South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actual Rating: 3.5

There's no coherent way of reviewing this book and to quite an extent that is explicable because it is a Murakami book. However, more pronounced than the elements of magical realism are the elements of grief, loss, the thirst for something that never was nor will be yours.

I think what I liked more about this book was how well I could relate to its philosophies and to some bits of this story. Certain parts of it made me feel like Murakami had taken a peek inside my head and then written things down.

What is, however, the weak part of the story is how it ends. I found myself wanting a better explanation for why Yukiko forgives her husband and also for why exactly Hajime was how he was. Izumi's story too remains rather untold and unfinished and I found myself wanting more in the episode when Hajime finally comes face to face with her.

As for the story itself, I won't describe it as exactly beautiful and certainly not Murakami's best. It's a lot like Casablanca but then again the writing is almost unexpectedly dull at the places it could have been more poignant and unexpectedly poetic in other places.

Overall, it's a story you must read not for the plot but for the philosophy.

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