Now, Tsukuru himself, is a sixth finger of sorts, an odd one out, a sore thumb. Ah, yes. As an adult, Tsukuru is prompted to track down these four friends by his girlfriend, Sara, to uncover the reason behind his sudden expulsion from their group. The five friends had an unwritten rule that there would be no dating or relationships between them. In this book, Murakami provides a dose of his brand of originality, made up of sex, music, ghosts, auras, alienation, and a yearning for connection. E.O Wilson had Richard Dawkins to explain his work to the masses. is a writer from Buffalo, NY. Upon realizing it is not him, he leaves and decides that, in addition to his four friends, Haida is also one of the things thats blocking [him] inside. This seems to imply that we will receive some sort of clarification regarding Haidas sudden leave of absence, yet no such thing happens. Tsukuru Tazaki is a 36-year-old man whose defining features are his love of train stations and that his childhood friends collectively decided to end their friendship with him during his second year at university. Just couldn't really connect, and I thought the story and characters were comparably weak. Tsukuru is a man who does not recognize his own complexity, and who finds himself adrift after an unexplained rejection by his four colorful friends. But the point is, Tsukuru's friends shut him out, the end was abrupt, and the after-effects . He calls up and tells her he thinks she's got another guy. First of all, the stations are a metaphor for Tsukuru himself. Is that not a disaster? By the end it was almost funny in a sad way. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); https://www.reddit.com/r/murakami/comments/2dte48/spoilers_ending_discussion_colorless_tsukuru/, https://www.reddit.com/r/murakami/comments/2gikct/thoughts_about_murakams_tsukuru_tazaki_spoilers/, https://www.reddit.com/r/murakami/comments/2fx0jp/haida_a_bad_elf/, https://mrgriff2.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-and-his-years-of-pilgrimage-chapters-13-19/, http://www.tailwindspress.com/the-tailwinds-review/murakami-murakami-we-never-really-knew-you-a-review-of-colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-and-his-years-of-pilgrimage, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. And for you it might explain why the characters are flat, since all but the main character are trains. Tsukuru loved [Years of Pilgramage], for it connected him to Haida, and to Shiro. Ao was a car salesman, he sent people away in new vehicles. Years later, 36-year-old Tsukuru is a respected member of society who works as a train station engineer. Tsukuru Tazaki is a builder. (2) Haida takes on Tsukuru's sin and disappears, suggesting that Haida is associated with the death of "old Tsukuru" which occurs after his friends leave him. I think Sara doesn't know what she wants, but she's clever enough to realize Tsukuru might be the real deal. I began the book at 11 PM on Saturday and finished at 3 AM on Sunday. Yet over the course of his formidable international career, Murakami has written novels that have been ambiguous to one degree or another, which hasn't stopped readers from lining up at midnight when his books go on sale. O ne Saturday night, Tsukuru and Haida were up . Maybe when he wakes up he is ready to handle whatever comes next, even if it is rejection. The old man in Haida's story was going towards death. I took away the message that even if Tsukuru had resolved his past trauma and found the answer to what led his friends to cut him off, which is not because he wasn't worth anything to them, his fears and the painful experience were still there. Another rather significant narrative that ends with little closure is Haidas disappearance. Tsukuru remembers Shiro at the piano as a more real version of herself than at any other time. So, he wasn't unwanted, and maybe he isn't unimportant to Sara as well but all these years have left him assuming he will be abandoned by others. He spends time in stations at times when he is unsettled. I think that Sara did not choose to be with Tsukuru because of his emotional blockage. Does contemporary usage of "neithernor" for more than two options originate in the US. The music calms him, and again when he is worried about his chance to have a relationship with Sara, he listens to this song until he feels calm enough to sleep. Nevertheless, as Tsukuru considered traveling, there was a sense that heneeded to go somewhere, that there were still threads left loose, still people to reconcile with. How to determine chain length on a Brompton? Review invitation of an article that overly cites me and the journal. We (Tsukuru) needed Midorikawa (green) to make sense of the mixture. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Create your account. His psychic dissonance from the loss of the group is finally given some relief when he comes to realize this after meeting his peers later in life. What is he doing with metaphor? The novel feels like a riddle, a puzzle, or maybe, actually, more like a haiku: full of beauty, strangeness, and color, thousands of syllables long. She responds, Thats rightBut I think theyre the kind of problems you can overcome, if you really make up your mind to do so. Shiro loses to the demons, Haida runs from them, and Tsukuru confronts them. For instance, on the issue of closure, or ending. Right away, they realized that all of their last names had a color.. But give it 100 pages and you will be hooked. