Call number
FIC MURAK
Collection
Genres
Publication
Vintage Books (2015), 336 pages
Description
"The new novel--a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan--from the internationally acclaimed author, his first since IQ84"--
Media reviews
This is a book for both the new and experienced reader. It has a strange casualness, as if it unfolded as Murakami wrote it; at times, it seems like a prequel to a whole other narrative. The feel is uneven, the dialogue somewhat stilted, either by design or flawed in translation. Yet there are
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moments of epiphany gracefully expressed, especially in regard to how people affect one another. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member jnwelch
Haruki Murakami's books, as diverse and unpredictable as they are, can generally be divided into two kinds: bizarre, dream-like fantasies that include Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, and 1Q84, and more traditional narratives that
In his mid-30s, Tsukuru works at a Tokyo firm that designs and renovates train stations. As Tsukuru puts it, he "builds train stations". He thinks of himself as "colorless" and drab. This is in part because he was part of a special group of four other friends in his small town's high school, two boys and two girls, whose names all contained a reference to a color (red, blue, white and black). In contrast, his name, given to him by his father, means "builder". Yet it is his colorful passion for train stations that has drawn Tsukuru from his hometown to Tokyo, to obtain the necessary engineering education, while his friends stayed behind. In some of the book's sweeter passages, he sits in train stations for the peace they bring him, thinking about the workings of the stations, and watching the trains and the people using them.
The relationship he has with his four high school friends is unusually close and harmonious, and they all assiduously work to keep romantic or sexual feelings from disrupting the fulfilling, womb-like experience. However, after Tsukuru goes to Tokyo, for reasons they won't explain and he feels unable to question, his four friends turn on him, cutting off all ties and casting him out forever. He later explains: "It felt like I was on the deck of a ship at night and was suddenly hurled into the ocean, all alone. . . . I don't know if someone pushed me off, or whether I fell overboard on my own. Either way, the ship sails on and I'm in the dark, freezing water, watching the lights on deck fade into the distance." He sinks into despair, contemplating suicide, and isn't even sure why "he hadn't taken this final step. Crossing that threshold between life and death would have been easier than swallowing down a raw, slick egg."
Once burned (or drowned), twice shy, and his relationships with women, or anyone, from then on, are cautious and distant. His life seems half-asleep, but he has passionate, discomfiting sexual dreams. He finally meets a young man, Haida, while swimming, who is a kindred spirit. Among other things, Haida introduces him to the enjoyment of classical music. That notably includes Franz Liszt's "Year of Pilgrimage" and its haunting piece, "Le mal du pays", which can be translated as homesickness. As readers of Murakami's other books know, he often features pieces of music to beautiful effect. This is no exception. The friendship with Haida is Tsukuru's first step toward re-connecting, and he subsequently begins a romance with sharp, business-like Sara. She convinces him that he must revisit his old friends and find out why they shunned him. "You need to come face-to-face with the past, not as some naive, easily wounded boy, but as a grown-up, independent professional. Not to see what you want to see, but what you must see".
I can't tell you what Tsukuru finds out on his pilgrimage, which includes a trip to Finland to visit one of the relocated friends. It is at once disturbing and unfair. At the same time, it offers insight and transporting moments. "Like a pair of dancers who had stopped mid-step, they simply held each other quietly . . . Nothing came between their two bodies, as her warm breath brushed his neck. Tsukuru shut his eyes, letting the music wash over him as he listened to Eri's heartbeat. The beating of her heart kept time with the slap of the little boat against the pier."
As with many of Murakami's books, there is a mystery to be solved here, and once it is, more mystery may take its place. Will what Tsukuru learns be enough? In part this is a story of the sometimes life-changing cruelty teens can inflict on each other, and in part it's about the hard work of healing after heartbreak. We've all been there. It has been different for each of us, but the aches and longings are shared. Hurled into the dark water, all alone, and needing to find a way back. Murakami has captured this piercingly, with living and breathing characters, haunting music, and our friend Tsukuru, who is trying to find a way to re-build his life. Four and a half stars.
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explore romantic longings and feelings of isolation, like Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart and his newest, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. I'm more a fan of the former group, which showcases Murakami's formidable imagination and spellbinding ability to draw us into foreign yet somehow familiar worlds. But I've also enjoyed his more straightforward stories, and they have the advantage of being a gateway into his work for readers not immediately drawn to his weirder offerings. Norwegian Wood was his first big hit in Japan, and I suspect Colorless Tsukuru will gain him many new fans internationally, as it is his most easily accessible book in quite some time. Its reasonable 300+ page length will likely be another attraction.In his mid-30s, Tsukuru works at a Tokyo firm that designs and renovates train stations. As Tsukuru puts it, he "builds train stations". He thinks of himself as "colorless" and drab. This is in part because he was part of a special group of four other friends in his small town's high school, two boys and two girls, whose names all contained a reference to a color (red, blue, white and black). In contrast, his name, given to him by his father, means "builder". Yet it is his colorful passion for train stations that has drawn Tsukuru from his hometown to Tokyo, to obtain the necessary engineering education, while his friends stayed behind. In some of the book's sweeter passages, he sits in train stations for the peace they bring him, thinking about the workings of the stations, and watching the trains and the people using them.
The relationship he has with his four high school friends is unusually close and harmonious, and they all assiduously work to keep romantic or sexual feelings from disrupting the fulfilling, womb-like experience. However, after Tsukuru goes to Tokyo, for reasons they won't explain and he feels unable to question, his four friends turn on him, cutting off all ties and casting him out forever. He later explains: "It felt like I was on the deck of a ship at night and was suddenly hurled into the ocean, all alone. . . . I don't know if someone pushed me off, or whether I fell overboard on my own. Either way, the ship sails on and I'm in the dark, freezing water, watching the lights on deck fade into the distance." He sinks into despair, contemplating suicide, and isn't even sure why "he hadn't taken this final step. Crossing that threshold between life and death would have been easier than swallowing down a raw, slick egg."
