Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Norwegian Wood is a poignant novel that revolves around Toru Watanabe, a young man navigating the complexities of love and loss in 1960s Tokyo. The story unfolds through his memories of two pivotal women – Naoko and Midori – as Toru reflects on his university years and his life.
Toru is very easy-going, pretty much just go-with-the-flow that type of person, it reminds me a lot of The Catcher in the Rye, even its theme.
Naoko is the girlfriend of Toru's deceased friend, Kizuki. Their relationship is bonded by emotional depth and a shared sense of sorrow, stemming from their connection to Kizuki. Naoko struggles with mental health. While Toru has been there for her, it illustrates the challenges of coping with grief and the search for identity for oneself. In my opinion, the experiences with Naoko in the story represents Toru’s past.
In contrast, Midori, who he met in university, is lively, independent, and represents a path to a more vibrant life, offering him a different perspective on love and relationships.
Throughout the novel, Toru grapples with his feelings for both women, reflecting on his own experiences of desire, alienation, loss, loneliness, and the inevitability of change. What annoys me most is how indecisive Toru is, as if juggling between the two women because he fails to find himself, his true self, and what he wants in life. It seems that he can’t choose between his past and his present, which leads him unable to decide for what’s held ahead of him in his future.
Set against the backdrop of student protests and the cultural upheaval of the time, Norwegian Wood also explores themes of nostalgia, memory, and the transient nature of life. The story ultimately leads Toru on a journey of self-discovery as he contemplates the impact of love and loss on his existence.
This is the second Haruki Murakami book I’ve read. I see the similarity between the two books, where it both explores the ideas of finding the self, and the self of feelings lost in life, laying out the intricacies of human emotion.
The story didn’t give me a much of a woah. It doesn’t really have a certain high of its plot. It explores more of each character’s unique personality, inviting readers to engage with the characters’ struggles on a personal level. I believe this will resonate more to those who have lost a special someone and have experienced the bittersweet pangs of reminiscence and growing up; this book will draw closer to them. This leads to Murakami’s writing. While this book is quite an easy read, Murakami’s writing style always holds a lasting impact to readers, such as the way he describes Tokyo's landscape and the emotions imbued within it, making his work to resonate to a wide range of readers one way or another.
Overall, Norwegian Wood is a profound meditation on the nature of love, loss, and the passage of time. It captures a sense of longing that is both universal and deeply personal, making it a significant work within Murakami’s oeuvre and a timeless read for those who appreciate literary fiction.
