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South of the Border, West of the Sun

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South of the Border, West of the Sun

By: Haruki Murakami
Narrated by: Eric Loren
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Growing up in the suburbs in postwar Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch.

Now Hajime is in his 30s. After a decade of drifting he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters and success running a jazz bar. Then Shimamoto reappears. She is beautiful, intense, enveloped in mystery. Hajime is catapulted into the past, putting at risk all he has in the present.

©1999 Haruki Murakami (P)2021 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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Short, biting, and utterly compelling south of the border west of the sun wrap you up in a tail of misspent youth and forgotten dreams, familiar grounds for any fan of Haruki Murakami. However, this novel manages to trim the fat and some of the over sexualisation that have marked his other work. Leaving a leaner, more expressive and ultimately more enjoyable read. That better get at the truth that all Murakami texts access the struggle for self improvement and meaning in a world that can feel devoid of it . The narrator is a little flat however Murakami's prose sing regardless of who speaks them. I highly recommend this for anything fan of short fiction.

The best Murakami I've read

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