Once burned (or drowned), twice shy, and his relationships with women, or anyone, from then on, are cautious and distant. His life seems half-asleep, but he has passionate, discomfiting sexual dreams. He finally meets a young man, Haida, while swimming, who is a kindred spirit. Among other things, Haida introduces him to the enjoyment of classical music. That notably includes Franz Liszt's "Year of Pilgrimage" and its haunting piece, "Le mal du pays", which can be translated as homesickness. As readers of Murakami's other books know, he often features pieces of music to beautiful effect. This is no exception. The friendship with Haida is Tsukuru's first step toward re-connecting, and he subsequently begins a romance with sharp, business-like Sara. She convinces him that he must revisit his old friends and find out why they shunned him. "You need to come face-to-face with the past, not as some naive, easily wounded boy, but as a grown-up, independent professional. Not to see what you want to see, but what you must see".
I can't tell you what Tsukuru finds out on his pilgrimage, which includes a trip to Finland to visit one of the relocated friends. It is at once disturbing and unfair. At the same time, it offers insight and transporting moments. "Like a pair of dancers who had stopped mid-step, they simply held each other quietly . . . Nothing came between their two bodies, as her warm breath brushed his neck. Tsukuru shut his eyes, letting the music wash over him as he listened to Eri's heartbeat. The beating of her heart kept time with the slap of the little boat against the pier."
As with many of Murakami's books, there is a mystery to be solved here, and once it is, more mystery may take its place. Will what Tsukuru learns be enough? In part this is a story of the sometimes life-changing cruelty teens can inflict on each other, and in part it's about the hard work of healing after heartbreak. We've all been there. It has been different for each of us, but the aches and longings are shared. Hurled into the dark water, all alone, and needing to find a way back. Murakami has captured this piercingly, with living and breathing characters, haunting music, and our friend Tsukuru, who is trying to find a way to re-build his life. Four and a half stars.
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LibraryThing member missizicks
I am biased because I love the way Murakami writes, but I thought this book was wonderful. It has been a while since I have devoured a book in a single day, but once I started, I couldn't put it down for long. There is a restfulness to Murakami's prose, like being in a dream and waking up feeling
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fully refreshed. I found each of the characters well drawn, even the cipher-like Sara. I loved the slow exploration of the relationship between the five friends and the sense of solitude found even in a tight knit circle. Murakami seems to understand that, no matter how close we grow to other people, we are never fully known. Not even to ourselves. I thought the ending perfect, with Tsukuru at a sort of peace, accepting of what might come next. There is a Zen feeling about the ending. Enlightenment has come at last. What I like best about Murakami's works is the way he presents a story as a snapshot of someone's life. Just as we can't possibly know everything about the people we encounter in real life, just as some threads remain loose in reality, so Murakami doesn't fully close the circle of his tales. But it's never dissatisfying. Show Less
LibraryThing member Laura400
Bound to please most of his fans, this is a fast-moving novel with Murakami's characteristic flourishes and preoccupations, including a pervasive sense of dread and alienation from the self and others. It justifies those comparisons to Kafka often made of Murakami, especially in the beginning.
I expect that critics won't love this one. It's lightweight in some sense, but it is also more symbolically heavy-handed than perhaps is ideal. But it's Murakami, and I will always read him with gratitude, awe, pleasure and expectation.
I wonder if this book may prove to be the sign of a change of direction or emphasis for Murakami, when his writing is finally finished and his work can be assessed as a whole.
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Intense and dream-like, it leaves as many loose ends and questions for further pondering as it answers -- purposively, of course.I expect that critics won't love this one. It's lightweight in some sense, but it is also more symbolically heavy-handed than perhaps is ideal. But it's Murakami, and I will always read him with gratitude, awe, pleasure and expectation.
I wonder if this book may prove to be the sign of a change of direction or emphasis for Murakami, when his writing is finally finished and his work can be assessed as a whole.
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LibraryThing member kidzdoc
Tsukuru Tazaki is a civil engineer in his mid-thirties who enjoys his career designing railway stations in Japan. He lives alone in a condo in Tokyo, and although he is a good looking, pleasant and reliable man he has never married nor had a serious relationship with a woman; he views himself as
Tsukuru begins to date Sara, a slightly older woman, and he shares his story with her. She encourages him to seek out his former friends, as it is clear to her that the trauma from the ruptured friendship is keeping him from realizing his full potential as a man and a lover.
[Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki] is an ethereal but deeply moving novel of love, loss, anguish and redemption that has more in common with [Norwegian Wood] rather than Murakami's other works of magical realism; anyone who is looking for talking sheep, mysterious cats or precocious telepathic youth will be sadly disappointed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner of a novel, as I identified with and rooted for Tsukuru from the first page to the last. Murakami has written another outstanding work, and it is one of my favorite novels of the year.
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"colorless" and uninteresting. He grew up in Nagoya with four other friends, who were inseparable in high school, but after he left to attend college in Tokyo he was suddenly dropped from the group, for reasons he never understood. Many years have passed since then, but that event continues to haunt him and prevent him from forming meaningful connections with anyone.Tsukuru begins to date Sara, a slightly older woman, and he shares his story with her. She encourages him to seek out his former friends, as it is clear to her that the trauma from the ruptured friendship is keeping him from realizing his full potential as a man and a lover.
[Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki] is an ethereal but deeply moving novel of love, loss, anguish and redemption that has more in common with [Norwegian Wood] rather than Murakami's other works of magical realism; anyone who is looking for talking sheep, mysterious cats or precocious telepathic youth will be sadly disappointed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner of a novel, as I identified with and rooted for Tsukuru from the first page to the last. Murakami has written another outstanding work, and it is one of my favorite novels of the year.
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LibraryThing member tututhefirst
I really wanted to like this one, but it was a huge disappointment. I lived in Japan for 5 years so I recognized many of the locales and foods in the story, about the damaged psyche of a 20 something year old male whose friends dump him suddenly in his early college years. He rambles around
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feeling sorry for himself, contemplating suicide, and struggling to relate to women until he can find out why he got booted off the team. The ending is particularly "meh." Frankly,the first word of the title describes the entire book perfectly; "COLORLESS". Although the author would have us think this is his purpose to describe poor Tsukuru's life, it works for the whole book: it's just plain boring. The book jacket is the best part of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Joanna.Conrad
It took me six months after I finished reading this book to figure out what it was about. That's the best kind of book there is.
