Reviews

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

megriley's review against another edition

4.0

With 40 pages left in this slim novel, I had to put it down for a couple of days - such was the tension around the myriad ways this story *could* end. I nearly couldn’t bring myself to find out…

Much like “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”, what strikes me about this novel is which details and plot lines the author left dangling, and which are sown up neatly. I haven’t read much by Murakami, but of what I have read, this is my preferred so far.

felipehrdz's review against another edition

5.0

"Por más lejos que fuera, seguía siendo yo. Por más que me alejara, mis carencias seguían siendo las mismas. Por más que el decorado cambiase, por más que el eco de la voz de la gente fuese distinto, yo seguía siendo el mismo ser incompleto."

Me encantan las historias tristes, y esta sin duda es una de ellas. Me tomó muy de sorpresa porque (inevitablemente) esperaba una narración típica japonesa, pero la tristeza que hay acá no es como la de Mishima -desgarrada y grandilocuente- sino personal e ínitma, devastadora a su propio modo.

Me encanta que toca también aunque muy por encima la resignificación de las cosas,

Spoiler

para ellos, South of the Border de Nat King Cole implica un lugar diferente en el espectro emocional, y transforman su significado a pesar de ser una canción que habla sobre México. Eso me llegó mucho a nivel personal.

Es una gran, gran novela.

elmousiii's review against another edition

4.0

"No matter what happened, she'd manage a smile. The worse things got, in fact, the broader her smile became. I loved her smile. It soothed me, encouraged me."

25alex94's review against another edition

3.0

Na Murakamiho tvorbě je něco, co mě fascinuje a zároveň mi hrozně nesedí.

pete_mart's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

touyuujx's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

UGH it's infuriating how much i enjoyed this book, murakami has been and i think always will be able to scratch a reading itch in me that no one else can

I ate this book up for breakfast lunch and dinner. Loved the pacing, how quick and easy it was to get through, how for the most part it felt like nothing but a lot of things were happening. But i adored the way this was written

Main character was terrible, we do not stan this man. But i fear that if he were a woman I would've quickly forgiven him and even understand where he's coming from. 

What an amazing book! I hate it!!! Fuck murakami, i love that man so much!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

annie_rys's review against another edition

5.0

This was so, so, so unbelievably beautiful and touching. It may be just because of my personal experiences, but I could relate to the main character and feel with all of the characters so well, it was even scary sometimes. The amount of truth and understanding I found in this book is just breathtaking. It was honestly one of the most wonderful books I've read in a long time.
Dear mister Murakami, you are one hell of a writer.

lz3027's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

chazzarooni's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rainbowesque's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is my reread. Once in a while in the last few I used to gaze at this book on my shelf and try to remember the plot. But miraculously I couldn't remember a single thing in the book despite reading it only last year. After starting this reread, I checked my past review. I wrote there that I was very angry at the male protagonist, Hajime for lying, and not taking the control over situations. Now I know, I can empathise with him deeply. This time I didn't get angry, not even for once. I guess, this is why age matters. Recent experiences have taught me very well. Although yukiko will always be my dearest character in the book, now I can understand Hajime too. Shimamoto, I think, is made to be an enigma.