This book seems to build on other Murakami novels so while it was enjoyable for readers who are familiar with his work, I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to Murakami. ( )

I always prefer it when Murakami really goes off the surreal deep end, which he doesn't here. He's one of my favourite writers, and this was beautifully written as always (credit to the translator as well). However, this book brings up a serious flaw in his work that I'd never fully appreciated.

I've read these characters before. There's a male narrator, very bright but not particularly driven, reasonably but not remarkably attractive, who likes music and women, has a quirky sense of humour (commented upon by other characters) and who falls in love very deeply. There's a beautiful, mysterious, captivating but increasingly troubled woman - impeccably well-dressed, often in blue clothes. These are just echoes of other Murakami characters. Or I suppose those characters are echoes of these, but it doesn't make much difference to my enjoyment levels. Even the plot bears serious similarities to some of his other work.

Written by anyone else I think I would have liked it a lot, but as a Murakami novel I was disappointed. His characters weren't fleshed out enough (and certainly not likeable enough) to make up for being recycled, and he didn't follow through on what could have been more interesting plot turns.

Conclusion: Could have done better. I mean, at least dress the woman in green instead of blue this time. ( )

Here's what I've noticed after reading 4 Murakami books-- (all of which I've loved, except for this last one) The characters are all the same. Does anyone else notice the repetition? The main character is always a man who is described as drab, plain, sometimes even boring, and who is unsatisfied with his life in one way or the other. Job, wife, Destiny, whatever. And the woman/love interest/mother (sometimes one and the same) is always slightly lost and suicidal, or recovering from suicidal tendencies.
I am still a huge fan of Murakami's work, and praise him for his new-age Japanese surrealism. His twist of the Minamata disease (mercury biomagnification --> prophetic, insane man who can talk to cats) in 'Kafka on the Shore' is just one example of the slight craziness that always accompanies reading one of his works. But I do feel that this predicability needs to be adressed, though it may have been already, especially since I just realized it after reading four of his books. I don't think anyone could accuse Murakami of a lack of creativity, except in this instance.

With the exception of the last three Harry Potter books, which I tore through in a day each in order to avoid the possibility of accidental spoilers the longer I dragged it out, this was the fastest I'd ever finished a book. It's only 213 pages, but still, it's a relatively easy read: much more straightforward than Murakami's celebrated The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

When it comes to plot, this book pretty much has none, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Murakami's books (like, in my opinion, Nicola Barker's Darkmans) have a tendency to sound like exposition up until the last page. South of the Border, West of the Sun tells the story of the life of Hajime, the middle-aged proprieter of two successful jazz clubs, and his childhood love, a mysterious woman called Shimamoto who suddenly shows up in his life after 25 years. Shimamoto is a true enigma, with a strange past and an even stranger health problem she doesn't wish to speak about. While there is not much in terms of external conflict, SotB, WotS is notable for Murakami's poetic depiction of internal conflict and Hajime's reconciliation of his feelings for the three women central to his life: Izumi, his first steady girlfriend in high school who never forgave him for hurting her; Yukiko, his wife with whom he has two young daughters; and Shimamoto.

Like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, this novel seems to end rather abruptly, leaving just about everything unusual that has happened unexplained. While the descriptions and characters and interesting, it leaves the reader wanting more, which is, I suppose, why I revisited Murakami after reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Murakami's unnecessarily graphic descriptions of sex sometimes make me think that he would do well to rub one off before sitting down to write, but I suppose it can be argued that it is in keeping with his other realist descriptions. Overall, it was a fine read, but it feels like the kind of thing Haruki Murakami was only able to get away with because he is Haruki Murakami. ( )

It was for me a first book of Murakami which I read in my life. And it was a good beginning of the adventure with his writings.

It’s a story of a life of Japanese boy, later man. It’s the story of his relations with other people, but mostly women. Starting with an incredible friendship with Shimamoto when they were kids, through first relationship, college times, first work, the years full of loneliness up to meeting his wife and creating a family. Great wife and 2 daughters, owner of 2 popular jazz clubs, healthy man. But something is missing… How it’ll finish? It’s a very well written story about love, about the biggest love, about loneliness, about longing, about pain. About human being. But also about reality – especially the end is giving us a lot of surprises. The characters are well build, the story is interesting and go on very well during reading. It’s worth to give a try and read it :) I'll look for other books of this author as well.