LibraryThing member ursula
I am a fan of Murakami's stranger fiction, so I was underwhelmed by the overall normalcy of this novel. I'm just going to jot down a few thoughts about things I liked about the book, because there were a number of them. Murakami's writing was lovely - spare and straightforward as always. I was
Those elements just didn't coalesce into something I couldn't bear to put down. In fact, I put it down often. I checked the distance to the end of the book (not something I've done in other Murakamis, including 1Q84). I don't mind that the protagonist is somewhat remote and disconnected; this isn't unusual in a Murakami book either. But I didn't find the handhold to the character that other readers seemed to. It was okay, but "okay" isn't what I'd hoped for. I wasn't absorbed by the people or the universe they lived in. It's a shame, because I went in fully prepared to love this book.
Recommended for: people who are put off by the weirdness in some Murakami novels, meditators.
Quote: "Talent is like a container. You can work as hard as you want, but the size will never change."
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introduced to a beautiful piece of music (the music mentioned in his books is always worth checking out). The story of how and why Tsukuru was abruptly abandoned by his high school group of friends goes to unexpected places. The slice of life we get to see is compelling in its own quiet way.Those elements just didn't coalesce into something I couldn't bear to put down. In fact, I put it down often. I checked the distance to the end of the book (not something I've done in other Murakamis, including 1Q84). I don't mind that the protagonist is somewhat remote and disconnected; this isn't unusual in a Murakami book either. But I didn't find the handhold to the character that other readers seemed to. It was okay, but "okay" isn't what I'd hoped for. I wasn't absorbed by the people or the universe they lived in. It's a shame, because I went in fully prepared to love this book.
Recommended for: people who are put off by the weirdness in some Murakami novels, meditators.
Quote: "Talent is like a container. You can work as hard as you want, but the size will never change."
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LibraryThing member VioletBramble
Tsukuru Tazaki was one of a group of five very close friends all through school. His four friends all had names that contained a color. His name means "to build or make". He has always felt colorless and empty. Tazaki went away to Tokyo for university to study railway station design (his
I enjoyed this book despite it being somewhat depressing in parts. It was a slow read in a nice way. The book lacks most of the metaphysical elements that Murakami usually utilizes. Also, there were no cats. I kept waiting for the obligatory cat to show up but none did.
I loved the design of the inner book jacket -- a map of the Tokyo train system. I love transit maps.
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obsession). His friends stayed in their hometown. During the summer of his sophomore year his friends cut off all communication with him without explanation. He never tries to contact them. Many years later he tries to start a relationship with a woman, Sara. She can tell he has some emotional blockage from his past that keeps him from being really involved in the relationship. He tells her about being rejected by his friends and she urges him to confront his past. Tazaki travels back to his hometown and to Finland to speak to his old friends and discover what he did that made them reject him. I enjoyed this book despite it being somewhat depressing in parts. It was a slow read in a nice way. The book lacks most of the metaphysical elements that Murakami usually utilizes. Also, there were no cats. I kept waiting for the obligatory cat to show up but none did.
I loved the design of the inner book jacket -- a map of the Tokyo train system. I love transit maps.
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LibraryThing member modioperandi
Murakami writes beautifully. I enjoyed reading the book, but it felt like nothing was happening, which I suppose, I strongly feel is the point of the book. I think I was supposed to be experiencing life in an odd transcendental fashion and there was that but also a deep mysterious lonesomeness too.
It did, in fact, bother me that Tsukuru never thought of confronting his old friends for 16 years and only when essentially forced to do so but this is the sort of person that Tsukuru is. I understand how hurt comes into it, but sooner or later this generates some sort of anger. No doubt after that, you might hatch a plan to find out what happened. But not Tsukuru. he doesn't eat much, has plenty of money, loves his job as a railroad depot construction engineer, and is capable. Frankly I cannot imagine any of his personality did much for his career. He is curiously regimented, even though he hardly does anything remotely Japanese except visit his family, which, in act, makes him uncomfortable. When the guy goes out in Japan, he searches out a diner with great meat loaf which is, well, cool and quirkly and weird and a great detail to put in.
Essentially there were some thoughtful moments, a terrific ethereal story by a friend who enters and leaves his life silently, and then there is a great deal of repetition concerning his thoughts on why his friends might have snubbed him. Tsukuru is badly damaged. It takes lots of time. I also think the actual story might have been much shorter without losing a thing, but Murakami drags it out so why not? Why not have a long book that drags out and repeats Tsukurus problems. That is life that is what it is like to suffer. Colorless is not for everyone and its often uncomfortable to read but it is worth it to gain appreiciation and sympathy for the damaged and lonely.
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The multiple universes theory was intense and also just seemed like someone who felt guilty about all that had happened. Which of us has not imagined life if we had not done or said X or Y, but this is just pretty typical. Also the effect of that even being put in the novel increased the effect of melancholic It did, in fact, bother me that Tsukuru never thought of confronting his old friends for 16 years and only when essentially forced to do so but this is the sort of person that Tsukuru is. I understand how hurt comes into it, but sooner or later this generates some sort of anger. No doubt after that, you might hatch a plan to find out what happened. But not Tsukuru. he doesn't eat much, has plenty of money, loves his job as a railroad depot construction engineer, and is capable. Frankly I cannot imagine any of his personality did much for his career. He is curiously regimented, even though he hardly does anything remotely Japanese except visit his family, which, in act, makes him uncomfortable. When the guy goes out in Japan, he searches out a diner with great meat loaf which is, well, cool and quirkly and weird and a great detail to put in.
Essentially there were some thoughtful moments, a terrific ethereal story by a friend who enters and leaves his life silently, and then there is a great deal of repetition concerning his thoughts on why his friends might have snubbed him. Tsukuru is badly damaged. It takes lots of time. I also think the actual story might have been much shorter without losing a thing, but Murakami drags it out so why not? Why not have a long book that drags out and repeats Tsukurus problems. That is life that is what it is like to suffer. Colorless is not for everyone and its often uncomfortable to read but it is worth it to gain appreiciation and sympathy for the damaged and lonely.
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LibraryThing member Differenti
To me, Murakami's books are like ice cream. Many people will claim that it's just more of the same, and in a way they are right. But I am not complaining, because it's just more of the same delicious, luscious thing. Also, while a too large bowl of ice cream can cause stomach troubles (maybe like
I will not go into much detail on the plot. At the age of 20, Tsukuru Tazaki is kicked out of his brotherhood of five friends, three boys and two girls. Each of them has a colorful name: Red, Blue, White and Black, except for Tsukuru. It's representative for the way he thinks about himself: colorless, with nothing valuable to offer the rest of the group - or even the world. Little does he know that that's not the way the others think about him. So, which point of view is the right one?
