This was my first Murakami and after Ben from Dead End Follies told me Norwegian Wood was a good place to start with this author, I jumped right in. Now I know what all the fuss is about. I enjoyed this novel more than any other book I have read this year. I was worried the novel would be extremely complex, but it's actually quite straightforward and accessible.
Norwegian Wood introduces us to Toru Watanabe, a man who recalls his freshman year of college in Tokyo when he hears The Beatles song Norwegian Wood on a plane; a year filled with complicated relationships and psychological instability, a year he experienced feelings "he would never know again".
On the surface Norwegian Wood is a love story, a very organic one at that. Put simply, Toru is caught between two women; one of his past that remains in his present, and one that can propell him into the future:
I have always loved Naoko, and I still love her. But there is a decisive finality to what exists between Midori and me. It has an irresistible power that is bound to sweep me into the future. What I feel for Naoko is a tremendously quiet and gentle and transparent love, but what I feel for Midori is a wholly different emotion. It stands and walks on its own, living and breathing and throbbing and shaking me to the roots of my being.But it's really much more than just a love story. It's about memory and the memory of love, and how it stays with us even when the one we love is gone. It's about coping with death and sorrow, and understanding life while trying to find your place in this imperfect the world. It's about loneliness and isolation and the innate human desire to form unique relationships.
Sometimes I feel like a caretaker of a museum - a huge empty museum where no one ever comes, and I'm watching over it for no one but myself.A high-five goes to Ben for this one - a remarkably inimitable read.
Publisher: Vintage International, 1987
Translated by Jay Rubin
I've had this on the TBR shelf for years. I am a little intimidated by Murakami -- I read a couple of his short stories during Readathon last weekend and found them a little surreal and a slightly disturbing.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Murakami virus keeps spreading. My job is done here...MUAHAHAHAHA!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. I love this book so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteI've not read any Murakami either. It seems like this would be a good place for me to start :)
ReplyDeleteMurakami is the best! Definitely read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - it is one of his best! So glad you enjoyed Norwegian Wood.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Murakami yet, but I do have The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles sitting on my desk right now. I keep on putting it off because I am afraid that it'll be super complex, but now with what you've said, I feel more confident in it.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite of the Murakami that I've read. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI'm still late on the Murakami bandwagon. I'm aware he's got quite the cult following. I can't say I'll pick it up anytime soon, but your statement of it's relating the memory of love after it's disappeared is something I feel everyone can understand. It seems a bit gloomy, but I enjoyed reading your insightful review and will let you know when I take my first steps!
ReplyDeleteIsn't Murakami wonderful? This was probably his most straightforward book but it was the first one I read and a very good introduction to his work. Two years after reading Norwegian book, I've gone through almost everything he's written and am waiting anxiously for 1Q84 to be released in the fall. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI have this hanging around my place for ages. I think I'm waiting to be in the right mood for it as I heard it was complex and needed concentration.
ReplyDeleteI read Norwegian Wood some time ago and when I think about it might be the one I loved best until now. I also enjoyed Kafka on the Shore. Wind-Up-Bird-Chronicle and Hard Boiled Wonderland are more surreal. I reviewed Hard Boiled Wonderland
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Between this review and all the back and forth about Murakami on Twitter, I really feel like I need to read this one. It sounds fantastic and not as intimidating as I initially thought.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you read Murakami and liked it! This probably is the least intimidating, most straightforward book of his. Hopefully you'll try a bit more. I'd say probably this one, After Dark, and Hard Boiled Wonderland are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like it has just the themes Murakami is known for. I'm glad you enjoyed it - I read Sputnik Sweetheart and the Wind Up Bird Chronicles a few years ago and loved his eerie, fantastical style. This and Kafka on the Shore are probably next, as far as Murakami goes. Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Brenna. Maybe I'll start my Summer'o'Murakami with this one too - since you enjoyed it so much. I love the idea of a book centered on the idea of the memory of love. (Does that make sense?)
ReplyDeleteThis was my first Murakami, too! I looooved it and have gone on to read a couple others since then. Also very good.
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