Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami, 386 pages

As a teenager, Tsukuru Tazaki had four close friends. The five of them were an exclusive group, an insular community that relied on each other for everything. But when he was 20, Tsukuru was unceremoniously kicked out of the group, with no explanation and no further contact from any of his four friends. Sixteen years later, Tsukuru is still dealing with that sudden loss and isolation when his girlfriend suggests he track down his former friends to bring some closure to that part of his life.

Based on the description of this book, it would be understandable to think that this would be a dense, slow-moving tome. But it's not. Instead, Murakami has created an easy-reading exploration of self, of loss, of confusion. His simple, concise writing style is excellent, and made this a swift read. I read it as an eBook and I was honestly surprised to see that the physical book has almost 400 pages; I would have guessed somewhere closer to 200. It's a wonderful book, and I can't wait to try out more Murakami.