The major part of the book is a quest to find out why he was so harshly removed from his circle of friends. A quest set to the tones of 'Le mal du pays', a melancholic melody from Liszt's 'Années de pèlerinage' (a hint towards the title of the book). All of this gives the book an atmosphere very similar to Norwegian Wood.
I had a hard time deciding whether to give this book four or five stars. On the positive side: I love the melancholic atmosphere, the story is not too intangible, it has the perfect length, the characters are believable, I - almost - couldn't put it down. On the negative side: some readers (maybe those not very familiar with Murakami) will remain dissatisfied. There are several loose ends and some unexplained situations. In other words, it's more of the same old thing.
I love it.
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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles), this time Murakami limits himself to a nice amount of 360 pages.I will not go into much detail on the plot. At the age of 20, Tsukuru Tazaki is kicked out of his brotherhood of five friends, three boys and two girls. Each of them has a colorful name: Red, Blue, White and Black, except for Tsukuru. It's representative for the way he thinks about himself: colorless, with nothing valuable to offer the rest of the group - or even the world. Little does he know that that's not the way the others think about him. So, which point of view is the right one?
The major part of the book is a quest to find out why he was so harshly removed from his circle of friends. A quest set to the tones of 'Le mal du pays', a melancholic melody from Liszt's 'Années de pèlerinage' (a hint towards the title of the book). All of this gives the book an atmosphere very similar to Norwegian Wood.
I had a hard time deciding whether to give this book four or five stars. On the positive side: I love the melancholic atmosphere, the story is not too intangible, it has the perfect length, the characters are believable, I - almost - couldn't put it down. On the negative side: some readers (maybe those not very familiar with Murakami) will remain dissatisfied. There are several loose ends and some unexplained situations. In other words, it's more of the same old thing.
I love it.
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LibraryThing member deborahk
I truly loved this book! I loved the story, the writing and the beauty of the book itself. All through the end I was nervous about how Murakami would end the book and it ended perfectly. I am sad to be finished with it, I loved carrying it around. Now I have to decide who to give it to that would
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value it as much as I did. Show Less
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
I had been waiting for this book for quite some time, and even deferred reading it so that it would be not merely the 100th book I have read this year but also the 4000th book I have read since starting my list back on 1 January 1980. I have had my fingers burnt in the past, looking forward with
During his teenage years growing up in the city of Nagoya Tsukuru Tazaki became very friendly with four other youngsters (two men and two women), and they gradually all became inseparable. By coincidence, all of the other four had names which included a colour, and in occasional moments of depression Tsukuru wondered whether he was lacking in any natural brightness or vigour.
When the group come to go to university the other four all decide to stay in Nagoya, but Tsukuru had always dreamt of building railway stations, and went to study in Tokyo. When he returned home at the end of the first semester he is told by the others that they don't want to see him again, or have anything further to do with him. They offer no explanation and, though he is stunned by the announcement, Tsukuru accepts the situation.
Now, sixteen years later, Tsukuru is working as a railway engineer and has a beautiful girlfriend, Sara. He tells her about the abrupt cessation of his strong friendship with the other four, and she advises him to try to discover what had caused the abrupt severance.
As ever, Murakami, being a master at suspending his readers' disbelief, makes everything seem immensely plausible. Tsukuru is an odd but deeply empathetic character, with a charming lack of self-delusion.
Though the book lacks the excitement and the constant sense of a huge surprise just around the corner that peppered 1Q84, this book is no less gripping. My only disappointment was that it was over so soon. Ah well, I will just have to wait another four of five years for the next one!
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gleeful anticipation to books which, in the event, have proved to be disappointing beyond measure. Still, I was pretty confident that Murakami would deliver, and he did, magnificently. During his teenage years growing up in the city of Nagoya Tsukuru Tazaki became very friendly with four other youngsters (two men and two women), and they gradually all became inseparable. By coincidence, all of the other four had names which included a colour, and in occasional moments of depression Tsukuru wondered whether he was lacking in any natural brightness or vigour.
When the group come to go to university the other four all decide to stay in Nagoya, but Tsukuru had always dreamt of building railway stations, and went to study in Tokyo. When he returned home at the end of the first semester he is told by the others that they don't want to see him again, or have anything further to do with him. They offer no explanation and, though he is stunned by the announcement, Tsukuru accepts the situation.
Now, sixteen years later, Tsukuru is working as a railway engineer and has a beautiful girlfriend, Sara. He tells her about the abrupt cessation of his strong friendship with the other four, and she advises him to try to discover what had caused the abrupt severance.
As ever, Murakami, being a master at suspending his readers' disbelief, makes everything seem immensely plausible. Tsukuru is an odd but deeply empathetic character, with a charming lack of self-delusion.
Though the book lacks the excitement and the constant sense of a huge surprise just around the corner that peppered 1Q84, this book is no less gripping. My only disappointment was that it was over so soon. Ah well, I will just have to wait another four of five years for the next one!
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LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Haruki Murakami in a Japanese author best known in western culture for the 2011 success of his epic dystopian novel,1Q84. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is his highly anticipated newest title.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the story of a man who has
Throughout Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, Murukami explores the themes of identity, friendship, alienation and mental health. Tsukuru views himself as having; “…no personality, no defined color. [With] nothing to offer to others…like an empty vessel”, and as such feels disconnected from other people and destined to be alone. This feeling can be traced back to the brutal abandonment of his friends and to redefine himself Tsukuru must resolve the lingering hurts and resentments.
I thought the symbolism in the novel was fairly heavy handed and the dream slips didn’t always make sense to me. I didn’t find the writing particularly special though I found it more accessible and grounded than I was expecting.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, not having read Murakami previously though I have read plenty of opinions about several of his earlier works, but I’m pretty sure this wasn’t quite it. Essentially this seems to me to be lad lit (think Nick Hornby), perhaps given gravitas primarily because the protagonist, and the author, is Japanese. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the story of Tsukuru’s journey to make peace with his past and redefine his sense of self, but I was largely underwhelmed by the whole thing.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the story of a man who has
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never really recovered from being inexplicably exiled by a group of close friends he met in high school. Drifting through his life, engineer Tsukuru is now in his mid thirties, single and largely friendless, until he meets a woman who encourages him to confront his painful past.Throughout Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, Murukami explores the themes of identity, friendship, alienation and mental health. Tsukuru views himself as having; “…no personality, no defined color. [With] nothing to offer to others…like an empty vessel”, and as such feels disconnected from other people and destined to be alone. This feeling can be traced back to the brutal abandonment of his friends and to redefine himself Tsukuru must resolve the lingering hurts and resentments.
