Title: South of the Border, West of the Sun
Author: Haruki Murakami
Format: Trade Paper
Publisher: Vintage
Pub Date: 1999; this edition: 2000
Read: May 2011
Source: wow, I actually…don’t remember
Why: I’ve read 2 Murakami books, both of which I loved; however, the reason I picked this one has to do with something I read…authors discussing books that stayed with them or haunted them or the ending was devastating…or something along those lines. Jeez, my memory with this book is failing like whoa.
Fulfills Challenge? Yes
Notes: N/A
Review/Thoughts:
This novel was reminiscent of Norwegian Wood for me, but I think I liked this one more. It is just as melancholy but I found that it had a more sinister feel to it, which kept me more interested in the outcome. Like all of Murakami’s work (or so it would seem), it has that dreamlike quality. Strange things happen, things go unexplained, people go unexplained.
From The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,
Is it possible, in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another?
We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person’s essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?
I don’t think Hajime, the main character, ever tries to convince himself that he knows Shimamoto well, but her unknowability, the absence of information surrounding the details of her life is a greater presence than any single detail about her. What Hajime doesn’t know about her could fill a book and essentially does.
The main character’s tendency to act in his own self-interest, with little regard to others, especially the women in his life, will rub some people the wrong way, but I was not bothered by it. His unlikability is a complaint I’ve seen launched at this book over and over again, and I can definitely see where people are coming from even though I don’t feel that way myself. I felt very neutral toward him (didn’t like or dislike him), but I loved the story. And despite my frustration over the lack of answers (damn you Murakamiiiiiiii *fist shake*), I still loved the book.
Final Verdict: 
I loved Norwegian Wood and since you mentioned that you liked this one better, it’s going straight on the TBR.