This is yet another book where the main love interest of the main character (named for a change!) commits a suicide! Wow! Murakami would have probably been censored today because so many of his leading women commit a suicide (one way or another, even if it is not explicit stated, it is strongly implied both here and in Sputnik Sweetheart). I wonder why this pattern in his works. Maybe he had someone in his life whom he loved and who committed a suicide? Or maybe he is killing off his leading ladies so he doesn't fall in temptation himself to leave his wife - sacrificing them and his own feelings symbolically.
This is a great short book, in line with Murakami's personal writings on life, love, sex, growing up and finding one's places in the world. Hajime and Shimamoto are hanging out as 12 year old children, although Shimamoto has one leg shorter than the other because of Polio. They go to different schools and Hajime is too afraid to contact her and he has another girlfriend in high school Izumi, who doesn't want to have vaginal sex, although she is OK with HJs and BJs. Hajime eventually has a wild sex with Izumi's first cousin, and when Izumi finds out she breaks off all contact with him and isolates herself. Later in life she becomes a scary spinster of whom children are afraid and she sends Hajime invitation for the funeral of her cousin who died young and unmarried.
Hajime goes on to marry Yukiko after college, a daughter of a wealthy developer and shady speculator. They have two children and Hajime opens two Jazz bars which become famous, but he has never forgotten about Shimamoto, and he follows a beautiful woman who is lame on the same leg one day, until an older man accosts him and offers him 100,000 yen to forget about the woman he followed. Eventually Shimamoto visits one of Hajime's bars, but never tells him anything about her past or how she makes money, although it is obvious that she lives in luxury without doing any work.
Although Hajime cheated on his wife quite a few times, they were all physical, but with Shimamoto it is emotional too. Shimamoto goes with Hajime to spread the ashes of her premature born baby in a river that flows to the sea, and then they spend one night in Hajime's cottage, making love and telling each other everything they wanted since they were kids. Hajime promises Shimamoto that he will leave his family, children and everything for her. The next day she is gone, and the allusion is that she committed suicide so that she doesn't ruin Hajime's existing life. Yukiko first rejects Hajime and has him sleep on the couch, but eventually takes him back by the end of the book.
The theme here and in many other novels and stories (honey pie in After the Quake) is that a sensitive boy is in love with a beautiful and sensitive girl since they are children or teenagers, but doesn't do anything to tell her about his love, although he feels that she loves him too but is too afraid to lose what he has with her in case of rejection. Eventually the beautiful and sensitive girl gets tired of waiting and goes off with the next guy who proposes to her, who is usually powerful, rich or otherwise blessed with societal success. Then eventually the girl realizes that the power guy is not for her, or he dumps her for the next one, and then she goes back to her original love, who by now has spent most of his life pining for her and suffering and eventually they get together, in some way.
All of the above could have been completely and utterly avoided if the sensitive and beautiful girl expressed her love for the sensitive boy FIRST, and be the one who made the first move. However, such idea seems to be a taboo nearing sacrilege in Japanese culture and psyche. Oh, well.
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