I thought the symbolism in the novel was fairly heavy handed and the dream slips didn’t always make sense to me. I didn’t find the writing particularly special though I found it more accessible and grounded than I was expecting.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, not having read Murakami previously though I have read plenty of opinions about several of his earlier works, but I’m pretty sure this wasn’t quite it. Essentially this seems to me to be lad lit (think Nick Hornby), perhaps given gravitas primarily because the protagonist, and the author, is Japanese. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the story of Tsukuru’s journey to make peace with his past and redefine his sense of self, but I was largely underwhelmed by the whole thing.
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LibraryThing member kbullfrog
Tsukuru is Murakami's newest hero, painting him as the taciturn 30 something Murakami often uses as his character, the story does not have any particularly new plot elements--and perhaps this book is not his most successful. But if you are a Murakami fan, as I am, you will find this a gratifying
What always surprises me is the way Murakami takes the reader in hand ("The details of her death would remain an eternal and unknown mystery"), and leads them down the rabbit hole--only afterward do you see the leaps of logic the author asks you to take. Like, why did the police never question Tsukuro, especially when this group of friends had found out Tsukuru (allegedly) raped her? Or that perhaps he did rape her, and all those erotic dreams he had of her were really him performing the rape--much like Haida disappearing after a homosexual fantasy involving the two. These are the underpinnings of Murakami's noir plot surrounding Shiro, but in this book, there were just a few too many stitches left loose.
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read. What always surprises me is the way Murakami takes the reader in hand ("The details of her death would remain an eternal and unknown mystery"), and leads them down the rabbit hole--only afterward do you see the leaps of logic the author asks you to take. Like, why did the police never question Tsukuro, especially when this group of friends had found out Tsukuru (allegedly) raped her? Or that perhaps he did rape her, and all those erotic dreams he had of her were really him performing the rape--much like Haida disappearing after a homosexual fantasy involving the two. These are the underpinnings of Murakami's noir plot surrounding Shiro, but in this book, there were just a few too many stitches left loose.
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LibraryThing member ozzer
The cover of the Knopf hard cover version of this novel cleverly evokes the main plot in displaying four colored bars and a fifth one without color but showing what looks like a scheme for a transportation network. The latter is set apart and smaller.
This novel has many of Murikami's trademark
This novel has many of Murikami's trademark
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elements: mystery, a contemplative internal narrative, unresolved elements, dreaminess, musical references and an outsider as the protagonist. Tsukuru Tazaki is a mild mannered loner who is leading an orderly existence in Tokyo. He lives in that enormous city but is not really part of it. Instead he enjoys the solitary sport o swimming and observing others especially in train stations. Train stations seem to be a metaphor for how people move on in life. Tsukuru sees himself as colorless while others are leading colorful lives. He suffers from having been mysteriously rejected by four high school friends whom he hasn't seen or confronted in 16 years. He seems to think that if he had not been rejected he would have been happier and had a more fulfilling life. Currently, he has two people in his life--Haida and Sara-- who seem to serve as mentors helping him to come to terms with his depression and isolation. Sara encourages him to meet with his former friends in an effort to understand their rejection. Tsukuru does this and does learn the truth of the rejection. Along the way he discovers that his two male friends, although financially successful, are leading mundane lives--one sells cars and the other mentors business people. He also finds that one of his female friends had a tragic life. This part of the plot is not very well explained by Murakami (possibly on purpose). The other female friend has found happiness in Finland as an artist and mother. Murakami's main theme seems to be about how people move on in their lives and change--not always for the better and that it is not really possible to hold on to happy times. I'm reminded of the Springsteen song "Glory Days." Some find happiness and fulfillment while others find tragedy, but many just lead mundane lives. Show Less
LibraryThing member Perednia
Haruki Murakami is one of the world's best-known and best-loved authors. After reading his latest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, one of the reasons why this could be is because his work often explores a character who is not known by many and loved, or even highly
It's not that the characters are unloveable, let alone monsters, but that they are quiet, unassuming, seeking ways to avoid calling attention to themselves. But within those quiet characters are loudly beating hearts. And the world is filled with people like this.
Tsukuru, whose name means "grey" spelled one way and "someone who makes things" when spelled another way, once was part of a tightly knit group of friends. He and the four others went through high school together as if they were one, like points on a star that stay in balance. The two girls and two other boys in the group all have names that mean colors. Tsukuru feels thrilled that they include him. When it's time for university, Tsukuru is the only one who lives their city. He and his friends fall into their old routine whenever he's home on holidays. Until one visit, when all of them refuse to see him or talk to him. No one will tell him why.
Returning to university, Tsukuru wishes he could die. He feels dead inside. It's months before he climbs out of his sorrow, goes on to earn his engineering degree and remains in Tokyo. His job is something he likes, engineering changes to railway stations to improve them or accommodate changes. It's not exciting but it is useful.
He had one good friend at college who told him a strange story passed on from his father and who, later that same night, is part of a strange dream Tsukuru has involving the two girls. It's either a dream or, considering this is a Murakami novel, a slip into another dimension in which people meet when they are separated in space and time. It's something that's occurred in other Murakami novels, such as Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84 and After Dark. The encounters often lead people to a feeling of closeness or, in this case, to another level of something Tsukuru had not felt or acknowledged how he felt about the girls. It disturbs him, and disturbs him even more when his college friend suddenly becomes part of the scenario.
The story that his friend tells him fits within the overall narrative the way a fairy tale or legend is told, in the dark hours of the night when the story takes on a greater emphasis than it would have if told in daylight. His friend's father ends up as a handyman at a remote mountain resort, pleased to pass the time fixing things and enjoying the scenery. A jazz pianist comes to the resort and eventually recounts a strange story, insinuating that the sack he carries and carefully puts on top of the piano before he ever plays is a burden. It is a burden that can be passed on to another and which involves death. He insinuates that the handyman could voluntarily become the new carrier of the burden. And then the pianist is gone the next day.
