Author: Haruki Murakami
Translated by: Jay Rubin
Published: 1987 (Japan), 2000 (USA) Vintage Press
Genre: Coming of Age, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
When Haruki Murakami's latest collection of short stories "1Q84" came out this past fall I did not even give it a second glance after skimming reviews. As a matter of fact, I didn't even bother to look up any other works by this Japanese author. Little did I know he was bestselling author worldwide. My Japanese pen pal and I share a common love: books. When I asked her what her favorite novel was the reply was "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami. My interest became piqued because I knew the author's name and went and looked it up. Finding the premises of the novel very interesting I purchased it on my kindle.
"Norwegian Wood" takes place in late 1960's Tokyo, Japan after a tragedy breaks up a trio of friends. Unable to form bonds outside their small group Toru Watanabe and his dead friend's girlfriend, Naoko, cling to each other. Unable to cope Naoko finds herself becoming mentally unhinged and seeks help in a small country sanitarium. Toru promises to wait for her but in the outside world he starts to form new bonds. He struggles to find himself in a world that before had been so heavily rooted in the companionship of one individual. Toru discovers the metamorphosis of life as he learns one can never be the same they were.
Murakami's writing is filled with such concrete, vivid, descriptions that every reader will be able to imagine the crowded subway stations, the college campus, the swanky love hotels, and the variety of bars Toru visits. His psychologically complex characters are brought to life with simple and poetic language. Murkami's simplistic and yet forceful plot makes the characters consider how delicate the balance between humans is. Readers will be left contemplating how delicate and yet powerfully connected their life is to the other people they allow in.
I have a paperback copy of this novel now. A movie adaption was released in Japan in 2010. In May 2012 it will be released with subtitles in the USA on DVD. I am looking forward to seeing the movie as much as I am about reading the novel again someday.
(#5 of the 100 Book Challenge)
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