South of the Border, West of the Sun (Panther)

by N/A

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $12.42

  Hajime and Shimamoto had been childhood sweethearts. Both only children, the two would meet after school to listen to records and talk about the future. Now, in his late thirties, Hajime is married, a father, a successful nightclub owner and happily settled in life after years of directionless drifting. By chance he meets Shimamoto again and is drawn into the mysteries of her life. Overcome by pity, enchantment and desire, he decides to risk all his security for the chance to consummate his first love. South of the Border, West of the Sun is a bittersweet examination of the intricacies of desire and our longing for the unobtainable. In this subtle love story about how much, and yet also how little, time changes people, Haruki Murakami confirms his reputation as Japan s leading novelist.

• New

  Paperback
  2000

  $12.12

  Growing up in the suburbs in post-war 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 thirties. 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.