It is pure Murakami that he throws in a bit of magical realism to reinforce the idea that it exists in this world, even though it is not visible to many. This idea comes into play later in the book, when Tsukuru speaks to someone he has not seen in years. Both of them have the sense that, even though they were not at a location where someone else encountered danger, they were somehow there and somehow responsible.
In his late 30s, the unattached Tsukuru meets a woman who may be the one for him. It's a quiet relationship. Before it gets deeper, she warns Tsukuru that he hasn't gotten over his past. He needs to resolve the hurt that he suffered when his friends cut him off.
The rest of the novel is paced as one expects in a Murakami work - unhurried, prose matter-of-fact, revelations expressed as quietly as commonplace greetings. There is a melancholy that pervades the acceptance of growing old, of realizing that one may have found one's place in life and that the past cannot be the present or become the future.
But there also is the sense that the more a person can believe in the truth of something, the more alive that person feels:
We truly believed in something back then, and we knew we were the kind of people capable of believing in something -- with all our hearts. And that kind of hope will never simply vanish.
It is this kind of realization that helps Tsukuru decide the value of his lifelong journey, and the next step he wants to take. It also helps him realize that he has to allow others the same privilege and await their decision. While 1Q84 was the kind of story in which young hearts seek each other, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is the kind of story in which young hearts mature but do not give up their search.
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regarded, by fewer still. It's not that the characters are unloveable, let alone monsters, but that they are quiet, unassuming, seeking ways to avoid calling attention to themselves. But within those quiet characters are loudly beating hearts. And the world is filled with people like this.
Tsukuru, whose name means "grey" spelled one way and "someone who makes things" when spelled another way, once was part of a tightly knit group of friends. He and the four others went through high school together as if they were one, like points on a star that stay in balance. The two girls and two other boys in the group all have names that mean colors. Tsukuru feels thrilled that they include him. When it's time for university, Tsukuru is the only one who lives their city. He and his friends fall into their old routine whenever he's home on holidays. Until one visit, when all of them refuse to see him or talk to him. No one will tell him why.
Returning to university, Tsukuru wishes he could die. He feels dead inside. It's months before he climbs out of his sorrow, goes on to earn his engineering degree and remains in Tokyo. His job is something he likes, engineering changes to railway stations to improve them or accommodate changes. It's not exciting but it is useful.
He had one good friend at college who told him a strange story passed on from his father and who, later that same night, is part of a strange dream Tsukuru has involving the two girls. It's either a dream or, considering this is a Murakami novel, a slip into another dimension in which people meet when they are separated in space and time. It's something that's occurred in other Murakami novels, such as Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84 and After Dark. The encounters often lead people to a feeling of closeness or, in this case, to another level of something Tsukuru had not felt or acknowledged how he felt about the girls. It disturbs him, and disturbs him even more when his college friend suddenly becomes part of the scenario.
The story that his friend tells him fits within the overall narrative the way a fairy tale or legend is told, in the dark hours of the night when the story takes on a greater emphasis than it would have if told in daylight. His friend's father ends up as a handyman at a remote mountain resort, pleased to pass the time fixing things and enjoying the scenery. A jazz pianist comes to the resort and eventually recounts a strange story, insinuating that the sack he carries and carefully puts on top of the piano before he ever plays is a burden. It is a burden that can be passed on to another and which involves death. He insinuates that the handyman could voluntarily become the new carrier of the burden. And then the pianist is gone the next day.
It is pure Murakami that he throws in a bit of magical realism to reinforce the idea that it exists in this world, even though it is not visible to many. This idea comes into play later in the book, when Tsukuru speaks to someone he has not seen in years. Both of them have the sense that, even though they were not at a location where someone else encountered danger, they were somehow there and somehow responsible.
In his late 30s, the unattached Tsukuru meets a woman who may be the one for him. It's a quiet relationship. Before it gets deeper, she warns Tsukuru that he hasn't gotten over his past. He needs to resolve the hurt that he suffered when his friends cut him off.
The rest of the novel is paced as one expects in a Murakami work - unhurried, prose matter-of-fact, revelations expressed as quietly as commonplace greetings. There is a melancholy that pervades the acceptance of growing old, of realizing that one may have found one's place in life and that the past cannot be the present or become the future.
But there also is the sense that the more a person can believe in the truth of something, the more alive that person feels:
We truly believed in something back then, and we knew we were the kind of people capable of believing in something -- with all our hearts. And that kind of hope will never simply vanish.
It is this kind of realization that helps Tsukuru decide the value of his lifelong journey, and the next step he wants to take. It also helps him realize that he has to allow others the same privilege and await their decision. While 1Q84 was the kind of story in which young hearts seek each other, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is the kind of story in which young hearts mature but do not give up their search.
