Gefährliche Geliebte

Hajime lives like millions of Japanese: in orderly circumstances, successful in business. He runs a jazz club in a trendy district of Tokyo, is married, and has two daughters. One evening, Shimamoto, his first love with whom he once immersed himself in the world of music, approaches the bar. She appears like a hallucination, always shrouded in mystery on rainy evenings, and with her enchanting smile, she touches the long-lost strings within Hajime. Gradually, she pulls him out of his seemingly perfect world until he is finally ready to sacrifice everything for her.

"Anything is possible with Haruki Murakami. His books are a successful blend of Zen and Coca-Cola," a reviewer once wrote. Here, it's jazz and cocktails that bring the Western flair. And if one thinks of Zen as the art of archery, Murakami goes a step further. His art lies not only in hitting the target but in shooting the arrow in such a way that it remains suspended in the air.