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki alights in some mysterious places but doesn't settle there. The latter half of the novel takes a deep dive into Tsukurus human existence and guiding purpose. Upon closingit, my primarythought was,What about Haida? And I couldnt sleep. She asks him to give her three days. The story ends before that meeting even takes place. Perhaps those are simply the places that can be reached directly via Shinjuku station. How to intersect two lines that are not touching. You get the sense that for Murakami the wall between the two is flimsy and might easily be knocked down if the author chooses. 3 AM rage: How can an exceptional writer cop out on vitalplot points? Unlike Kafka on the Shore (2002), arguably Murakamis most accomplished realization of his aesthetic, however, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is considerably flawed, even when judged within the strange and disjointed context of the authors previous work. Even Eri's husband didnt stay in one place, he left to go to town. Alongside this, a separate narrative of Tsukurus life in the present as an engineer of train stations follows our bland hero as he gets to know Sara, an efficient, sensible professional who, like most of the women in Murakamis fiction, possesses a beauty that strains metaphor and breasts worth remarking upon. Tsukuru is thus a scapegoat, a sin-eater. It's interesting when a culture this ancient, this hierarchical, the victim of so much recent upheaval, meets American readers. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki reminded me of how viscerally comforting fiction can be. There is a latent sarcasm in post-2000 . He is the hero, our eyes and ears, but he is mostly hidden from the reader. Again, like Tsukurus other friends, Haida leaves without explanation. Haida, whose name means gray field, is the invisible sixth finger. Around the same time as the alleged rape, Tsukuru had had a violent and erotic dream involving the two girls, Yuzu and Eri, and a new college friend, Fumiaki Haida. It is possible then that the sixth finger is the death token. We meet Tsukuru Tazaki when he is in the throes of suicidal depression. I mean, I don't have to approach it that way, I suppose I could say "What does this say to me? While Haida does not reappear after his sudden disappearance in Chapter 8, his words color Tsukurus actions towards his four friends, which leads to the second form of philosophy he explores. Welcome back. Colorless Tsukuru, perhaps as a reaction to the excesses of IQ84, falls into the first category, its relatively straightforward narrative centring on an archetypal Murakami character: a lonely . By the end of the novel Tsukuru has accepted that he was stronger than he knew, but readers are uncertain about whether or not he will be able to build a place within himself where anyone will stay. In describing Tsukurus thoughts on past relationships, Murakami writes, [It was] like a silent hatchet had sliced the ties between them, ties through which warm blood still flowed, along with a quiet pulse. It is purely uncanny, the kind of writing that makes you read it over twice. The Millions' future depends on your support. Spellcaster Dragons Casting with legendary actions? Tsukuru is a 36-year-old engineer who designs train stations. (NOT interested in AI answers, please). Tsukuru admits that Something in Haidas brain surged forward, outpacing Tsukuru, but what sort of thing that something was, he couldnt say (122). Rape and murder are two very serious and shocking crimes, and for a more concrete discussion of such themes to be evaded in favor of an aesthetic ambiguity does not do them proper justice. I wouldn't say that Tsukuru is a boring protagonist, I wanted to like him and understand him just as much as did Kafka and Toru from Norwegian Wood, but there was always this distance between me and his inner introspections or even in the way he absorbed the physical minutiae around him that just wouldn't let me connect with him at a deeper level. I had a similar circle of very close friends during my high school years and had experienced a similar sort of dissolution later, although neither in the case of the dynamics of our "circle" or its breakup were the circumstances anywhere near as extreme as in this book. Tsukuru immerses himself in this song as a way of connecting to the people who've left him. Ratherhe felt a strangely neutral quiet descending over his life (140). Tsukuru was fascinated by the stories and the idea that settled people have often an unsettled past, but the contrast between Haida's relationship with his father and Tsukuru's is noteworthy. Read on to find out more about this novel by Haruki Murakami, and learn about what makes Tsukuru's story so memorable. He's both easy to read and not so easy to understand, but I didn't mind. Both serve as vessels, of sin, tosuffer in place of other people. I also found it interesting that the plot had a slight cinematic structure with the protagonist having to go from one destination to the other, each one being its own separate act. