Ah, Murakami. You beautiful, beautiful man.
If you haven’t already discovered the magical world of Haruki Murakami, you need to start right now. With this book.
He’s a Japanese writer whose works sell by the millions in Japan and are skilfully translated into English. Whether he’s writing about an alternate universe, magical realism, or something dark and unsettling – you are guaranteed to be taken on a wild ride when you dive into any one of his books. There’s no better way to describe them other than you feel like you’re in a HD 3-D movie with really amazing surround sound – everything is perfectly and effortlessly described and you truly visualise his entire world.
I have to say that his latest novel – Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – is a bit of a departure from his latest books, particularly 1Q84 which was an epic, 1000-page tome mostly set in an alternate universe.
The titular character is called as such because his name has no reference to colour in it (in Japanese, obvs), unlike his four high school friends who all had names that contained words referencing red, blue, white, and black. They’re a tight group – until one day they announce they no longer want to be friends with Tsukuru. He carries on with life, although it seems incredibly isolated and introverted, until he’s in his mid 30s and meets Sara. She basically tells him he needs to find out what the hell went on with his friends, sort his shit out, and move on.
Basically.
Cue the ‘pilgrimage’ which takes him across Europe and around Japan. He meets up with all his old friends and has long, revealing encounters with each.
The rest would be a reveal, so I’ll stop there. But I will say it was a wonderful read. It made me think a lot about friendships – particularly those you had at school compared to adult friendships – and change and growth and loss and choices. I really really loved it.
If you haven’t read a Murakami, this is an excellent book to start with. I also highly recommend Dance, Dance, Dance, and Kafka on the Shore.
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