This is a nice short little holiday read, that is up there with Murakami's finest. It tells the story of Hajime, an only child, and his childhood growing up in Japan. He makes friends with a girl called Shimamoto, who has polio which causes her to limp. She too is an only child, so the pair strike up a great friendship, hanging out listening to music and talking about themselves.The pair go off to different universities and lose touch, and Hajime ends up married with two children, and opens two successful jazz clubs in a trendy part of town thanks to help from his wife's father. He has a happy, content life and loves his wife and children, but when he is 35, Shimamoto returns and it causes him to question his happiness and what he wants.
This novel is the epitome of the age old 'grass is greener' dilemma. Although they were young so had no romantic relationship in the past; Shimamoto and Hajime feel a deep connection that they share through years of getting to know each other. Hajime begins to develop intense feelings towards Shimamoto, which cause him to become irrational and act out of character.
It is never revealed where Shimamoto has been all this time, or if she has a family of her own, but that is part of the beauty of Murakami's writing. It is also left open at the end for the reader to create their own opinion of what has happened - some theories suggest that Shimamoto's return is all an illusion, a manifestation of Hajime's mid-life crisis, whereas others infer that the situations all occur in real life, but that Shimamoto is a test and has no intention of setting up a life with Hajime as is mentioned. Read it for yourself and make your decision!
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