Since the last topic on this book was more a question of whether or not Murakami got the title from a song, It hought we could make a general topic about the novel itself.
"South of the Border..." is the second book by Murakami that I read (the first was Norwegian Wood), and though I didn't love it as much as the first book I read, I still really really loved it a lot. In fact, I was going out with a woman named 'Yukiko' at the time I read the book -- the name of Boku's wife -- so it was kind of interesting and helped me put my feet even more into the character's shoes.
Anyway, what do you think of the novel? I read somewhere that this novel is a continuation of other stories... and that maybe the Boku in South of the Border is the older, more mature version of the younger Boku in another story. I can't remember where yet, but I'll check it out.
Please tell me your favourite parts of the book, and links to other stories, symbols in the contents, etc., as well as your overall impressions.
I just bought a new copy of the novel and I look forward to reading it again.
"South of the Border..." is the second book by Murakami that I read (the first was Norwegian Wood), and though I didn't love it as much as the first book I read, I still really really loved it a lot. In fact, I was going out with a woman named 'Yukiko' at the time I read the book -- the name of Boku's wife -- so it was kind of interesting and helped me put my feet even more into the character's shoes.
Anyway, what do you think of the novel? I read somewhere that this novel is a continuation of other stories... and that maybe the Boku in South of the Border is the older, more mature version of the younger Boku in another story. I can't remember where yet, but I'll check it out.
Please tell me your favourite parts of the book, and links to other stories, symbols in the contents, etc., as well as your overall impressions.
I just bought a new copy of the novel and I look forward to reading it again.
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Does anyone think the character of Shimamoto is real? I mean, of course she is as a child, but as an adult, it's hard to completely believe in her existence. The narrator, Hajime, also questions himself when he finds the envelope of money missing, and can't find a trace of Shimamoto at all.
I like to believe that her character is real, but it's easy to also believe that she, as an adult, is a figment of Hajime's unhappiness and imagination. Hajime is a man who is suffering from a middle aged complex, and it's possible that he is fantasizing based on his past, and creates the Shimamoto he believes he was destined to sleep with.
I like to believe that her character is real, but it's easy to also believe that she, as an adult, is a figment of Hajime's unhappiness and imagination. Hajime is a man who is suffering from a middle aged complex, and it's possible that he is fantasizing based on his past, and creates the Shimamoto he believes he was destined to sleep with.
Another thing I've always wondered about, and probably everyone else has, is WHO puts her (his?) hand on Hajime's back at the end of the story? Is it Shimamoto? Yukiko? his daughters?
It's easy to imagine that Shimamoto does it... maybe somehow, the tired Hajime found and joined her in the place she disappeared to, with only water and rain.
It's also easy to imagine that it's Yukiko... they are going to start their 'new life together' in the morning, so it's simple to imagine she came out, saw him there, and put a hand on his back.
And of course you can picture his daughters coming out of their room and seeing their father, quietly putting a hand on his back or shoulder.
Personally, I think that it is very clever or Murakami to keep the ending like this because it makes you wonder and want to know the answer, and that makes the book more successful. I also think that, whether you think it's Shimamoto, Yukiko, his daughters, or someone else, whomever you think touched Hajime's back is kind of like a psychological test (心理テスト), and says a lot about your character.
It's easy to imagine that Shimamoto does it... maybe somehow, the tired Hajime found and joined her in the place she disappeared to, with only water and rain.
It's also easy to imagine that it's Yukiko... they are going to start their 'new life together' in the morning, so it's simple to imagine she came out, saw him there, and put a hand on his back.
And of course you can picture his daughters coming out of their room and seeing their father, quietly putting a hand on his back or shoulder.
Personally, I think that it is very clever or Murakami to keep the ending like this because it makes you wonder and want to know the answer, and that makes the book more successful. I also think that, whether you think it's Shimamoto, Yukiko, his daughters, or someone else, whomever you think touched Hajime's back is kind of like a psychological test (心理テスト), and says a lot about your character.
I recently read this book as well, and had similar thoughts about whether or not Shimamoto might be a figmint of Hajime's imagination later in life. And for that matter, what about him seeing Izumi's face? That's even more surreal, and perhaps the unlikeliness of that ever happening is confirmation of the unlikeliness of the rest of the situation.
What struck me most about this book was how unlike his other works it was. Or perhaps I was just in a different state of mind when I read it - it's hard to say objectively without other people to discuss it with! I felt a very distinct Japanese-ness to this novel, especially is relation to how emotions are handled when it comes to marriage, fidelity, and love. Murakami is often lauded as an author who transcends nationaly and makes his works unusually universal, but I don't think this book does that.
I'd love to hear what anyone else thought!
What struck me most about this book was how unlike his other works it was. Or perhaps I was just in a different state of mind when I read it - it's hard to say objectively without other people to discuss it with! I felt a very distinct Japanese-ness to this novel, especially is relation to how emotions are handled when it comes to marriage, fidelity, and love. Murakami is often lauded as an author who transcends nationaly and makes his works unusually universal, but I don't think this book does that.
I'd love to hear what anyone else thought!
ｋＴさん：Well, I'm not Japanese, so I don't know if I can comment objectively on what you said about the Japanese-ness of the story, but I agree that it is different from most of his other work. In fact, the book reminds me a lot of "Norwegian Wood" in terms of it being not very surreal -- most of his other stories have talking cats, or other strange or mysterious things, but both South of the Border and Norwegian Woods were very 'normal'. The big difference between the two were that of course in Norwegian Wood the main character is a teenager and young adult, whereas in South of the Border the main character, for the most part, is a middle-aged man.
Anyway, you might be right about the Japanese thing... I'm not sure. I do know that I loved this book. I still wonder constantly if Shimamto as an adult was real, as was the money that disappeared from his desk, and I guess that is part of what makes the book so attractive -- you never really know...
Anyway, you might be right about the Japanese thing... I'm not sure. I do know that I loved this book. I still wonder constantly if Shimamto as an adult was real, as was the money that disappeared from his desk, and I guess that is part of what makes the book so attractive -- you never really know...
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