Take Five: Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki & His Years of Pilgrimage
It is a known fact that Haruki Murakami teaches us about life through his novels, which often tell the stories of change, loss and love. These stories are notable because of their ability to show us how the simplest truths are often the most meaningful.
The story of Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki focuses on the main protagonist's journey toward discovery of life and its meaning. In the summer after his sophomore year of college, Tsukuru Tazaki is abruptly and inexplicably exiled from his tight-knit group of high school friends. This sudden change was delivered to him over the phone. The news of this "friendship break-up" affected Tsukuru and, over the next 16 years, has a deep and profound impact on his life and the choices he will make. It was only much later, at the behest of the woman he loves, that Tsukuru began dealing with his personal issues.
The thing about this book, as with most stories penned by Murakami, is that it has the ability to bring you into this realistic fiction that reflects your own life. You start to connect your own experiences and memories with that of the protagonist and, to a certain extent, reflect on the changes in your life.
The book caught me at the perfect moment because it contextualized some of the radical changes taking place in my life. As you all may already know, I recently moved to London to begin a new chapter of my life as a post-grad student. In that change, I've left behind my comfort zone, my friends, my family and, of course, my lovely colleagues at THE FIFTH COLLECTION. And while London is amazing, those changes and this new beginning make the city feel impossibly large.
But reading Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki reminded me that one never loses everything in the process of a new beginning (thus, the quote at the very top of this post). The past always guides you along and lets you navigate this new world smoothly. The thing is, nothing is completely swallowed up in a shift, even if you momentarily feel like you're better off without the the past. Everything will eventually resurface. Everything.