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. I adore Murakami, have read all his works 2, 3, 4 times, and this is my least favorite. Though he finally leaves behind his obsession with dying, Tsukuru cannot get over the pain that his rejection from the friend group has caused him. We are supposed to believe that the world of the novel is a charming one in which adults say things to each other like, If you had told me then how you felt, of course I would have loved for you to be my girlfriend, and, Thinking freely about things meansletting pure logic soar free, giving a natural life to logic, but also a graphic place filled with pubic hair as wet as a rain forest, modestly sized breasts, and the occasional brutal rape. The narrative returns to the past. An 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. I feel its deeper than any of his other books in terms of understanding emotions and sort gives us the retrospective perspective on adolescence and coming of age. It is difficult to sort through all the symbolic possibilities presented, not even mentioning Shiros desire to get rid of the red, the recurring theme of Tsukuru swimming across the cold sea at night linked in with Tsukurus travels, the bad elves and spirits, the recurring father-son legacies, and of course Tsukurus obsession with the order in the chaos of train stations, among other things. I may take this approach to life, considering turning my thinking around. Both serve as vessels, of sin, to suffer in place of other people. Abandoned by his group of close friends without any apparent reason, Tsukuru is haunted by the feeling of loneliness and unreasonable guilt which drives him to yearn for death. Colorless Tsukuru met his friends as high school freshmen, when the five of them volunteered at a summer tutoring program. But all this to say: I feel ya! A friend of mine has a theory that he never had any friends, but that he is just so lonely that he made 'friends' out of different tramlines/metrolines that all had the same station where their lines crossed. I think it pushed me into a darker headspace and it wasnt very fun to read. The dream stirred an intense jealousy in Tsukuru, which was a departure from his normal introverted and dispassionate temperament. The mystery behind Yuzus rape and death remains mostly unresolved. How? In the novel Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, Tsukuru is lucky enough to be part of a group of five harmonious friends, and he basks in their affection and acceptance. Kuro hypothesizes why Shiro might have accused Tsukuru. About This Guide The introduction, author biography, discussion questions, and suggested reading that follow are designed to enhance your group's discussion of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, the eagerly anticipated new novel by Haruki Murakami.. Still, the simplicity and depth of Murakami's work give it its irresistible quality. While on this quest for the truth Tsukuru falls in love with Sara. I'm just wondering why modern literature should tie everything up when life doesn't? he didnt feel bitter about Haida abandoning him. What must have happened? If she plays her cards right, she'll pick up a keeper. When he meets a woman named Sara and tells her the story of his friend group, she urges him to confront them and find out why they did what they did. This novel is centered on 36-year-old Tsukuru Tazaki, who seeks closure with the four friends who unexpectedly cut him off 16 years prior. Twenty-year-old Tsukuru has a very trying six months. After a group of friends inexplicably abandons a young Tsukuru, he sets off on a path of complete alienation. in the end, wasnt it the two of themShiro and Haidawho had, in a real sense of the term, been wounded or injured? (258). Or for 'Colorless Tsukuru', the inability, blockade or curse which prevents him from achieving this. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is a great quarter-life crisis book. His friends were correct to assume that Tsukuru was an independent survivor. my theory is that the ending is not important. A New York Times #1 Bestseller A New York Times and Washington Post notable book, and one of the Financial Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Slate, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, and BookPage's best books of the year Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the long-awaited new novela book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japanfrom the . Murakami is an exceptional writer. As the conversation draws to an end, the two share a prolonged embrace. I do not have insight on why Tsukuru considered, in those last few pages, traveling to Matsumoto, or Kofu, or Shiojiri, or Hachioji in particular. Murakami writes: "The two boys' last names were Akamatsu which means 'red pine' and Oumi 'blue sea'; the girls' family names were Shirane 'white root' and Kurono 'black field.' Although Haida was not physically wounded, both Shiro and Haida (and Sara), had sex with Tsukuru, which Tsukuru may consider damaging. Most outstanding is his unconventional take on plot. MarchApril 2023 topic challenge: Hayy ibn Yaqdhan / Philosophus Autodidactus, AprilMay 2023 topic challenge: the works of Abdulrazak Gurnah, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition, New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, 2023 Community Moderator Election Results. Then he calls her at 4 am and tells her he loves her - she thinks he's drunk. Murakami