Tuesday 18th August

I have read almost all of the wonderful books written by Haruki, and have enjoyed them all too; not always the same thing.  I started with Norwegian Wood, probably his most accessible and popular novel right through to the one before this 1Q84, which I thought was a bit over long.  I suppose he belongs to that recent category of surreal or magic fiction, there is often an element of the supernatural, or time shifting, or sheer impossibility in his writing but presented as entirely possible.  He also investigates what it is to be human, the conflict between good and evil and the contradictions of modern life.  He also shows us how the Japanese, who to us in the West might appear quite different from us, are just the same as we are, with the same qualities and problems.

This book is a bit quieter, nothing much really happens.  Tzukuru had four very good high-school friends and one day when he was twenty he was inexplicably excommunicated from this tight-knit group.  The book explores the nature of friendship and growing up and how we deal with loneliness and pain.  Saying that it is also quite hopeful.  Above all else it is beautifully written and just carries you gently along.  I will miss it now that I have read it.