[Book Review] South of the Border, West of the Sun – Haruki Murakami

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read some Murakami’s book and I love them all. Especially for this book, it’s my personal favorite by far. Maybe because it appears to be such a personal story for me.

I’m a single child myself. Somehow I could totally relate with the description that Murakami wrote here, about the thoughts and feelings that a single child would have. I could feel the love, the confusion, the pain. I can understand the thought, the feeling and all the bothering questions. The feeling left behind after I finished reading this book was just similar with the feeling I had after watching Falsettos. There’s a void, a sadness that eats me up from inside, the weird satisfaction after having such spiritual event, and the feeling that lingers after experiencing a state of the art.

The story itself is actually very simple. But somehow it resonated so much to myself. I think because it’s so simple it feels right and real. It has all Murakami’s formula. So if you’re already used to how he describes everything in a beautiful detail, this book won’t bore you.

I’ll throw some of my fav quotes from this book. Either because it’s beautifully written or have some personal impact to my personal thoughts.

“…..the sad truth is that certain types of things can’t go backward. Once they start going forward, no matter what you do, they can’t go back the way they were. If even one little thing goes awry, then that’s how it will stay forever.”

Bitter truth, but still, we need a reminder of it

“some feelings cause us pain because they remain.”

Another bitter truth that needs to be reminded of.

“For a while” is a phrase whose length can’t be measured. At least by the person who’s waiting…and “Probably” is a word whose weight is incalculable”

For someone whom left hanging, these 2 words really resonates the struggle of Hajime

“I always feel as if I’m struggling to become someone else. As if I’m trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life, a new personality. I suppose it’s part of growing up, yet it’s also an attempt to re-invent myself. By becoming a different me, I could free myself of everything. I seriously believed I could escape myself – as long as I made the effort. But I always hit a dead end. No matter where I go, I still end up me. What’s missing never changes. The scenery may change, but I’m still the same old incomplete person. The same missing elements torture me with a hunger that I can never satisfy. I think that lack itself is as close as I’ll come to defining myself.”

This quote really strikes right through my heart. I felt like Hajime is the exactly the same type of single child like me.

I was no longer alone, yet at the same time I felt a deep loneliness I’d never known before

Again. Somewhat relate.

“Being stuck in the same environment, you grow dull and lethargic. Your energy level takes a nosedive. Even castles in the sky can do with a fresh coat of paint.”

I love this quote so much. It’s a beautiful metaphor for a reminder to us to keep polishing our dream, even when we already live it up.