A newly translated novel from the bestselling Japanese author, whose works include }Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle{ and }IQ84{. It sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan, and its hardback publication was a much-anticipated literary event. It's a return to Murakami's lyrical realism of }Norwegian Wood{, but set in contemporary Japan. Now in paperback. 'Murakami has established himself as the unofficial laureate of Japan' }The New York Times Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names contained a colour. The two boys were called Akamatsu, meaning 'red pine', and Oumi, 'blue sea', while the girls' names were Shirane, 'white root', and Kurono, 'black field'. Tazaki was the only last name with no colour in it.One day Tsukuru Tazaki's friends announced that they didn't want to see him, or talk to him, ever again.Since that day Tsukuru has been floating through life, unable to form intimate connections with anyone. But then he meets Sara, who tells him that the time has come to find out what happened all those years ago.