Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

I know the pain of the unjust dagger, and the added, self-inflicted wound that festers when the question goes unasked: "Why? Why did you hurt me?"
Tender-hearted Tsukuru nearly dies under the weight of sudden abandonment by those he holds most dear. As for myself, I think I will always hold Tsukuru close to my heart.

Murakami is a remarkably skilled story weaver. His plots are engaging, even when they’re unbelievable. But this time his novel rings painfully true by addressing a less frequented theme: the loss of a friend group.

Gone is the magical realism that haunts many of his other works. Instead, we follow one seemingly real person on his quest to discover why, years ago, his core group of high school friends suddenly, inexplicably cut him off. I’ve been blessed to still have daily contact with my three closest friends from childhood well into middle age. Perhaps the thought of losing that connection… show more.

Every time I read a Murakami novel, I go into a trance. The language is simple, the images hallucinatory, and the ideas seem straightforward yet enigmatic.

I started the year with the fantastic maze of artistic and sexual mysteries in Killing Commendatore and ended it with Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. This is an intimate story of a young man who once had been part of an inseparable quintet of friends until his sudden, inexplicable, and total expulsion from the group. This trauma shaped his life for decades.

The loss, or even the distancing of old friends, once essential to my… show more.