(B) South of the Border, West of the Sun (Haruki Murakami, 2000) Grade: A
The premise of this book—a man’s happy life is disrupted by the reappearance of his childhood friend, his true love—might seem deceptively simple. But Murakami weaves interesting visuals and ideas throughout. For example, when the man looks into this woman’s eyes, he sees death. Does this foretell actual death? Or symbolize the death of his former self? Is there really freedom in passion (see Wharton’s Ethan Frome)? There certainly aren’t any easy answers, and that’s what’s appealing about this book. As the French song “Plaisir d’amour” states, “The pleasure of love lasts but a moment; the sorrow of love lasts all one’s life.” This is a good indication of how the narrative ends.