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LibraryThing member Writermala
Haruki Murakami has written another amazing book. This time his story starts with the telling of Tsukuru's dismissal from a group of five. The teenager is shocked by the sudden ban for no obvious reason. Tsukuru spends the next few years wondering and we are told of his coping mechanisms and his
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life in glowing colors - even though he is supposedly colorless!Finally when he is 36 Tsukuru meets Sara who convinces him to confront his past - you can hide memories but you can't erase the history that produced them she says and we learn the fascinating reasons for the way Tsukoru's life unfolded. A definite keeper in my book. Show Less
LibraryThing member SigmundFraud
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: A novel by Haruki Murakami is one of the few books i have ever given five stars to but this book was worth it. Very well written. Good story. Good character development. The weakness for me was that the story was predicated on a very close
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relationship of five friends in high school which then disbanded, fell apart and that propelled the main character's actions. I find that a little farfetched that those friendships would have such a lasting negative effect on the life of the main character. The book is definitely worth a detour in the language of Michelin. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lindsay_W
Tsukuru Tazaki’s life has been shaped by an incident that happened 16 years ago between high school friends and has left him feeling “colorless.” He is living a lonely isolated life until a potential girlfriend encourages him to face up to his past, telling him “You can hide memories, but
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you can’t erase the history that produced them.” Emboldened by this relationship, Tsukuru sets out on a journey to reveal his honest feelings to those former friends. The results are both revelatory and cathartic for Tsukura. I was not surprised to hear that the Japanese version sold a million copies in its first week! Props to English translator Philip Gabriel. Show Less
LibraryThing member Narshkite
This left me confused, really confused. Not because it is rather open-ended, but rather because I did not understand one of the central relationships in the book, the relationship that is the catalyst for everything else that happens. It is rather soulless and bleak, even as compared to other
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relationships in Murakami's works and the sense of kismet is not so strong as in the other books. Thankfully, the book has so much more to say, and is so beautiful it did not significantly impact my overall enjoyment of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member gendeg
Haruki Murakami's latest book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is vintage Murakami. As many of his books do, this one explores the themes of melancholy, loneliness, and dislocation without heavy sentimentality. As a Murakami fan, I should have been giddy reading this book, but
The premise of the story is solid. Basically, our story centers on the title character. Tsukuru is a train engineer who works on Tokyo's highly complex metro system. As most of Murakami's protagonists, he is a man who has reached his mid-thirties, shuffling his feet, filled with ineffable ennui. But unlike other protagonists, he kind of knows why. While still a college student, Tsukuru was part of a group of close-knit friends (two girls, three boys, including our protagonist). By college, everyone stayed behind, while Tsukuru went off to school in Tokyo. They would meet up regularly until one day Tsukuru is abruptly rejected. His friends stop returning his calls and eventually he is warned not to try to contact them ever again. They simply say, "Think about it, and you'll figure it out."
With great pain, Tsukuru survives this blow but he remains stumped as to why he was coldly dumped by his closest friends. He muses that maybe it was because he has no distinct personality, that he is "colorless." And in truth, all his friends have colors for names. Was that it? Later, he thinks there might be darker reasons for their abandonment, which are mirrored in the crazy sex dreams he has.
Tsukuru survives this emotionally scarring event, but he never really gets over it. On the advice of a girlfriend, he decides to undertake an investigation into finding out why they left him like they did. Murakami weaves together past and present through Tsukuru's life. Terrible secrets are eventually revealed and Tsukuru discovers what role he truly played in the group—and it is far from colorless, though not in the expected way.
Middle-class ennui and desolation is what Murakami does best and some readers might find our main character, who otherwise lives a comfortable life, as exasperating. At times, I wanted to reach over and shake some sense into him. Part of the frustration stems from Murakami's sometimes strained prose, which can feel banal and threadbare in places, but perhaps it's just a reflection of Tsukuru and the fact that the story is told from his point of view. Murakami has never been a stunning prose stylist. Sure, there are moments of writing brilliance (Tsukuru embraces a friend and it is described as "a pair of dancers who had stopped mid-step"—picture that) but otherwise it's his enigmatic characters that keep you reading.
Near the end of the book, Tsukuru has a realization about the nature of human relationships. Our train engineer realizes that life is messy and that the past can't be easily compartmentalized. "There is no silence without a cry of grief, no forgiveness without bloodshed." His story ends in a way that isn't unusual for Murakami, but it still left me strangely unsettled. I'm used to open-ended endings but this was something else. Murakami's book is a pilgrimage of self-discovery but it is one that doesn't leave clear answers. The novel is about how the past weighs heavily on the present. The past often hangs over us, haunts us. People we love, people we've hurt, people we've shared big and small moments with—they all matter in ways bigger than we sometimes realize.
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instead I felt conflicted. I left the book quietly mourning the earnest feeling I had reading other works like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (still my favorite), Kafka on the Shore, Hard-boiled Wonderland, and Norwegian Wood. In that sense, this book is anything but vintage Murakami. Puzzling.The premise of the story is solid. Basically, our story centers on the title character. Tsukuru is a train engineer who works on Tokyo's highly complex metro system. As most of Murakami's protagonists, he is a man who has reached his mid-thirties, shuffling his feet, filled with ineffable ennui. But unlike other protagonists, he kind of knows why. While still a college student, Tsukuru was part of a group of close-knit friends (two girls, three boys, including our protagonist). By college, everyone stayed behind, while Tsukuru went off to school in Tokyo. They would meet up regularly until one day Tsukuru is abruptly rejected. His friends stop returning his calls and eventually he is warned not to try to contact them ever again. They simply say, "Think about it, and you'll figure it out."
With great pain, Tsukuru survives this blow but he remains stumped as to why he was coldly dumped by his closest friends. He muses that maybe it was because he has no distinct personality, that he is "colorless." And in truth, all his friends have colors for names. Was that it? Later, he thinks there might be darker reasons for their abandonment, which are mirrored in the crazy sex dreams he has.
Tsukuru survives this emotionally scarring event, but he never really gets over it. On the advice of a girlfriend, he decides to undertake an investigation into finding out why they left him like they did. Murakami weaves together past and present through Tsukuru's life. Terrible secrets are eventually revealed and Tsukuru discovers what role he truly played in the group—and it is far from colorless, though not in the expected way.
Middle-class ennui and desolation is what Murakami does best and some readers might find our main character, who otherwise lives a comfortable life, as exasperating. At times, I wanted to reach over and shake some sense into him. Part of the frustration stems from Murakami's sometimes strained prose, which can feel banal and threadbare in places, but perhaps it's just a reflection of Tsukuru and the fact that the story is told from his point of view. Murakami has never been a stunning prose stylist. Sure, there are moments of writing brilliance (Tsukuru embraces a friend and it is described as "a pair of dancers who had stopped mid-step"—picture that) but otherwise it's his enigmatic characters that keep you reading.
Near the end of the book, Tsukuru has a realization about the nature of human relationships. Our train engineer realizes that life is messy and that the past can't be easily compartmentalized. "There is no silence without a cry of grief, no forgiveness without bloodshed." His story ends in a way that isn't unusual for Murakami, but it still left me strangely unsettled. I'm used to open-ended endings but this was something else. Murakami's book is a pilgrimage of self-discovery but it is one that doesn't leave clear answers. The novel is about how the past weighs heavily on the present. The past often hangs over us, haunts us. People we love, people we've hurt, people we've shared big and small moments with—they all matter in ways bigger than we sometimes realize.
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LibraryThing member konastories
Joy's review: most of the expected Murakami elements: protagonist lives a routine, simple, and basically emotionless life; someone spurs him to change this; things sort of happen... I always enjoy Murakami's writing, but this is the first I've read that felt a bit predictible.
