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BOOK REVIEW - NORWEIGAN WOOD

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Books like Norwegian Wood are not normally my cup of tea. Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 and Kafka On The Shore have been on my reading list for a long, and it just so happened that my library had a copy of Norwegian Wood. After reading several reviews, I decided to give it a try.

Toru Watanabe, a university student living in Tokyo after the death of his lone high school buddy, Kizuki, is the protagonist of Norwegian Wood, a film set in Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, is also a major character in the story. Kizuki's death is what connects Toru and Naoko, even though each character carries their own personal baggage.



As a matter of fact, the novel's premise is so simple that it could seem like a cop-out to suggest that it represents life itself. While Toru is at school, he is also engaged in different sexual experiences with other characters. Toru's life isn't anything out of the ordinary, and he doesn't fit the mold of a typical hero. Norwegian Wood, on the other hand, is endearing because of its focus on the human condition. As a reader, I found Murakami's delicate yet exact use of words and the careless character qualities charming, and at times even laughed out loud, despite the work being far off from a comedy.



To continue living, we must accept the fact that the deceased will always be dead.



It doesn't matter where you live or what time period Norwegian Wood is set in; the topics and ideas it presents are eternal and influence everyone, no matter what historical period they live in. With whom will you fall in love and spend the rest of your life? In addition to how I want to conduct my own life, how will I deal with the end of others' lives?



To some extent, this is a coming-of-age story, but it's also what I'd call New ãdül†/Realistic Fiction because of the way Toru deals with all of these issues while in college. I could relate to a lot of what Murakmai was saying since, like him, I was a college student dealing with loss, suffering, and relapse, which is a stage that many people don't want to admit. As a parent, it's hard to see loved ones spiral out of control, no matter how much you care about them.



Even though none of these individuals were very likable, they felt like genuine people to me. While Toru is a recluse, he has a strong connection to the people and places he inhabits. In my opinion, his calm demeanor made him a good lead character. There is the enigmatic Naoko, the girl whose past intersects with Toru's, and the girl who is essentially Toru's love interest throughout the narrative. For me, the connection between Toru and Naoko does not represent a good one, but rather shows how mental health affects a relationship. The stress and sorrow of watching Naoko's unpredictable mental state is depicted.



Midori, on the other hand, can serve as a counterpoint to Naoko. A university student at the same school as Toru, Midori flirts with him. Naoko, on the other hand, keeps her identity secret. Later in the narrative, Toru meets Naoko's roommate, Reiko Ishida. Aside from Toru's weird roommate, "Stormtrooper," and Nagasawa, Toru's pompous and affluent university acquaintance, the tale had a lot of color. No character seemed like an afterthought or a throwaway in this story. My opinion is that the characters helped convey the notion of how we may put on a different mask depending on who we are and what we do. In order to feel secure enough to open up to someone, you need to know about their background, their skeletons in the closet, and their secrets.



When I first heard the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood," I wondered why this work was titled that way. Only once in the story was it referenced, and I was curious enough to check up the lyric online. I think this song has a lot to do with Toru and Naoko's love and the novel's bittersweet/melancholic tone. There is a strong emphasis on music in the story, with Toru making frequent allusions to songs and even working at a record store. Norwegian Wood has a lot of music in it, and I think that's because music is universal. Regardless of our age, we've all listened to music at some point to cope with stress or to escape from reality for a few moment. When it comes to the power of music, one song may bring back memories of both joy and sorrow.



The novel's climax is what really bothers me about it. Though I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, the conclusion didn't quite seem like it to me. Murakami's "open" conclusion in Norwegian Wood, however, is becoming more and more apparent to me as I contemplate on the novel. That there is no end to life or that our ends are not so final. Toru's journey from university to adulthood, as seen through the eyes of his recollections, intrigues me, but I'll never know. The fact that we don't know everything about the individuals we encounter in our life is an appropriate metaphor, in my opinion.



Is this the best book I've read? I don't think so, but I would suggest it to others. Norwegian Wood's themes aren't for the faint of heart, so if you're looking for something light and fluffy, I'd steer clear of it. It's a novel I wouldn't reread, but it sparked a lot of thought and re-examination for me. Our lives will be shaped by our relationships with loved ones who are no longer in our sphere of influence, and there will be moments in our lives when we make or witness mistakes that we can't undo. Neither forward nor backward is possible. There is a nostalgic quality to the characters' interactions, as they reminisce about the past and how it shaped them. That process of change isn't easy, but reading about it brought these individuals to life. If Murakami's writing is as beautiful and evocative as it is to me, I'd want to read more of it.
 

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