South of the Border, West of the sun

Description

The novel tells the story of Hajime, from his childhood in a small town in Japan to his adult years in Tokyo. He meets Shimamoto, a girl with polio and a fellow only child. They spend their time together talking about their interests in life and listening to records on Shimamoto’s stereo. They are separated in their high school years, and grow apart. They are reunited in their thirty-sixth year. Hajime is now the father of two children and owner of two successful jazz bars. Shimamoto gives no details of her own life and appears only at random intervals, haunting him as a constant “what-if”. Meeting Shimamoto again sets off a chain of events that forces Hajime to choose between his young family and the magic of the past.