Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood 

(ノルウェイの森 Noruwei no Mori)

Haruki Murakami, Japan, 1987

I had been looking for this particular book for so long until I accidentally stumbled upon it in 'Books&Beyond' near my home. It took me pretty long to read it, not because the amount of pages but because how busy college had been making me. To tell you the truth I was interested in this book only because its title. "Norwegian Wood". its title is taken from one of my favorite The Beatles song.

Norwegian Wood is set in Tokyo, 1960. The protagonist and narrator of the story is Toru Watanabe. This story starts when a mid-aged Toru accidentally hears 'Norwegian Wood' and it leads him to reminiscing his youth in 1960s. Toru is a just a regular high school student when his best friend, Kizuki, commits suicide. The death of Kizuki changes his life forever. It draws him closer with Naoko. Naoko is Kizuki's girlfriend, preferably soulmate. She is a beautiful girl, yet she is emotionally unstable and fragile. As the time goes by, they try to move on with their life. However, the loss of Kizuki becomes too much for Naoko to handle and so she moves away, to a place where she could try to find peace within her self. Meanwhile in college, Toru meets a woman, Midori. She's free-spirited, carefree, and passionate. She's the opposite of Naoko. But no matter how much he's attracted to her, Naoko still owns him.

This story tells about loss, grief, passion, patience, and most of all Loneliness. I would say 'love' but I'm not really sure. The plot is very simple yet memorable. It sounds light but it's not. It deals with deep, mature matters. It's definitely not a classic triangle love story. 

The characters are very complex and realistic. All the characters have their own part to play in the story. none of them is a filler character. None of them got to waste.

This book can be depressing, but at the same time it can also be evoking hopes. Between those gloomy and sad pages, there are some pages which make you think "it will be alright".

The first time I started reading this book I became uninterested, I didn't understand the characters and I felt it was kind of boring. But, as I continued on reading, I couldn't help but wanting to read more of it. I eventually understood Toru's point of view and the other characters' complexity. I couldn't relate to the story at all, but somehow all the characters and conditions feels so realistic.

Maybe some of you are wondering what it has to do with The Beatles' Norwegian Wood. Well, for instance I'd like to point out that this song is played a lot in the story.

“That song can make me feel so sad,” said Naoko. “I don't know, I guess I imagine myself wandering in a deep wood. I'm all alone and it's cold and dark, and nobody comes to save me. That's why Reiko never plays it unless I request it.”
- Naoko about Norwegian Wood

However, after you read the book I'm pretty sure you'll see how this song really represents the whole story. In my opinion the melodies and the lyrics of this song fit the book perfectly. 

by the way, one of my favorite thing about this book is how often it quotes The Beatles' song. It feels like a slight of sunshine between the all storms.



This book is definitely worth reading, one of the best book I've read.

3.75/5


if you're interested in reading it, I recommend you to also listen to the song :)
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For your warning this books is filled with many sexual contents & suicidal people. It's absolutely not recommended for anyone under 18. Even I honestly felt a little uncomfortable reading it.