Ratings65
Average rating3.8
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
Murakami is excellent, as always. I am yet to find a single book by him that I wouldn't like.
More intricate than it seems, I think. Touches on a lot that anyone in a relationship can relate to as well. I don't know how to put it really, but this is a beautiful novel with a smooth translation; Murakami's words sneak up on you and slam you with their power. South of the Border, West of the Sun digs deep in an understated way.
There's this thing with Murakami novels - whenever I read one, it's never at a single stretch. I have to pause, and stop, and put it aside for the night. The words and feelings just jump out to me from the page, and the ache in my heart is as real as the character's. I need time to absorb the weight of the story, to feel the sadness or joy, to relive my own adventures (and misadventures) in love. Everyone's trying to learn the game. Murakami reminds me that though there ARE people in this world for whom falling in love is an all-consuming experience, obsession, distraction, a painful, scarring wound at best... It is also the most beautiful and pure feeling they will ever know, and I am in awe of his ability to weave those delicate threads of purity into the painfulness of unrequited love.
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64 booksI'm at 42/52 and I'm trying to really make a push to finish the year! I have a few longer books (18–25 hours audiobook) lined up, so I want some shorter and easier ones to fill out the list. I tend...