Norwegian Wood

it was alright but kind of manic pixie dream girl-ish

It’s refreshing to read about morally ambiguous/wrong characters that have trauma they haven’t fully dealt with and how that effects the decisions they make and what lives they lead. Personally, it was very interesting and at times very funny and odd.

Upon picking up Murakami's Norwegian Wood, I wasn't sure if I would be crazy about it--I've read most of his other works and enjoyed them greatly. I knew that Norwegian Wood deviated from his typical formula, and even included a non-divorced, 20 year-old narrator instead of the typical 37 year-old, single man. So I wasn't sure what to expect.I was astounded by this book. Murakami does a superb job of capturing emotions and putting them into words. The character he introduces are beyond fleshed out, to the point where you feel as if you know them. The entire storyline is gripping, and will you leave you wishing the book wasn't only 300 pages. It's difficult to describe the beauty of this book without desiring to quote passages, or even ask the reader to finish the entire book before discussing it's strengths. I highly suggest this book to anyone who has ever loved and felt powerful emotion. You will find a buoy in the ocean of feeling and be amazed at how absorbed you will become in Murakami's story.Rating: 10/10

I had read and enjoyed Haruki Murakami's tetralogy (Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, A Wild Sheep Chase, and Dance Dance Dance), and I loved his Wind-Up Bird Chronicle novel, but I was ready for something new. In reviews and on websites, I had read over and over about Norwegian Wood, the "straightforward" novel that was published years ago in Japan, which still was not for sale in the states, since there was not an authorized translation available. This novel sold a HUGE number of copies in Japan. I was wondering: I love those other novels by Murakami. Are they so demanding? Complicated? If Norwegian Wood is so much simpler than the other novels, will I even like Norwegian Wood?The plot: It's the late 1960's. College student Toru falls in love with the girlfriend of his (dead) best friend. She eventually becomes ill (though not physically ill) and has to leave to live under special circumstances, far away from him. While she's gone, he meets Midori, a college student who obviously is interested in him. But he's holding out for his girlfriend Naoko. Never knowing if she will recover from her ailment and be able to rejoin him in society, he goes to classes, sells phonograph records at night, and spends some time with Midori. He visits Naoko a few times, gets to know her wacky roommate/friend/mentor Reiki, and eventually he has to decide between a life with Naoko (without Naoko?) or with Midori. Throw in a bizarre Geography-major roommate nicknamed "Storm Trooper," a scene where Midori (badly) sings folk songs to our Toru while they watch a neighborhood fire from the balcony above her parents' bookshop, and assorted other hilarious/bizarre characters and passages, and you've got vintage Haruki Murakami.My favorite scene is one in which Midori takes Toru to visit her ill father in the hospital. He's so ill he can barely eat or speak, but Toru convinces Midori to enjoy a respite, and take a walk by herself out to a park in town. Toru is left alone with this bedridden stranger, in a situation that would seem forced, harsh, and impossible to enjoy, yet they make some very odd and touching inroads with each other. It's very unusual, and perfect in just the way that so many of Murakami's scenes seem to be.The novel isn't as complex as Haruki's other work, and it's missing some of the magical realist / sci-fi / unexplainable elements that were so prevalent in Dance Dance Dance, Wild Sheep Chase, and Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. However, this novel is just as enjoyable, and just as worthwhile. This novel has a sustained emotional depth that other works by Murakami only achieve in passages. If you're a fan of modern literature at all, do yourself a favor. Read Norwegian Wood, and read Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. ken32

How should I start. I first read this book 7 years ago in its Chinese translation. But after reading this newly published version it all came back to me. All the sad feelings and the helplessness. This book is just too wonderful it's beyond description. And I can't help falling into the roles in the story while listening to the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood". You have to get your hand on this book (preferably the Biritish versionto feel it for yourself. I agree with one of the reviews here this book do feel like J.D. Salinger "Catcher in the Rye". Murakami sort of admitted it himself by writing a line mentioning the book. But "Norwegian Wood" is so powerful in its own way bewteen life and dead; love and hate. This book is a lot more than its protracted images of a love story of a Tokyo college student, although it's more of a guy's romance. Its odd sex patterns and almost frequent suicides mark the authenticity of Japanese culture while strongly persevere the usual influence of American literature and culture in Murakami's works. Maybe it has something to do with Murakami being born in Kobe, a wide-open trading port where Western cultures were available in the early 1900s. Anyway, the reason I am writing this review (at 3:30 a.m.) is that I just can't fall asleep after reading it, even it's the second time in 7 years.

Murakami fans new and old rejoice and give your wallet and heart a break!! Norwegian Wood will be published for the US in the year 2000. This is confirmed in interviews and by the office of Murakami. The month is unkown but wait a little longer for this wonderful, wonderful tale brought to you by a genius. If you don't own this book when it comes out you better have a good excuse on judgement day!!