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South of the Border, West of the Sun

Haruki Murakami,

Philip Gabriel (Translator)

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Feb 25, 2016 Steve rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Haruki Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun seems to create mixed reactions among its readers. Is it Major or Minor Murakami? I can see the arguments for both views. The novel is short, the story seemingly straightforward, with some extended conversations that don’t seem to do a lot for the advancement of the story. At the halfway point, I was leaning toward Minor. But Murakami (a real student of the Novel) knows how to close, and I was left feeling that, despite its slight package, a Haruki Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun seems to create mixed reactions among its readers. Is it Major or Minor Murakami? I can see the arguments for both views. The novel is short, the story seemingly straightforward, with some extended conversations that don’t seem to do a lot for the advancement of the story. At the halfway point, I was leaning toward Minor. But Murakami (a real student of the Novel) knows how to close, and I was left feeling that, despite its slight package, and occasional clutter, South of the Border is Major Murakami.

Some have compared South of the Border to the early novel, Norwegian Wood (a novel I did not like). I thought South of the Border a much more mature novel, one where Murakami confronts (among other things) mid-life crisis. Oh, the bittersweet nostalgia of NW is also a part of South of Border, but something deeper, more troubling, is stalking 37 year old Hajime. On surface, things have worked out well for him. After spending his lonely twenties drifting through empty relationships and jobs, he meets a nice girl, gets married, has a couple of kids and a dream job – via a bit of help from his father-in-law -- operating a couple of jazz clubs. But there is an unease, a hunger that won’t go away. One evening at his club he encounters an old childhood friend, Shimamoto, who has blossomed into a beautiful (and mysterious) woman. Murakami establishes a noirish and romantic atmosphere for these encounters. Soft music, oblique conversation that hints at more, and then “Poof,” into the night she goes, not to return for months at a time. Hajime’s mental crisis only grows with each encounter, as he contemplates throwing his life away for her (he knows virtually nothing about her). There are times you almost wonder if Shimamoto is even real (and reality, with its shifting symbols and images, is a very slippery thing in Murakami’s hands), or some sort of succubus from the past, tempting Hajime with (very hot) sex, and maybe suicide. In the end, South of the Border is a novel of transitions and responsibilities, and the dark dreams that can pull at them.
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Jul 25, 2009 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

I have loved everything I've read
by Haruki Murakami. Mysterious.
Thoughtful. Modern. Quirky.
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Aug 07, 2019 Mike rated it liked it · review of another edition

As a fan of Murakami I was surprised to feel let down by this one. The madness and choices of the main character simply weren’t credible to me at this point in life. Perhaps some time ago, I would have found his willingness to throw it all away for a Siren would seem romantic. At this point in life though, I just don’t believe that he would throw a lovely marriage, and his two daughters away for a phantasm.

Sadly, I ended this novel cold. Regretting I’d given it time.

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Oct 21, 2013 Kent Winward rated it really liked it

This book was a meditation on how our emotional lives can wreak havoc on those around us, in this Russian doll of a story, of spurned, unfulfilled, unrequited and consummated love. Murakami isn't often listed as someone who explores an individual's psyche -- the surreal elements of his stories always seem to move front and center -- but this story is a great exposure of the internal workings of the main character, Hajime. ...more

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Feb 09, 2009 Micha rated it liked it

Shelves: books-2007, first-murakami-novel-i-ever-read-3, 日本nihon-stories-from-japan

This was my first Murakami Haruki novel. I liked it so much I read three more in the same month! While it is not my favourite, I have a certain sentimentality for it.
It is good for a first read because, although it isn't his best it is quite good. You get a very real feel for Murakami's love of jazz from this work and that was enough to make the journey worth it for me. ...more

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