Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage  (English, Hardcover, Murakami Haruki)

As a young boy, Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends. The difference between him and his friends was that they all happened to have the presence of a colour in their names, while Tsukuru did not. This story goes on to show the life of Tsukuru Tazaki after he was disowned by his so-called friends.

Summary of the Book

Tsukuru Tazaki did not have had a colour as part of his name. Could this be the reason that his four best friends, who had names which contained colours, say that that they don’t want to be his friends anymore? These friends were two girls, who went by the names of Shirane meaning ‘white root’ and Kurono meaning ‘black field’, and two boys called Akamatsu which meant ‘red pine’ and Oumi, ‘blue sea’. All four of them decide one fine day that they will not see Tsukuru nor talk to him ever again. Ever since, the colourless Tazaki has been going about his life like it had no meaning to it, and unable to have connections of any kind with anyone. One fine day, he meets Sara. She explains to him that the time has come for him to find out the reason for all that had happened so many years ago.

About Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in the year 1949. He now lives in Tokyo. He has authored many novels, and has written several short stories and non-fiction books. His works have been translated into more than forty languages. Some of his works include: Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, After Dark, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. The most recent appreciation for his work was when he won the Jerusalem Prize.