“South of the Border” is a first-person narrative by its protagonist Hajime and his relationships with three women — with Shimamoto during elementary school and then again later, with Izumi in high school and with his wife Yukiko. Hajime’s choices in life seem largely driven by a desire to be different and by a want that seems just beyond reach — the “west of the sun”, a place that’s just not possible to reach and a phrase that Murakami compares to Arctic hysteria. This contrasts with the “south of the border” part of the title, that refers to a song that Hajime and Shimamoto listen to often (although I have been unable to locate the Nat King Cole version that Murakami refers to in the book), and could be symbolic of an ordinary life.
The more I read Murakami, I realise that several common elements thread through this books — flawed protagonists, the inability to remain satisfied with one’s circumstances, overt sexuality and mysterious women, and others. Additionally, this book is fairly similar to “Norwegian Wood”. It’s a book about love and relationships with a love triangle of sorts with many of the surreal elements that are staples of Murakami’s novels missing in it. Both the books are based on songs with the stories having some faint resemblance to parts of the songs. And this commonality is the reason for the missing star in my review!
One of the features of Murakami’s novels that I find intriguing is the translation into English. The prose is often simple yet extremely evocative of the protagonists’ feelings and the environment around them. This is one of the things that I find most appealing in his novels and it intrigues me whether it is Murakami’s doing or the translator’s. “South of the Border” is no different — the simple prose make the book easy to read (and it is a short novel in any case) while its evocative nature makes it a thoughtful read. There are some sentences that made me cringe though — “it wasn’t a record that she was handling, it was a fragile soul inside a glass bottle” as one example. Mercifully, these were few and far between!
There are multiple ways in which to interpret this book and the characters, notably Shimamoto and Izumi. For example, it is possible that the characters are real or they could be imaginary and are created in Hajime’s mind to reflect his desires and guilt. And each interpretation would take the reader to a different conclusion. I can easily see myself re-reading this book in a completely different way. Therein lies the beauty of this book, especially given its very short length, and what ultimately makes this book a great read!
Pros: Powerful prose, open to interpretation
Cons: Feels somewhat similar to other Murakami books
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