south of the border: what does it represent? (spoilers)

[Sandra]

I think there can be many takes on that. This is mine. Please feel to disagree and/or share your thoughts.

South of the border
I think that the lyrics of the Nat King Cole's song give a number of clues and should be considered when analysing the story. 'South of the border' was the exotic, unknown future that our 12-year-old protagonists had to look forward to. They future was full of opportunities, adventures, unknowns i.e. 'probablys' but the real life turned out nothing like the youngsters imagined and dreamed of, it was just 'Mexico'. Neither Hajime nor Shimamoto seem happy with their lives, Shimamoto lost a child and Hajime is going through a midlife crisis. He has a wife that loves him, two daughters, a successful business but... suddenly this fails to be enough to make him happy.

The song represents his childhood's love for Shimamoto which he idolizes as an adult:

South of the border, down Mexico way
That's where I fell in love, when the stars above came out to play
And now as I wander, my thoughts ever stray
South of the border, down Mexico way

Hajime is going through a mid-life crisis and therefore he lets his thoughts go astray back to childhood's love for Shimamoto that never got the chance to blossom.

Then she sighed as she whispered, "manana"
Never dreaming that we were parting
And I lied as a whispered, "manana"
'Cause our tomorrow never came

He believes that if given the chance, a relationship with Shimamotowould make him happy and complete. And whether Shimamoto's return into Hajime's life is real or a just a figment of his imagination/delusion (topic for another discussion I guess), Hajime decides to go 'South of the Border' i.e. the land of 'probablys' and 'what ifs'. His excursion South of the border puts at risk his family life, everything he has worked for. If he continues down that way he will lose everything and be lonely again just like he was throughout his twenties. He has to make a choice and decide whether to stay south of the border or go back to the woman he married:

There in a veil of white, by the candlelight, she knelt to pray
The mission bells told me that I mustn't stay
South of the border, Mexico way

In the end he leaves the South of the border - the land of probablys and goes back to his wife ('veil of white')and family (his mission). He will not have 'Star-crossed lovers' played any more at his club but rather 'As time goes by' from the film 'Casablanca'. Understanding this song and what role it played in the movie is also a huge clue that - to me - symbolizes in the book the beginning (Hajime means 'beginning' in Japanese, coincidence?) of Hajime's transformation process from a selfish, self-absorbed only child into a man who is willing to sacrifice his own selfish ways and desires in the name of the greater cause: his family (something he wasn't able to do when dating Izumi and hurting her beyond repair). Hajime and Yukiko have a long conversation and decide to give their marriage another try fully acknowledging they cannot make any promises to one another that their marriage will last and they won't end up hurting one another. But they both love each other and for now this is enough.

The west of the sun

This represents the routine that can drive one insane. .

Try to imagine this,you’re a farmer, living all alone on the Siberian tundra. Day after day you plow your fields. As far as the eye can see, nothing. To the north, the horizon, to the east, the horizon, to the south, to the west, more of the same. Every morning, when the sun rises in the east, you go out to work in your fields. When it’s directly overhead, you take a break for lunch. When it sinks in the west, you go home to sleep. In the winter they stay home and do indoor work. When spring comes, they head out to the fields again. Anyway, that cycle continues, year after year, and then one day, something inside you dies. Maybe nothing or maybe something in the west of the sun. At any rate, it’s different from south of the border.

Murakami describes in detail Hajime's routine including: waking the children, driving them to school; overseeing the clubs in the evenings, doing the business accounts etc. At some point something breaks in Hajime and that's how the mid-life crisis starts.

The ending

Hajime and Yukiko just had this long conversation of giving their marriage another chance which for Hajime means going back to his old routines of waking his children, driving them to school,running his business, checking the accounts, etc. The very thing that set him on the 'South of the border' path in the first place. And at the thought of it he feels deflated and drained. To me it means one thing: MARRIAGE- easier said than done. Marriage is hard work full of routines and responsibilities; the real life is located 'west of the sun' and not 'south of the border'. Real life can be daunting, tiring and boring. One evening of honest conversation with his wife won't drastically change the ways Hajime feels about those routines, it will take longer than that. But ultimately to me this is a story of hope; that the selfish only child has finally come of age at 37 and is ready to sacrifice his desires and whims for the greater good.

[Ellie]

Great review! I agree that this book is also about saving yourself. Though I considered the ending as an open book. I think both of them chose to end their life. As the last quote "Until someone came and lightly rested a hand on my shoulder, my thoughts were of the sea." It is the same sea where Shimamoto decided to place the remains of her baby. That there's no middle ground, either it's South of the Border (where there are possibilities) or West of the Sun (Death). It's realizing that having everything in your life is not enough, and it's up to you if you'll choose to go on with your life or end that feeling of being stuck. And sometimes, moving forward is not the best answer.