Murakami is my favorite writer and he doesn't disappoint here too! Although there is no magical realism in this book, it is still perfectly written and even the most mundane moments like making tea are made interesting. It starts with Tsukuru trying to find out why his four best friends cut him off many years ago when he was still a student. His older girlfriend Sara wants him to clear things before they can move to a serious relationship, so Tsukuru takes vacation from work (he builds Railway Stations) and goes on a pilgrimage to find the truth.
When he speaks to the color-ful friends, the two male ones tell him that one of the girls said he raped her, so they all had to cut contact with him. This, of course is not true, and Tsukuru eventually finds the fourth girl in Finland (the third girl, who said she was raped by Tsukuru was murdered six year prior) and she told him that the third girl had mental health problems and that someone indeed raped her, but she blamed it on him because she needed to blame someone.
Tsukuru eventually goes back to Japan to see Sara, but she is seeing another older man, and she gives her a choice to make in three days between him and the other man. The book ends when Tsukuru is waiting for Sara's call on the third day.
Although the ending is unsatisfying, and there are several threads left unfinished (like with the Death Mark), it is a very deep and interesting I-Novel, in the Japanese and Murakami tradition. Definitely worth the read.
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