Like most coming-of-age stories this book wasn't as much about the plot as it was about the journey of the main character. And with Tsukuru Tazaki, Murakami created a very real maybe not especially likable but understandable character. I've read a lot about Murakami beforehand and wanted to see for myself why so many people love his work that much. And even if most people say this isn't his best book and not good to get to know his style I have to say I really fell in love with his writing and am definately going to read more of his works.

if Sara doesn't choose me tomorrow, he thought, I may really die. Die in reality, or die figuratively -- there isn't much difference between the two. But this time I definitely will take my last breath. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki will lose any last hint of color and quietly exit the world. All will become a void, the only thing that remains a hard, frozen clump of dirt. He slipped into the bed just before the date changed, and switched off the bedside lamp. How nice it would be to dream of Sara, Tsukuru thought. An erotic dream. Or one that wasn't -- either would be good. If possible, though, a dream that wasn't too sad. A dream in which he could touch her body would be more than he could ask for. It was, after all, just a dream.

When I started reading this book I was more annoyed than anything with Tsukuru and how one incident 16 years ago was still having such an effect on his life----but the farther on I read the more I realized we are all probably one minor incident away from seeing things the way he did.