South of the Border, West of the Sun (1992) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

show spoilers

• Hajime: Only child, owner/manager of two bars, husband of Yukiko and father of two daughters.
• Shimamoto: Childhood friend of Hajime who reappears in his life in his late 30s.
• Yukiko: Hajime's wife
• Izumi Ohara: Childhood girlfriend of Hajime.
• Aoyama: Add a description of this character.
• Cole

Quotes edit see section history

• “Prométeme una sola cosa. No me hagas hacer lo que no quiero hacer.”

  Izumi

• “"…here she is, all mine, trying her best to give me all she can. How could I ever hurt her? But I didn’t understand then. That I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover. That a person can, just by living, damage another human being beyond repair."”

• “"I'd always liked books and my interest in them had been fostered by my friendship with Shimamoto. I started to go to the library, devouring every book I could lay my hands on. Once I began one I couldn't put it down. Reading was like an addiction. I read while I ate, on the train, in bed until late at night, in class."”

• “In the world I lived in, it was accepted that only children were spoiled by their parents, weak and self-centered. . . .That kind of knee-jerk reaction depressed me, and hurt. But was depressed and hurt me more was something else: the fact that everything they thought about me was true.”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• But I didn’t understand then. That I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover. That a person can, just by living, damage another human being beyond repair.

  Highlighted by 47 Kindle customers

• Things that have form will all disappear. But certain feelings stay with us forever.”

  Highlighted by 33 Kindle customers

• A simple change of scenery can bring about powerful shifts in the flow of time and emotions:

  Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers

• What we needed were not words and promises but the steady accumulation of small realities.

  Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers

• “Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I’m gazing at a distant star,” I said. “It’s dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe the star doesn’t even exist anymore. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.”

  Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers

• Because everyone’s seeking the same thing: an imaginary place, their own castle in the air, and their very own special corner of it.”

  Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers

• That ultimately I am a person who can do evil. I never consciously tried to hurt anyone, yet good intentions notwithstanding, when necessity demanded, I could become completely self-centered, even cruel. I was the kind of person who could, using some plausible excuse, inflict on a person I cared for a wound that would never heal.

  Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers

• “Hajime,” she began, “the sad truth is that certain types of things can’t go backward. Once they start going forward, no matter what you do, they can’t go back the way they were. If even one little thing goes awry, then that’s how it will stay forever.”

  Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers

• Nine times out of ten you might strike out but that tenth time, that peak experience, is what people want. That’s what can move the world. That’s art.”

  Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers

• Probably is a word you may find south of the border. But never, ever west of the sun.

  Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Ishikawa
• Tokyo
• Toyohashi
• Hakone
• Shibuya
• Kyoto

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Jazz Music: Describe this theme.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Haruki Murakami (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Lourdes Porta (Translator) - Translation from Japanese to Spanish
2. Giovanni Bandini (Translator) - German
3. Ditte Bandini (Translator) - German
4. Philip Gabriel (Translator) - Translation from Japanese to English

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 895.6'85

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history