LibraryThing member rmckeown
I usually like to spread out over time the authors I review. However, Haruki Murakami has taken a firm hold on my imagination, and when his newest book arrived recently, I immediately began reading. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a fascinating tale of relationships, the
Five friends in high school – three young men and two young women – band together to complete a community service project. When the project ends, they continue to hang out with each other. Four of the members of this group have, as part of their names, a kanji symbol which also refers to a color: red, blue, black, and white, which they used as nicknames. Tsukuru’s name did not contain any color, so he remained Tsukuru. After graduation, they all went their separate ways to college. Tsukuru receives a strange message, that his four friends no longer want anything to do with him, and furthermore, he was not to contact any of them in any way whatsoever. This message contained no explanation of what had happened. Naturally, Tsukuru becomes devastated to the point of contemplating suicide. Then he meets a woman who urges him to contact his friends and learn why he was ostracized from the group. His “pilgrimage” involves traveling around Japan and Europe to track down his friends. What he discovers about them – and more importantly about himself – is a rather poignant story.
As he has done in previous novels, Murakami sprinkles lots of references to music in his story. He also plays with the colors and the occupations of the five friends. Also, like Tengo in 1Q84, Tsukuru is a rather fastidious creature of habit. Again, like Tengo, Tsukuru frets over his fear of being alone. Murakami writes, “Maybe I am fated to always be alone, Tsukuru found himself thinking. People came to him, but in the end they always left. They came, seeking something, but either they couldn’t find it, or were unhappy with what they found (or else they were disappointed or angry), and then they left. One day, without warning, they vanished, with no explanation, no word of farewell. Like a silent hatchet had sliced the ties between them, ties through which warm blood still flowed, along with a quiet pulse" (18).
One of the interesting aspects of Murakami’s fiction is his attention to microscopic detail. He describes an encounter with the new friend who urges him to solve the mystery of his lost friends. Murakami writes, “She took a sip of coffee and returned the cup to the saucer. She paused, and checked her enameled nails. They looked beautiful, painted in the same maroon color as her handbag (perhaps a little lighter). He was willing to bet a month’s salary this wasn’t a coincidence” (147).
Compared to some of his other novels, this small format book of a little less than 400 pages, really seems like a novella. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami would be a great introduction to this important figure in world literature. 5 stars
--Jim, 9/20/14
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meanings of friendship, and the effect misunderstandings can have.Five friends in high school – three young men and two young women – band together to complete a community service project. When the project ends, they continue to hang out with each other. Four of the members of this group have, as part of their names, a kanji symbol which also refers to a color: red, blue, black, and white, which they used as nicknames. Tsukuru’s name did not contain any color, so he remained Tsukuru. After graduation, they all went their separate ways to college. Tsukuru receives a strange message, that his four friends no longer want anything to do with him, and furthermore, he was not to contact any of them in any way whatsoever. This message contained no explanation of what had happened. Naturally, Tsukuru becomes devastated to the point of contemplating suicide. Then he meets a woman who urges him to contact his friends and learn why he was ostracized from the group. His “pilgrimage” involves traveling around Japan and Europe to track down his friends. What he discovers about them – and more importantly about himself – is a rather poignant story.
As he has done in previous novels, Murakami sprinkles lots of references to music in his story. He also plays with the colors and the occupations of the five friends. Also, like Tengo in 1Q84, Tsukuru is a rather fastidious creature of habit. Again, like Tengo, Tsukuru frets over his fear of being alone. Murakami writes, “Maybe I am fated to always be alone, Tsukuru found himself thinking. People came to him, but in the end they always left. They came, seeking something, but either they couldn’t find it, or were unhappy with what they found (or else they were disappointed or angry), and then they left. One day, without warning, they vanished, with no explanation, no word of farewell. Like a silent hatchet had sliced the ties between them, ties through which warm blood still flowed, along with a quiet pulse" (18).
One of the interesting aspects of Murakami’s fiction is his attention to microscopic detail. He describes an encounter with the new friend who urges him to solve the mystery of his lost friends. Murakami writes, “She took a sip of coffee and returned the cup to the saucer. She paused, and checked her enameled nails. They looked beautiful, painted in the same maroon color as her handbag (perhaps a little lighter). He was willing to bet a month’s salary this wasn’t a coincidence” (147).
Compared to some of his other novels, this small format book of a little less than 400 pages, really seems like a novella. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami would be a great introduction to this important figure in world literature. 5 stars
--Jim, 9/20/14
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LibraryThing member sleahey
Tsukuru's life changes forever when his four close friends tell him they never want to see or hear from him again. Nearly 20years later his girlfriend convinces him to track down the reasons for the devastating rejection. A study in anomie.
LibraryThing member Tomleesteenboek
I know Murakami will never win the Nobel prize: though his plots are often left open for interpretation, he has the tendency to overexplain the things that other writers would leave unsaid. Just as if he wants to make sure we get that his characters are lonely or detached from reality. It's the
That being said, i really love his work, because of a different reason. He most of the time manages to create this extra emotional layer in between the lines. It's hard to explain - almost as hard as explaining the plots of his books - but in 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki' this extra layer made me really love the book, with its vague mixture of acceptance of loss, nostalgia,...
Anyway: Murakami will never win the Nobel prize, of that I am quite sure, but as long as he keeps touching me with his work, I'll keep reading him.
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reason why i couldn't get through Q184. And it's also the reason why his short stories are his best works. There he keeps things more in the open. That being said, i really love his work, because of a different reason. He most of the time manages to create this extra emotional layer in between the lines. It's hard to explain - almost as hard as explaining the plots of his books - but in 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki' this extra layer made me really love the book, with its vague mixture of acceptance of loss, nostalgia,...
Anyway: Murakami will never win the Nobel prize, of that I am quite sure, but as long as he keeps touching me with his work, I'll keep reading him.
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Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2016)
Maine Readers' Choice Award (Longlist — 2015)
Bad Sex in Fiction Award (Shortlist — 2014)
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (Shortlist — 2015)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Fiction — 2014)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction — 2014)
The A.V. Club best books (2014)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — Fiction — 2014)
Pages
336
ISBN
0804170126 / 9780804170123