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

"There are some things in this world that can be changed and some that can't and time passing is one that can't be redone. Come this far and you can't go back. Don't you think so?"

A melancholic, subtle, simple and elusive story, South of the Border is a good and quick read. It's a bleak look at the loneliness, isolation, betrayal, redemption, desire for the exotic and unknown.

Hajime grows up in post-war Japan in an average Japanese family, having no brothers and sisters, he is very attached to Shimamoto, his only childhood friend. They spend many hours together listening to her father's records, strolling together or simply having long conversations. Attachment grows into gentle love and despite that they held hands only once, the feeling stays with him long after. Hajime's family moves out from the neighbourhood and the two of them grew apart. They will not meet each other for many years, each takes their path. He will be looking for Shimamoto in the women he will meet and the lingering memory of her and their conversations will not leave him easily. At 36, Hajime is a prosperous businessman, the owner of a chain of jazz bars in Tokyo, he leads a happy existence with his wife and two daughters but he is not entirely satisfied. Then in one rainy night Shimamoto suddenly reappears in his life and he is forced to choose between a past not yet lived and the present which he has built. 

What I most liked about the book is how Murakami portrays his characters. They all are very realistic as though based on actual human beings; as though Hajime, the main character is the author himself. The plot is very simple in many aspects, the story of an ordinary person with an extraordinary inner world. The reader can feel Hajime's psychological struggles and doubts. Constantly haunted by memories and *what if* questions, he can't fully enjoy the gifts of the present. Despite that he is very reactive sometimes, he is very pro-active in self-analysis, his assessment of the the disappointments he experiences as well as the disappointments he inflicts on others is very accurate. Very introspective but in a simple and engaging way, definitely worth reading.