Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

 

When we are introduced to Tsukuru Tazaki, he can think of no reason to go on living.  He has no appetite, no sex drive, and has trouble sleeping. 

"When it was time to sleep, he’d gulp down a glass of whiskey as if it were a dose of medicine.  Luckily he wasn’t much of a drinker, and a small dose of alcohol was all it took to send him off to sleep.  He never dreamed.  But even if he had dreamed, even if dreamlike images arose from the edges of his mind, they would have found nowhere to perch on the slippery slopes of his consciousness, instead quickly sliding off, down into the void."

The narrator's depression was caused when his four best friends suddenly decided to cut all ties with him.  The group of friends met in high school and quickly became inseparable.  However, Tsukuru always felt like he somehow didn't belong.  He was the only one in the group whose last name did not include a color in its meaning, and Tsukuru himself felt colorless and unremarkable.   After high school Tsukuru moved to Tokyo to attend a Architectural Design school.  He kept in close contact with his friends until the day that they all mysteriously stopped taking his calls.  Years later, Tsukuru goes on a pilgrimage to confront his former friends and find out why they abandoned him. 

Like millions of other readers around the world, I am a huge fan of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami and have read most of his published work.  Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is not as surreal as some of his other books, but it always maintains a dreamlike quality.  This is not a book you read for the plot.  This is a book you read for the fascinating characters and for Murakami’s minimalist yet profound style.  But what should you drink while enjoying the novel? Whisky.*

If you’re going to gulp it down like medicine as Tsukuru does, then any old bottle will do.  However, I suggest investing in a good Japanese whisky produced by Suntory or Nikka.  Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky is made mostly from corn and is distilled using a continuous “Coffey Still” imported from Scotland.  While most Japanese whiskys have a taste profile similar to Scotch, this whisky is somewhat sweet and is likely to please Bourbon drinkers.   

* Whisky or whiskey?  Different countries spell it differently.  Here's a trick:  if the English name of the country contains an “e” (The United States, Ireland) so does the “whiskey”.  If the country has no “e” (Scotland, Canada, Japan, India) it’s spelled “whisky”.  It doesn’t work for every country, but it takes care of the big producers.