Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami Review (No Spoilers)
It’s been three days since I read Norwegian wood By Haruki Murakami and it is still with me in the forms and shapes of something I can’t touch but can feel. Today, I’ll do my best to explain why You should read Norwegian wood even if you don’t like reading, but first, let me give you a little background story of the Author.
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer who paved his way to readers' hearts in 1987 with his fifth book Norwegian Wood. Named after The Beatle's classic Song with the same title, I felt as if the title belonged to the book; it completed it.
I fell in love with Murakami’s style of writing, it was as If I was looking at the pictures he had drawn and not reading the lines. The Book Norwegian Wood is a masterpiece. It’s not a biased option because this is my first Haruki Murakami book, sure I had done my proper research before diving into the book, but no amount of research will prepare you for the amount of time your heart will ache while reading. This is how good it was.
This is the Book review of ‘Norwegian wood by Haruki Murakami’:
The book opens with the lead protagonist, 37 y/o Toru hearing ‘Norwegian Wood’ on flight and how it brings back the memories of his youth, especially of Naoko, the girl he Loved. He thinks about his time he moved from his hometown of Kobe to Tokyo to study at Waseda University shortly after losing his best friend, Kizuki, to suicide and hence, as he recalls being 20, the story begins.
Norwegian Wood is written in the first-person perspective, reading the first-person perspective of the male protagonist was a new experience for me. I found it helpful in looking at the world from a different viewpoint. The characters especially women took time to get used to because of the complexity they carried but the book is set in a different time so It didn’t bother me as much as the events that these characters manifested in the book, having said that, Being set in 1970 Tokyo, It painted a little door that opened in old japan and took me to beautiful towns, hills, and cities of Japan in such a subtle way that I started to long for the places in japan with fireflies, jazz clubs, and winter snow before realizing it.
Suicide and emotions that linger long after were a massive discussion throughout the book. it was as if, all the broken souls were trying to hold on to life through each other. there is a line in the book that says, “death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it” and I guess it pretty much sums it all up.
In face of despair, the book assured that Things get better if we learn to love, live, and let go. I’m so glad I read the book because it indeed gave me clarity on things I did not know I needed a better understanding of. I loved this book. and I wish I had read the book sooner, but I believe things happen when they’re supposed to, not when you wish them to happen.
PS: I can write a complete summary of characters, but that will have spoilers so… This is it for now. hope you go and enjoy the book, Norwegian Wood.
