“The song can make me feel so sad”….”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” — while playing “norwegian wood” by the beatles.
“Norwegian Wood” derives its name from the famous Beatles song and this book is responsible for making Murakami the star he is today. Hugely popular among youth at that time, this is a dark story of loss and nostalgia. A straightforward romantic novel which doesn’t involve cats (yes, no cats) and magical transformations which are typical to Murakami’s books, the story demands patience to be enjoyed, all the hidden sadness and gloom seeps out during the later parts of the book otherwise the story feels plain.
The story which is set in 1960–70s Tokyo is character driven largely told from the point of view of Toru Watanabe. Toru is trying to get over the suicide of his bestfriend and so is Naoka — the girlfriend of his dead friend. The elements of longing shine through as Naoka and Toru both base their decisions in life centered around their dead friend. Naoka is a sad person whereas Toru is someone who can go around masking his gloom and sadness through his sexual endeavours he undertakes alongwith his friend — Nagasawa. This complex plot of their lives in which Naoka goes to this countryside to seek healing where she meets Reiko, Nagasawa subtly cheating on his partner Hatsumi and an incoherent potential romantic pursuit between Toru and Midori makes this a compelling read. One also gets a sneak peak into the 60–70s college life and political scenario in Japan. The book relies heavily on sex and sexuality with a lot of references to incidents which could trigger a lot of readers.
The story is plain and monotonous, however the characters will put your mind to thinking a lot of stuff. How Toru manages his depression while getting caught in emotions and the indifference of Nagasawa to emotions is deeply engrossing. All in all, the story is intense — might be astronomically disturbing to read for a lot of readers whereas some might find it plain and boring. I liked it and many parts disturbed me, however the final parts are what makes this book standout as a true masterpiece and an affirmation of the skills of Murakami.
