B22: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage-By Haruki Murakami

"The past became a long, razor sharp skewer that stabbed right through his heart. Silent silver pain shot through him, transforming his spine to a pillar of ice. The pain remained, unabated."

Another sterling read by sensei Murakami. If you have never picked up one of his works, you are really missing out. Murakami has an effortless style of writing that is both minimal and cognitively layered. His words create a clean yet searing image of the world around his characters, ultimately leading them down some version of the proverbial rabbit hole. This newest work is no exception. It is masterly written and unfolds like a forgotten memory. More so than any of his other books I have read, Colorless features a new empathetic protagonist, Tsukuru Tazaki that anybody who has experienced strong friendships during their high school years will be able to identify with.

The plot is about friendship and the perpetual craters that they form along the ridge of a person's existence. Some are shallow, but other's can be much deeper and of much greater consequence. Tsukuru's group consists of two other boys and two girl. Five friends, emotionally connected who shared everything. At a time in their lives when personalities are galvanized and life path's are forged, the five friends were inseparable, each contributing to the group in their own way. As the reality of college drifts closer and closer, the group suddenly and inexplicably exiles Tsukuru, severing all contact. Tsukuru, fractured, is set a foot in a dark forest of uncertainty and wavers between extinction and reconstruction. He does manage to find his way out and years later meets a woman who refuses to progress their romance unless Tsukuru explores the painful reasons behind his expulsion. 

I really cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. We have all had friendships that have dissipated or morphed into something that we could never have conceived possible and this story is a simple reminder that life is ever changing. Relationships shift, flow and ebb and the only constant is that unforeseeable way that they will end up. But, that is have the fun of the game of life; not ever knowing what is next. Pick this book up and when done, pass it on to a friend. You will be glad you did.