South of the Border, West of the Sun is a good travel read. I liked the title, it seems mysterious. The existence of a yearning in every person, yearning for dreams to come true.. the inexplicable sense of emptiness when you know that there is something more.. but that its left behind or is not in your destiny.. is well elucidated in the book.
But ironically, as in Hajime's life, there is something missing in the book.. I understand the protagonist's feelings in theory, but I dont feel them with him. I can see why he's wistful of the past, but frankly I don't care. Maybe because the language felt so flat. I wonder if its because its a translation. Or maybe I expected some Japanese-ness(?) to the language. A lot of the phrases and words used seem very American, so the characters don't come across as Japanese or of any particular culture. That should probably be a good thing, shouldn't it, to be able to write across borders. But I like to read non-English author's works as it gives a sense of the place, of the people, their culture. I think I had a lot of expectations from the book.
All said, the book is a decent read so I will definitely give a try to one of Haruki Murakami's more famous books.
For lack of anything more apt to say, this book was just a case of lost in translation for me.
South of the Border, West of the Sun: Haruki Murakami
Posted by chica Labels: Chica read..., Fiction, Japanese Lit
How will I ever catch up on an ever increasing list!
FictionThe Reluctant Fundamentalist: Mohsin Hamid(chica's review)
(swati's review)
The Time Traveler's Wife: Audrey Niffenegger
Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris: Sarah TurnbullConfessions of a Shopaholic: Sophie Kinsella (chica's review)
Sacred Games: Vikram Chandra
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers: Xiaolu Guo
What's Not to Love? The Adventures of a Mildly Perverted Young Writer: Jonathan Ames
The Extra Man: Jonathan Ames
Wind Up Bird Chronicles: Haruki Murakami
In Arabian Nights:A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams: Tahir Shah
1984: George Orwell
Animal Farm: George Orwell
The Bookseller of Kabul: Asne Seierstad
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier: Ishmael Beah
The Book of Lost Things: John Connolly
Non-Fiction
Hiroshima: John Hersey
In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars: Kevin Sites
The Question of Palestine: Edward W. Said
The Frozen Water Trade - A True Story: Gavin Weightman
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test: Tom Wolfe
India's External Intelligence: Maj Gen VK Singh
Operation Blue Star: K S Brar
Games Indians Play; Why we are the way we are: V Raghunathan
Discover your Inner Economist: Tyler Cowen
Graphic Novel
Kashmir Pending: Naseer Ahmed
Hopeless Savages: Jen Van Meter, Christine Norrie, Chynna Clugston-Major
Science Fiction
Ubik: Philip K. Dick
