a "Reserved" sign on a quiet corner table in a restaurant Despite the fact that I was sure I'd never see her again.

I just feel this paragraph all over my body 

We were, the two of us, still fragmented beings, just beginning to sense the presence of an unexpected, to be acquired reality that fill us and make whole. We stood in front of the door would never seen before. The two of us alone, we beneath a glimmer of light, our hands  tightly class class together for fleeting 10 seconds of time.

This spoke to me, so much. How anything can be a source of hurt. And how it is Okay to be unaware of how you get hurt and how you hurt at times, not oblivious; simply unaware 

I didn’t understand then that I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover that a person again just by living damage another human being beyond repair

As always, Murakami writes about a pathetic, horny loser who can’t get over a childhood crush and allows his fantasy to ruin his life over and over again. And as always, I eat it up! His dreamy prose of existential angst was surprisingly relatable.

As pathetic as I find this penchant for comparing every romantic partner to your first puppy love to be, I genuinely enjoy all our human undoings. How quaint and immature to fixate on a fantasy of a 12 year old who made your heart flutter. It’s only because she was never given the chance to be a real person—one who makes her own way, including her own mistakes. And yet, how delightfully human to let it derail your entire life! I’ve met many a man like this (never a woman though, surprisingly enough), and was disgusted by the lot of them. So it’s refreshing to get to feel the inner workings of falling in and out of this painful habit, and from an intelligent, partially self-aware main character. Open your heart, and give grace: we are all fighting some sort of pitiful and embarrassing battle you cannot see. ;)

constance

As always, Murakami writes about a pathetic, horny loser who can’t get over a childhood crush and allows his fantasy to ruin his life over and over again. And as always, I eat it up! His dreamy prose of existential angst was surprisingly relatable.

As pathetic as I find this penchant for comparing every romantic partner to your first puppy love to be, I genuinely enjoy all our human undoings. How quaint and immature to fixate on a fantasy of a 12 year old who made your heart flutter. It’s only because she was never given the chance to be a real person—one who makes her own way, including her own mistakes. And yet, how delightfully human to let it derail your entire life! I’ve met many a man like this (never a woman though, surprisingly enough), and was disgusted by the lot of them. So it’s refreshing to get to feel the inner workings of falling in and out of this painful habit, and from an intelligent, partially self-aware main character. Open your heart, and give grace: we are all fighting some sort of pitiful and embarrassing battle you cannot see. ;)

Al sur de la frontera, al oeste del sol

el murakami siempre, sieeeempre escribe a las morras de una manera que hace fruncir el seño, pero realmente este es mi libro favorito de él, por la narración, por las descripciones, por las piezas musicales que lo acompañan, no sé, me hace integrarme a la historia de una manera que se me hace muy personal, me encanta este libro not gonna lie.

dani ocean.

Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present. ** Murakami’s new novel is coming ** COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE 'The reason why death had such a hold on Tsukuru Tazaki was clear. One day his four closest friends, the friends he’d known for a long time, announced that they did not want to see him, or talk with him, ever again'

Maureen

"I didn't feel like I was in my own body; my body was just a lonely, temporary container I happened to be borrowing.”

***

It’s Norwegian Wood except the character is older... and married. The narrative was very personal and reading it made me feel like I was in the man’s head. As always, Murakami ends the book vaguely— though I’d like to believe it was a hopeful ending.

Anjorin Molayo 

4.5 ⭐️

Murakami's writing, as always, is always so intriguing. This man is very good writer, the rhythm of the narrative, the words, the end points, the daydreams, EVERY SINGLE THING. This adds a lot to the main factor of this book for me, how human it is, how real. In real life sometimes everyone does shit, and often there is no way to redeem themselves afterwards. Many times we spend our whole lives with this weighing our heads, and each one has their own way of finding a way out. We don't always find out what we want, and often things just don't have an end in our lives and we ourselves need to give ourselves this, develop this ability out of necessity.

The choice of an open ending in addition to being very much Murakami's way fits like a glove in this book. i think it’s a pattern in Murakami’s books. The sense of longing, the desperation. 

I can't explain what I felt reading this book or what I think about it. This kind of story that stirs there in your feelings and in the end you are only extremely impacted, so good that you will never be able to explain the reason. I love that.

This just feels like waking up from a dream.

I’m intrigued to check out more of Murakami’s works, for he told stories in a way that makes you crave more for it—for the words to spill over. P.S. My friend came up with interesting theories about the characters, and I found myself listing down the possibilities (it is quite fun to make up theories with a like-minded soul).

🏹

kayla 

could’ve been 4 but the way he writes women in here is extra iffy

★★★☆ // sentiment is dangerous. holding on to memories and what-could-have-beens ruin what good you already have. maybe it didn’t work before because no good can come out of it, so why should it work now? hajime should’ve known better.

diya

3.75/5

I've started to realise I love reading big bulky Murakami books instead of his smaller ones.

Haritlak Thawikasikam

Years after their separation, two Japanese childhood sweethearts are reunited, and happily married Hajime finds himself prepared to risk everything for the chance to be with his now mysterious first love Shinamoto. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

Aamna

Another signature Murakami story, albeit only mildly weird.

Frederik De Bosschere

lacks murakami’s atmospheric ambience of neons and ridiculous plotlines‐ felt very sad and empty

this book made me feel icky, enjoyed the writing style but wtf how was this “romantic” at all?? it was just gross

Trish

This is the second Murakami book that I've read and out of all the characters I've met, I think I can relate to Hajime the most. Being an only child, I could relate all too well to his loneliness, his guilt, his habit of suffering, thinking, and dreaming alone. It's easy to get caught up in your daydreams when there's no one to pull you back to reality. I thought the dynamic between Hajime and Shimamoto was interesting... did he imagine her return? Did she commit suicide or simply disappear to another country after their night in Hakone? I have so many questions that were left unanswered but I feel that it's all part of the mystery that is Shimamoto. Is this a story of unlucky lovers or a man riddled with guilt and a longing for all that could have been? Overall, I liked the book and its characters very much but it didn't tug at my heartstring like Norwegian Wood did. That might have more to do with the fact that Norwegian Wood was a story that revolved around 20-somethings and this book is essentially about a man's early mid-life crisis.