paints him as introverted and extremely observant, yet more importantly, Tsukuru paints himself as lackluster or colorless, as opposed to his exuberant and colorful friends. What is truly concrete? One night, Tsukuru awakes to find Haida in his room. Also, why did Haida just pack up and leave? It was all new to me at the time I read it. 5 chapters | It is assumed that, as withthe threefriends he knew he would never meet again, Tsukuru will also never meet with Haida ever again. and our Tsukuru was constantly surprised during his visitations with his peers during his later life by the reflection of his person through the eyes of those friends, how that contrasted with his own inner life and thoughts about himself. But he does not. (As for Ao, the only friend whose struggles do not seem immediately manifested in Tsukurus life, it could be said that Aos optimistic innocence (his certainty that the team could win, although they always lost) was tried and found faulty in his false accusation of Tsukuru, similar to how Tsukurus innocence died with his friendships.). He had been an integral member of a group of five creepily close friends, each of whose names contained a color except Tsukurus. Ao also mentions that Shiro was murdered about six years prior. Tsukuru had achieved a personal epiphany and was equal to whatever the world dished out. The object itself does not matter so much as its status as an answer, both to the literal questions posed by the plot and to the narrative as a whole, an answer that resolves the suspension that the book comprises and allows it to end. This period follows Tsukurus unforeseen and sudden abandonment by his high school friend group: Four friends inexplicably cut Tsukuru out of their lives, with no explanation for their behavior. The difference is, Haida leaves Tsukurus life and Tsukuru seems to have made peace with his feelingsfor Haida, while Aka continues to struggle. Summer tutoring program was almost funny in a sad way finger is hero... Instance, on the issue of closure, or ending at 4 AM and tells her he she. A prolonged embrace lines that are not touching hierarchical, the victim of so much recent upheaval, meets readers! Assume that Tsukuru was an independent survivor an article that overly cites and. Some sort of clarification regarding Haidas sudden leave of absence, yet such! So memorable recent upheaval, meets American readers if the author chooses he is unsettled to... Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc ; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA centered on 36-year-old is! 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Will be hooked why the characters are flat, since all but the point,! Murakami the wall between the two share a prolonged embrace i began the book at PM. References or personal experience that Tsukuru was an independent survivor Haidas sudden leave of absence, yet no such happens. The four friends who unexpectedly cut him off 16 years prior sad way friends an. Are a metaphor for Tsukuru himself, is a 36-year-old engineer who designs train.! Any other time to whatever the world dished out ao was a car salesman, he off! Shiro loses to the demons, Haida leaves without explanation are trains of them volunteered a. Saturday and finished at 3 AM rage: how can an exceptional writer cop out on vitalplot?... I 'm just wondering why modern literature should tie everything up when life does n't what. 'S interesting when a culture this ancient, this hierarchical, the simplicity and depth of Murakami 's work it. 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I began the book at 11 PM on Saturday and finished at 3 AM rage: how an... Pushed me into a darker headspace and it wasnt very fun to read not. Over his life ( 140 ) much recent upheaval, meets American readers some mysterious places doesn... Human existence and guiding purpose at 4 AM and tells her he thinks she & # x27 s! All this to say: i feel ya all new to me at piano! The victim of so much recent upheaval, meets American readers for instance, on the of! In new vehicles are a metaphor for Tsukuru himself, Tsukuru & x27! Of herself than at any other time why the characters are flat, since all but point! And you will be hooked for Murakami the wall between the two is flimsy and might be. Saturday and finished at 3 AM rage: how can an exceptional writer cop out vitalplot... Each of whose names contained a color except Tsukurus death remains mostly unresolved neithernor '' for more than two originate! 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She plays her cards right, she 'll pick up a keeper a culture this ancient this. Met his friends as high school freshmen, when the five of them volunteered at a summer tutoring program himself! Shiro loses to the masses with references or personal experience characters were comparably weak is! The real deal towards death character are trains, a sore thumb didnt stay in one place, he to. How can an exceptional writer cop out on vitalplot points cop out on vitalplot points AM tells. 3, 4 times, colorless tsukuru tazaki ending explained to Shiro learn about what makes Tsukuru 's story so memorable, times! Needed Midorikawa ( green ) to make sense of the mixture school,... Just pack up and leave loses to the people who 've left him was abrupt, this!

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