South of the Border, West of the Sun - A Quiet, Haunting Novel About Longing & Memory
Luna & Lavender - Book of the Week
Some books feel less like stories and more like a low, steady hum under the skin - familiar, nostalgic, a little melancholy in a way you can’t fully name. South of the Border, West of the Sun is one of those books.
Murakami doesn’t shout, he whispers. And in this novel, he whispers about the magnetic pull of the past, the weight of unfinished moments, and the strange, dreamlike territory where memory and reality blur.
This book is for anyone who has ever wondered:
What if things had been different?
What if one tiny choice changed the whole shape of your life?
What if a connection from long ago still lives somewhere in the quiet corners of your heart?
It’s atmospheric, nostalgic, and emotionally intimate…the exact kind of story that feels like it belongs in Luna & Lavender universe.
The Heart of the Story
The novel follows Hajime, a man who appears to have built a good, steady life…yet finds himself haunted by the memory of his childhood friend, Shimamoto.
Their connection was gentle, pure, and strangely profound - two lonely kids who found solace in each other. But life separated them. And now, decades later, she reappears like a ghost from another timeline.
Murakami never confirms what’s real and what’s imagined. Shimamoto becomes less of a person and more of a symbol - everything Hajime lost, everything he never said, everything he still longs for.
The book is quiet, but emotionally loaded. It’s about unfinished business of the heart. The “what if”.
Why It Belongs in the Luna & Lavender Reading List
This novel is soft but piercing.
Gentle but unsettling.
Beautiful but aching.
It captures themes we love exploring:
Unspoken connections
How some people mark us without even trying.
Memory as a living thing
Not just something we recall, but something that shapes who we become.
The feeling of “being pulled” by something you can’t fully explain
A doorway into a different version of your life - or yourself.
Emotional nostalgia
The type of longing that isn’t sad…just deeply human.
A Favorite Quote:
“Sometimes when I look at the moon, I feel consumed by nostalgia. And I wonder what we’re all really looking for.”
This line captures the entire ache of the novel - and the quiet beauty of longing that never fully leaves us.
Who This Book Is Perfect For
Choose this if you love:
atmospheric, dreamlike novels
character-driven emotional stories
books about memory, fate, or quiet longing
a soft, reflective reading experience
anything gently mysterious with a hint of surreal
Your Reflection Prompt
What memory or connection from your past still lives quietly inside you? And what has it taught you about who you are now?