Siya S

It's 2.5 stars, rounding down to 2

I am...a bit confused. 



This is my first Murakami book ever (finally!), and I'm not sure if I'm that impressed. I mean, I dived headfirst into this one without really knowing what I was getting into. Also, his fandom is ginormous here where I live, so I might be a bit biased and was like, expecting something more. 

For some reason, this book reminds me a bit of The Virgin Suicides, and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Just a bit, though. And perhaps Fight Club, because there's a possibility of him Tyler Durdening the heck out of this novella. 



It's a jazzy, rainy, nostalgic type of a novel where the protagonist wasn't very likeable. He's been through quite some phases, and now at 37, he's facing a real existential breakdown after his old flame showed up one night, completely out of nowhere. With a wife and two kids, Hajime was facing a dilemma of whether he should go for it and fulfill that void inside himself, or just be content with what he had. And the man had  a lot 



I took notes of all the keywords - the dualistic themes of South of the Border & West of the Sun; Reality & Self-delusion; Identity & Transition. I also took notes of the Siberian Hysteria bit, as well as the things with Cemetary, Desert, Memory. Also the jazz and the rains. The thing is, we'll just have to live with our imagination since we won't know exactly what they all mean. This story will be up for debates and interpretations forever. 

Also, some small notes here: no one seems to have real personalities here, which annoyed me. Shimamoto felt like a concept more than a real person (perhaps that's the whole point?) Hajime was insufferable with his oh-I-am-so-deep-cause-I-am-an-only-child. I'm an only child myself and while I can relate to some of his insights most of the time I was just...nope.

Also, the sex scene was hideous. Like a badly-written fanfiction. Not sure if it's intentional but really, it was all serving the ultimate male fantasy and it was not great. 



However, I kind of get the vibes and themes now and would be interested to read more of his works. Maybe the longer ones?

Caterina P.

Reading Murakami is like slowly falling asleep to a surrealistic wonderland-like reality. With all too relatable characters Murakami introduces contemporary readers to a modern "star crossed" lovers tale.

Fantastic. I devoured this. So comforting, such a slow and beautiful story. Perfect read. My favorite Murakami book yet

baelgia

A lazy holiday with no worries. Waking up at midday, the sun barely seeping through the clouds. Putting on your favorite tunes. Wasting time because you have so much of it. The slight breeze against your toes. Your favorite childhood memory - a little blurry around the edges now. Love, the most perplexing feeling in the world. Chancing a gaze at the night sky on your way back from a friend's place, and seeing eleven stars instead of five. 

What a precious, bittersweet book.

Samantha Flannelly

(3.5 stars rounded up) This was my second Murakami read and won't be my last, once again his writing is beautiful and a perfect balance of description and dialogue. I loved the theme of this book but couldn't relate to certain aspects of it. Regardless, the book was great and I can't wait to read another Murakami.

A sud del confine, a ovest del sole

Chiara Malaspina di Orezzoli

Credo di non aver mai odiato tanto un personaggio quanto ho odiato Hajime. Durante la lettura ho provato più volte il desiderio profondo di prenderlo a sberle (o di chiudere il libro e lanciarlo direttamente fuori dalla finestra). 

L'unica che si salva in tutto questo teatrino di personaggi dallo spessore millimetrico è la povera moglie del protagonista -inutile quanto una foglia di lattuga, ma meno sconclusionata del resto dei personaggi.

Boh.

Olivera Mitić

I don't know whether this is a thing Murakami always does (since I've only read two of his books), but it seems like he tends to end his books with such an ending that the reader doesn't feel actual closure. I'm not a huge fan of open endings, but I can obviously tolerate what he does and I plan on reading more of him. 
Another thing I noticed in Norwegian Wood is that the final resolution seems as if that one big decision was somehow made for the main character, instead of being made by him. 
Those are the only two reasons why this wasn't a 5 star book for me. Everything else was superb and mesmerizing. 
Murakami's writing style is simple, yet touching and he has that rare ability to really clearly and easily, and what seems like no effort at all, tell the reader such huge truths about various aspects of life. One of my favorite parts of South of the Border, West of the Sun was that paragraph about perfumes and smells. I think the metaphor he made there was one of the main 'morals' of the story. 
Yet, the ongoing theme that was explored most was how everything just happens by coincidence and pure luck, but that we should nonetheless take it as what it is and stop wondering about the 'whats' and the 'ifs'.
I wish there were some more answers to the questions asked, but even without that I can still say that I thoroughly enjoyed this read and found it hard to put down.

South of the Border, West of the Sun is the beguiling story of a past rekindled, and one of Haruki Murakami’s most touching novels. Hajime has arrived at middle age with a loving family and an enviable career, yet he feels incomplete. When a childhood friend, now a beautiful woman, shows up with a secret from which she is unable to escape, the fault lines of doubt in Hajime’s quotidian existence begin to give way. Rich, mysterious, and quietly dazzling, in South of the Border, West of the Sun the simple arc of one man’s life becomes the exquisite literary terrain of Murakami’s remarkable genius.

A Novel

Kath Lau

"Lots of different ways to live. And lots of different ways to die. But in the end… all that remains is a desert."

South of the Border, West of the Sun

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