By Haruki Murakami
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*Note: this is the first of five reviews for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge*
When it comes to writing about lost love in an earnest tone, Haruki Murakami delivers in spades. If you need further evidence, please consult Sputnik Sweetheart and Norwegian Wood. He writes another story of lost love, and this time, there is nothing that stand between the two... well, except the two. Lovers go to battle with their own demons in South of the Border, West of the Sun.
Hajime, a middle-aged man, has a wonderful life: a loving wife, two adorable daughters, two successful jazz clubs, and riches that one could only dream of. And yet, his heart and mind are on a long-lost friend, a woman named Shimamoto. Years pass without them seeing each other, maybe never again. A series of strange events, including Hajime seeing Shimamoto and following her throughout the city (which them leads to a guy paying him to stop following her), have them finally meet up. But, after years of living between their last union, Shimamoto is carrying her own secrets.
The characters are a mix of interesting and surprisingly bland. Hajime's only interests are reading and listening to music, which make up for his otherwise... dull-as-dishwater personality. Though, in the beginning, he ends up showing a semblance of self-awareness:
That ultimately I am a person who can do evil. I never consciously tried to hurt anyone, yet good intentions notwithstanding, when necessity demanded, I could be completely self-centered, even cruel. I was the kind of person who could, using some plausible excuse, inflict on a person I cared for a wound that would never heal.
-page 48 of the book
Even with that, Hajime doesn't seem to learn from his own reflections (see: his confessed affairs while his wife was pregnant). While having the same interests, Shimamoto is more interesting. Then again, we didn't read about most of her life. Hajime is hiding nothing, not even his honest (yet despicable) confessions.
Hajime and Shimamoto try to reignite that flame, but their mortal enemies (themselves and their problems) prevent it. He is afraid of hurting others just to get what he wants, while she has hidden issues keeping her from getting close. It is sad yet human. We all come along with baggage, even if your life was ideal. Yet, there comes a time to either let it all get lost in Baggage Claim forever; or, set it aside and give your shoulders a rest and asset what you've been carrying around for so long. Both characters are going for the former approach.
Shimamoto's life remains a mystery. Why can't she give herself fully to Hajime? From all the little details about her clothing and jet-setting-like lifestyle, my guess is she is either married to a wealthy man (e.g., Yakuza) or is a high-class prostitute. Even if she had one of those things going for her, couldn't she say "screw it" and just do whatever she wanted? Or did something else happen? We'll never know and guessing only leads to more confusion.
Even with the rich details of the nature of relationships and how problems plague people, this remains my least favorite Murakami novel. Maybe I was expecting more to transpire. There was much satisfaction to knowing how Hajime is, but knowing absolutely nothing about Shimamoto seems unfair. But the one-sided perspective is possibly the point: Hajime talks about himself so damn much that we (and he) never really pay attention. Or that, when we read beyond his words, see what he's observing and not commenting on, we learn the truth. Dramatic Irony 101 right there.
South of the Border, West of the Sun is a good read into the nature of men and women, but offers only that. Why should we expect advice? Human nature doesn't come with instructions.
COPYRIGHT NOTE: all bold quotes are from the novel and were written by the author himself. Those words are not my own.
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