“Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage” is a novel by the much applauded author Haruki Murakami who wrote the nationally acclaimed novels “1Q84” and “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle”.

The story is told from a third person perspective, following the past and present of Tsukuru Tazaki, a man who wants desperately to understand why his life came to a drastic turning point 16 years ago.

In the early 1990s Japan, the young Tsukuru was a fan of train stations. In high school he had four best friends, two boys and two girls who all had a color as part of their surnames as well as distinct and vibrant personalities, leaving him the “colorless” one of their friend group. But, during his second year in college, his friends abruptly cut all relationships with him without ever telling him why.

That never-explained betrayal left him feeling depressed as well as guilty. He somehow believed it was because he was “colorless” therefore destined to be always alone.

Fast forward, the 36-year-old Tazakiis now working for a railroad company and builds stations. His current girlfriend Sara encourages him to revisit his friends and find out what happened 16 years ago, because she won’t commit to him unless he can move past that issue. And so he will visit them one by one, first back in Nagoya, then in rural Finland, on a quest for truth, his own identity, their identity and ultimately, a pilgrimage for happiness.

The book was a brilliant combination of mystery and realism, coming face to face with the emotions of the “average Joe” and the journey a person takes to pursue happiness. The reader is taken on a journey of not only self-discovery, but on Tazaki’s mission to unravel the strange events that led to his isolation. Tazaki will encounter old love, new love and unlikely friendships. In his journey to his past, he also paved a road into his future, traveling to places he would have never ventured.

Dreamlike, yet filled with vibrant clarity, the novel is one of Haruki Murakami’s best works. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to wants a unique novel with a fresh perspective on love, friendship, humanity and the pursuit of happiness.