Today we celebrate Haruki Murakami’s birthday with a review of one of his most popular books, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.
Tazaki his haunted by the friendship of his high school days. Each of his friend’s names contained a colour, while, fittingly, his did not. He always considered himself the boring friend, the 5th wheel so to speak, but it didn’t make it any easier for him when he was spontaneously kicked from the group with no warning and no explanation. Years later, his new girlfriend convinces him to go back and find out what happened so he can finally move on.
Murakami has a talent for weaving fantastical aspects into the mundane and everyday scenarios he writes about. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a little tamer than Murakami’s other works, which makes it a perfect pick for anyone who hasn’t read one before.
– Megan, QBD Charlestown
