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A review by thesinginglights
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
5.0
Review from 28th July 2014
This is book is about a lot of things. About loss, love, and death, about growing up. Toru Watanabe occupies a very secluded space, separate from most people. His only two friends are Kizuki and his girlfriend Naoko who Toru is hopelessly in love with. After Kizuki's suicide, Toru begins to detach himself completely, hiding in his shell. Your late teens are already a precarious time, but paired with death both of those characters suffered greatly. Kizuki's death a hole inside of Naoko, which she talks about in the shape of a well--something that only stops being a problem when she's with Toru.
Toru and Naoko
After being apart for a while the two reconnect. Often when they hang out they spend a long time walking, mostly aimlessly (indeed at one point she asks Toru where they were and he replies that he was following her around). She seems to search endlessly for something, perhaps an end to her suffering. For Toru, she represents the past, and possibly can never move into the future as her world was irreparably shattered after Kizuki's death.
The book takes you through many isolated worlds, the non-important people often just filling out the background. Eventually he has to learn that isolating himself will do him no good; that he must navigate his swamp and move forwards.
Can't get enough of this book. Funny, touching, and sometimes extremely haunting (the story with Hatsumi) this is one of my favourite books. I do have to say that I don't like his endings. Murakami is a discovery writer, I think, meaning he doesn't really plan the direction of the story; they just reveal themselves to him. I don't mind this (especially when writing myself) but the lack of planning leaves for dry, tasteless endings. After such an emotionally rich journey, I feel almost cheated.
from 23rd March 2013
This book resonates with a spirit of such emotion that I could hardly put it down.
Of course I had to, but still. I found myself identifying almost instantly with Toru and throughout the course of the book was much intrigued with the interesting characters that he comes across. I really liked Nagasawa and Midori the most. Then again, I really liked Reiko as well. And Storm Trooper and Naoko. All of them, then. All very memorable.
This was really written with care and is highly enjoyable.
This is book is about a lot of things. About loss, love, and death, about growing up. Toru Watanabe occupies a very secluded space, separate from most people. His only two friends are Kizuki and his girlfriend Naoko who Toru is hopelessly in love with. After Kizuki's suicide, Toru begins to detach himself completely, hiding in his shell. Your late teens are already a precarious time, but paired with death both of those characters suffered greatly. Kizuki's death a hole inside of Naoko, which she talks about in the shape of a well--something that only stops being a problem when she's with Toru.
Toru and Naoko
After being apart for a while the two reconnect. Often when they hang out they spend a long time walking, mostly aimlessly (indeed at one point she asks Toru where they were and he replies that he was following her around). She seems to search endlessly for something, perhaps an end to her suffering. For Toru, she represents the past, and possibly can never move into the future as her world was irreparably shattered after Kizuki's death.
The book takes you through many isolated worlds, the non-important people often just filling out the background. Eventually he has to learn that isolating himself will do him no good; that he must navigate his swamp and move forwards.
Can't get enough of this book. Funny, touching, and sometimes extremely haunting (the story with Hatsumi) this is one of my favourite books. I do have to say that I don't like his endings. Murakami is a discovery writer, I think, meaning he doesn't really plan the direction of the story; they just reveal themselves to him. I don't mind this (especially when writing myself) but the lack of planning leaves for dry, tasteless endings. After such an emotionally rich journey, I feel almost cheated.
from 23rd March 2013
This book resonates with a spirit of such emotion that I could hardly put it down.
Of course I had to, but still. I found myself identifying almost instantly with Toru and throughout the course of the book was much intrigued with the interesting characters that he comes across. I really liked Nagasawa and Midori the most. Then again, I really liked Reiko as well. And Storm Trooper and Naoko. All of them, then. All very memorable.
This was really written with care and is highly enjoyable.