Mosman Readers

"Book lovers never go to bed alone"

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

I recently read 'South of the Border, West of the Sun', by Haruki Murakami and it was such a beautiful book, it has lingered with me since then.

I loved the characters in the book; such as Hajime, the main character, whom we watched grow into a man and become the owner of a jazz club and husband and father. I loved the dialogue in the book as well, and the conversations about the jazz musicians, literature and life rang true, and I found myself wondering how much of a reflection they are of Murakami’s life and friendships. I know from reading articles that he owned a jazz club and that apparently one of his one of his favourite hobbies is collecting jazz records, and I relished all of these details in the book.

The best part of the book really was the characters though; as well as Hajime’s character, the three women that were his great loves were so clearly and painfully rendered. I found the ending of the book so beautifully poignant, that I tried to start reading one of my regular crime books, but I think I will read instead his latest book and immerse myself again in the beauty of his language.