Paperback, 389 pages
English language
Published Nov. 4, 2003 by Vintage.
Mientras su avión aterriza en un aeropuerto europeo, Toru Watanabe, de treinta y siete años, escucha casualmente una vieja canción de los Beatles: de pronto, la música le hace retroceder a su juventud, al turbulento Tokio de finales de los sesenta. Recuerda entonces, con melancolía y desasosiego, a la inestable y misteriosa Naoko, la novia de su mejor -y único- amigo de la adolescencia, Kizuki, y cómo el suicidio de éste les distanció durante un año, hasta que se reencontraron en la universidad. Iniciaron allí una relación íntima, truncada, sin embargo, por la frágil salud mental de Naoko, a quien hubo que internar en un centro de reposo. Al poco, Watanabe se enamoró de Midori, una joven activa y resuelta. Indeciso, acosado por los temores, Watanabe sólo experimentaba el deslumbramiento y el desengaño allá donde todo debía cobrar sentido: el sexo, el amor y la muerte. La insostenible situación le …
Mientras su avión aterriza en un aeropuerto europeo, Toru Watanabe, de treinta y siete años, escucha casualmente una vieja canción de los Beatles: de pronto, la música le hace retroceder a su juventud, al turbulento Tokio de finales de los sesenta. Recuerda entonces, con melancolía y desasosiego, a la inestable y misteriosa Naoko, la novia de su mejor -y único- amigo de la adolescencia, Kizuki, y cómo el suicidio de éste les distanció durante un año, hasta que se reencontraron en la universidad. Iniciaron allí una relación íntima, truncada, sin embargo, por la frágil salud mental de Naoko, a quien hubo que internar en un centro de reposo. Al poco, Watanabe se enamoró de Midori, una joven activa y resuelta. Indeciso, acosado por los temores, Watanabe sólo experimentaba el deslumbramiento y el desengaño allá donde todo debía cobrar sentido: el sexo, el amor y la muerte. La insostenible situación le llevó entonces a intentar alcanzar el delicado equilibrio entre sus esperanzas y la necesidad de encontrar su lugar en el mundo.
Muy recomendable. La forma en que está escrito te atrapa, y el final es catártico.
This book is lovely. So well-written. The characters are so well-made. Every word fits and every character has its purpose. Nothing is over-made.
Toru is a beautiful character. He is very strange and he doesn't feel the need to relate with people, which makes him relatable at some point in my opinion. Due to this, the few people he has contact with are very special for him and they are all unique and very unusual. Toru suffers throughout the whole book, for things that completely understandable and in times we all feel sad for him.
Naoko -his death friend's girlfriend- is a very sad character. She's depressed till the point of no return, but she has moments in which she can still enjoy life. Even so, she's death weight for Toru, who is hooked up by her, and she only makes him feel worried and confused.
In the other hand, …
This book is lovely. So well-written. The characters are so well-made. Every word fits and every character has its purpose. Nothing is over-made.
Toru is a beautiful character. He is very strange and he doesn't feel the need to relate with people, which makes him relatable at some point in my opinion. Due to this, the few people he has contact with are very special for him and they are all unique and very unusual. Toru suffers throughout the whole book, for things that completely understandable and in times we all feel sad for him.
Naoko -his death friend's girlfriend- is a very sad character. She's depressed till the point of no return, but she has moments in which she can still enjoy life. Even so, she's death weight for Toru, who is hooked up by her, and she only makes him feel worried and confused.
In the other hand, Midori -a girl he meets at university- is very cheerful character that makes Toru feel happy. She's brave, she is not afraid to speak her mind, she does what she wants, and she lives freely and careless. She's amazing. She's a character to learn from.
Nagasawa -a friend from university- is really peculiar guy. He is really smart, yet he doesn't care too much about anything. He doesn't feel excited about life, but he enjoys it all the same. Toru learns a lot from him.
And Reiko -Naoko's friend- is really entertaining character, who has suffer a lot yet sees the beauty of life everyday.
All in all, the book is perfect. I can't wait to read another Murakami's book.
