Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One of the most revered voices in literature today gives us a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
“Mesmerizing, immersive, hallucinogenic.”—Entertainment Weekly
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the remarkable story of a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Financial Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Slate, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, BookPage
“Mesmerizing, immersive, hallucinogenic.”—Entertainment Weekly
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the remarkable story of a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Financial Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Slate, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, BookPage
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Community Reviews
my first introduction to Murakami in 2017 when I met my partner (now deceased) this reminds me of meeting her. beautiful book and really identified with the central character and his mentally hapless understanding of what had happened to him and what it must be like to be an obsessive which is rarely captured so well in words.
thenextgoodbook.com
COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE
By Haruki Murakami
386 pages
What’s it about?
I have been wanting to read a novel by Haruki Murakami for a very long time. This book is the latest in a long line of novels that are incredibly popular in Japan and also with literary critics. The central character in this book, Tsukuru Tazaki, is a young Japanese man who is struggling to make sense of his life. His name "Tsukuru" means builder and he has always been fascinated with train stations. He ultimately becomes an engineer specializing in the building and renovating of train stations. During his second year of college he is devastated when he is cut off by his group of high school friends. The close group consists of four other students, two other boys and two girls. He is the only student without a color in his surname, (blue, red, white, and black) thus the title of the book. After this experience he feels colorless and unworthy and this impacts his relationships going forward. He gets to a point in his life where he must examine the mystery of what happened in this friendship and then move forward.
What did it make me think about?
This book seems like it has many layers. I think if I read it over and over again I would garner more from it each time. It certainly made me think about our self perceptions versus other peoples' perceptions of us. How does the way we view ourselves color our path in life?
Should I read it?
I really enjoyed this book. At times it seemed uneven, but the prose is beautiful and the plot is just as good as the writing. The mystery of why Tsukuru is ostracized keeps you wanting to turn the pages. Murakami is a writer I will be exploring more in the future.
Quote-
"As we go through life we gradually discover who we are, but the more we discover, the more we lose ourselves."
Question-
What novel do you suggest I try next by Haruki Murakami?
If you liked this try-
A Gesture Life by Chang Rae-Lee
8 1/2 stars
COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE
By Haruki Murakami
386 pages
What’s it about?
I have been wanting to read a novel by Haruki Murakami for a very long time. This book is the latest in a long line of novels that are incredibly popular in Japan and also with literary critics. The central character in this book, Tsukuru Tazaki, is a young Japanese man who is struggling to make sense of his life. His name "Tsukuru" means builder and he has always been fascinated with train stations. He ultimately becomes an engineer specializing in the building and renovating of train stations. During his second year of college he is devastated when he is cut off by his group of high school friends. The close group consists of four other students, two other boys and two girls. He is the only student without a color in his surname, (blue, red, white, and black) thus the title of the book. After this experience he feels colorless and unworthy and this impacts his relationships going forward. He gets to a point in his life where he must examine the mystery of what happened in this friendship and then move forward.
What did it make me think about?
This book seems like it has many layers. I think if I read it over and over again I would garner more from it each time. It certainly made me think about our self perceptions versus other peoples' perceptions of us. How does the way we view ourselves color our path in life?
Should I read it?
I really enjoyed this book. At times it seemed uneven, but the prose is beautiful and the plot is just as good as the writing. The mystery of why Tsukuru is ostracized keeps you wanting to turn the pages. Murakami is a writer I will be exploring more in the future.
Quote-
"As we go through life we gradually discover who we are, but the more we discover, the more we lose ourselves."
Question-
What novel do you suggest I try next by Haruki Murakami?
If you liked this try-
A Gesture Life by Chang Rae-Lee
8 1/2 stars
Beautiful prose but repetitive. Would have been better if the protagonist's internal monologue was cut down a bit.
It's not for everyone, and the end made me feel like there should be another book to follow... but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Only Murakami books can ever explain in a simplistic yet masterful way... to really make you feel the character despair and loneliness... like no other books can. Only if you completely let go of this hurried world, absolutely submerge yourself in his book than you can truly appreciate it. If not, that's ok... like a lonely used book on a sidewalk sale, it'll still be there, quietly waiting for the next reader.
Murakami has a wonderful sense of the world. His characters are always dichotomous - simple yet complex. In this story Tsukuru is searching for resolution. He has been on the brink of suicide, and continues to pursue truth. He has been rejected and seeks friendship. In this story we see him struggle to put together the pieces from disparate parts of his life and find resolution. In the end my hope in humanity is restored and my desire for peace is justified.
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