And I love the cover of the Vintage edition ;) ( )

I really liked this book. It's exploration of relationships, and the nature of reality are intriguing. ( )

Nederlandstalige review alhier;
http://www.pinkbullets.nl/2008/05/boo... ( )

I read this at the beach over the weekend. For some reason, I find Murakami's works ideal for beach reading, and this was a good one. Not too complicated, with just the right touch of the surreal. It's not my favorite Murakami, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. ( )

Mid life crisis? Childhood sweetheart? Murukami is a genius ( )

At less than 200 pages, it would be a great place to start with Murakami; "Norwegian Wood" is often recommended for this purpose but this is quite similar in content and style as well as being less than half its length.

Narrator Hajime is a typical, somewhat passive, Murakami protagonist, solitary, bookish and into music. He is an only child, unusual in postwar Japan apparently, and teased at school as a result until, at the age of 12, he meets another, Sanimoto. She is a polio victim, and has a pronounced limp as a result, but Hajime is captivated by her, although their ages means their relationship is very chaste. However, he moves away to another part of town and a different school and loses touch as a result.

Hajime drifts aimlessly through his teens and twenties, taking a dead end job at an educational publisher. He loses his virginity to a girl called Izumi, but their relationship ends badly, which Hajime feels guilty about and comes back to haunt him. He then marries Yukiko, the daughter of a wealthy construction magnate, with whom he has two daughters. His father-in-law helps him to start a jazz club, a job for which he realises he is well suited.

On the surface, Hajime's life seems perfect, until Sanimoto walks back into it and he realises he is still obsessively in love with her. However, she will reveal very little about herself and her circumstances, and disappears for long periods of time. Hajime wrestles with his conscience about what to do next.

"South of the Border, West of the Sun" does not come with the surrealist touches of other Murakami novels like "Kafka on the Shore" - no talking cats here. However, Hajime is a sympathetic character I liked very much and the prose is beautifully simple. Highly recommended. ( )

Having read 2 or 3 other books by Murakami, this was by far the least interesting one. I was so bored after the first few chapters, that I would have put it away, were it not that I was in the train and had nothing else to do. Just when it got really really boring, something interesting happend, finally! Hajime follows a woman he knew when he was young, but is "bribed" by some man not to bother her. Who this is and what exactly happened to her we never find out (we meet her again later, but never learn anything new about her, which I found a disappointment. A little lift of the veil would have been interesting!).

It never got that boring again so I was happy to read until the end, but it was not a great book for me. ( )

Every paragraph drew me in deeper. What a wonderful experience to read this book. ( )

A sparse little tale of obsession. Breezy, apparently simple, yet with strange and unsettling underpinnings. ( )

A very average man lives with the guilt of hurting his first sex partner and the longing for his first love as he settles into a successful, happy life with wife and children. When his first love, a mysterious woman with a limp and a shaded past, comes back into his life, he chooses to give everything up for it. Not his best, but good Murakami. ( )

Fantastic novel. It is only at this point in life I could ever hope to understand it. The main character is 37 and I'm 38 and he seems to have the history of love down pat. Love love love it. ( )

It's a story about Hajime and his relationships with 3 specific women, throughout a time between the age of 12 to 37. First there's Shimamoto, a childhood friend when he was 12, who touched him deeply (she would remain on his mind for quite some time). There's Izumi, his late high school-early college girlfriend. Finally there's his wife, Yukiko, who he seems to love and they have a seemingly perfect life together.

All in all it was a very easy book to read. Very thought-provoking. It's all about relationships and the choices we make in such relationships - hurting someone even if we don't mean to hurt them. Not understanding why we feel differently about different people, for no apparent or measurable reason. Varying levels of love, all of which have an impact on us .. big, small .. but we carry the thought of them for the rest of our lives. ( )

By the author of the Wind-up bird chronicle. This is a far less complex work -- and for me, not anywhere near as interesting. Concerning a middle-aged business man who meets his childhood sweetheart for the first time since he was twelve -- and becomes hopelessly obsessed with her again, risking everything he has achieved in life. I suppose this is an interesting exploration of obsession; and there is the air of mystery which is apparently a Murakami trademark; but basically it is hard to escape the conclusion that the hero is a dickhead who needs to get a grip. ( )

This was my first Murakami book after reading a chapter of After the Quake in a bookshop. I'm not sure if it's one of his better works but it was enough to get me hooked and he's now perhaps my favourite current author. ( )