Every Person Has Their Own Color
When Tsukuru Tazaki thinks back to his youth in Nagoya, he feels torn between gratitude and sadness. Now 36, he leads a bleak life in Tokyo, designing train stations, and living in isolation. For a long time, Tsukuru lingered near death by his own choice. Only his attraction to his new acquaintance keeps him going, their conversations, the hope of intimacy, with his past shadowing him. Tsukuru bears no resentment toward his best friends who abandoned him sixteen years ago. He accepted his fate in silence, tried to drown his sorrow, pursued love, but fell short. Tsukuru remembers the very last phone call with his mates, in which they asked him never to contact them again.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the sophisticated tale of a man who must confront old wounds to avoid losing his last chance at happiness. The story intertwines vibrant, almost surreal events with harsh realities. Sake, beauty, a hand with six fingers, the truth always just out of reach. It’s a journey only someone with nothing left to lose, or maybe everything to lose, would even attempt. When Tsukuru has time to spare, he buys a ticket, a mug of hot coffee, and sits on a platform in Shinjuku. He watches passengers rush onto the train, sink into seats with relief, and vanish into the night. Tsukuru’s afraid to board himself. But perhaps now he’s finally ready.
Reading Haruki Murakami’s prose, I need a cup of tea in hand. You can hide memories, but you can't erase the history that produced them
, he smartly writes. And: As we go through life we gradually discover who we are, but the more we discover, the more we lose ourselves.
In Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, every piece fits like a puzzle. Fans of Haruki Murakami’s works will find this story satisfying. The author remains true to himself, crafting the perfect calm book. And in one or two chapters, I find myself caught off guard, reminded of my own past. So let’s brew some tea, open the book, and accompany Tsukuru Tazaki on his journey to a painful past.