Haruki Murakami

Muza SA.

Dorota Marczewska (tłumacz)

Anna Zielińska-Elliott

Norwegian wood

ノルウェイの森 / Noruwei no mori

The tragic death of their best friend has a profound influence on the passionate relationship between Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, and Naoko, an introspective, beauty, as Toru finds himself drawn to an independent, sexually liberated young woman. Original. 50,000 first printing.

Norwegian Wood

Recommendation of Nora, Groningen. Her favorite book. 

Robin Collin

SF. Sutcliffe 

Deeply moving story of love and loss between friends and lovers. Brilliant. 

I love you “enough to melt all the tigers in the world to butter”  -watanabe 

Ayushee

moira

Death exists—in a paperweight, in four red and white balls on a billiard table—and we go on living and breathing it into our lungs like fine dust.

Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life.

Laura

If you only read books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.

"I can never say what I want to say," continued Naoko. "It's been like this for a while now. I try to say something , but all I get are the wrong words - the wrong words or the exact opposite words from what I mean. I try to correct myself, and that only makes it worse. I lose track of what I was going to say to begin with. It's like I'm split in two and playing tag with myself. One half is chasing the other half around this big, fat post. The other me has the right words, but this me can't catch her."

It just happens to be the way I'm made. I have to write things down to feel I fully comprehend them.

Emily

grace

She followed "Norwegian Wood" with a few bossa novas while I kept my eyes on Naoko. As she had said in her letter, she looked healthier than before, suntanned, her body firmed up from exercise and outdoor work. Her eyes were the same deep, clear pools they had always been, and her small lips still trembled shyly, but overall her beauty had begun to change to that of a mature woman. Almost gone now was the sharp edge - the chilling sharpness of a thin blade - that could be glimpsed in the shadows of her beauty, in the place of which there hovered now a uniquely soothing, quiet calm. I felt moved by this new, gentle beauty of hers, and amazed to think that a woman could change so much in the course of half a year. I felt as drawn to her as ever, perhaps more than before, but the thought of what she had lost in the meantime also gave me cause for regret. Never again would she have that self-centered beauty that seems to take its own, independent course in adolescent girls and no one else. 

"You know, when we were shooting pool before, something popped into my mind," I said. "I was an only child, but the whole time I was growing up I never once felt deprived or wished I had brothers or sisters. I was satisfied being alone. But all of a sudden, shooting pool with you, I had this feeling like I wished I had had an elder sister like you - really chic and a knockout in a midnight blue dress and golden earrings and great with a pool cue." 

Hatsumi flashed me a happy smile. "That's got to be the nicest thing anybody's said to me in the past year," she said. "Really."

"All I want for you," I said, blushing, "is for you to be happy. It's crazy, though. You seem like someone who could be happy with just about anybody, so how did you end up with Nagasawa, of all people?"

"You're walking through a field all by yourself one day in spring, and this sweet little bear cub with velvet fur and shiny little eyes comes walking along. And he says to you, 'Hi, there, little lady. Want to tumble with me?' So you and the bear cub spend the whole day in each other's arms, tumbling down this clover-covered hill. Nice, huh?"

But don't get me wrong. I'm not totally mad at you. I'm just sad. You were so nice to me when I was having my problems, but now that you're having yours, it seems there's not a thing I can do for you. You're all locked up in that little world of yours, and when I try knocking on the door, you just sort of look up for a second and go right back inside.

When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.

akshita

Her milk was on the house if she would play the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun", said the girl. Reiko gave her a thumbs up and launched into the song. Hers was not a full voice and too much smoking had given it a husky edge, but it was lovely, with real presence. I almost felt as if the sun really was coming up again as I sat there listening and drinking beer and looking at the mountains. It was a soft, warm feeling.

Emiley Jones

No truth can cure the sadness we feel from losing a loved one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see that sadness through to the end and learn something from it. But what we learn will be no help in facing the next sadness that comes to us without warning. 

If you’re in pitch blackness, all you can do is sit tight until your eyes get used to the dark. 

Thinking back on the year 1969, all that comes to mind for me is a swamp. A deep, sticky bog that feels as if it’s going to suck off my shoe each time I take a step. I walk through the mud exhausted. In front of me, behind me, I can see nothing but the endless darkness of a swamp. Time itself slogged along in rhythm with my faltering steps. The people around me had gone on ahead long before, while my time and I hung back, struggling through the mud.

I have a lot more patience for others than I have for myself, and I’m much better at bringing out the best in others than in myself. That’s just the kind of person I am. I’m the scratchy stuff on the side of the matchbox. But that’s fine with me, I don’t mind at all. Better to be a first class matchbox than a second class match.

The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, then a full minute. Like shadows lengthening at dusk.

john

Read the haunting love story that turned Murakami into a literary superstar. When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past. 'Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around' Time Out 'Such is the exquisite, gossamer construction of Murakami's writing that everything he chooses to describe trembles with symbolic possibility' Guardian 'This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows' Independent on Sunday

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

'But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab every chance for happiness when you find it.'

Letter-writing holds such a prominent place in this novel, one I wasn't expecting when I first started reading. The last third almost becomes entirely epistolary (especially considering Toru is recording these memories from present-day), as he is isolated from the most important people in his life.

At first letter-writing is mentioned by Naoko (p.86) as a freeing, beautiful thing - to sit down to the difficult task of conveying your thoughts, whether successful or not. Their relationship is held together by those letters, strengthening it. Until the last third of the book, when letters become Toru's only lifeline.

It was as if I were writing letters to hold together the crumbling pieces of my life.

There are so many exquisite descriptions in this novel, it’s hard to choose what to quote. His descriptions of the Ami Hostel are particularly striking. 

As before, there was no sign of people present, and there were no sounds of any kind. I felt as if I were living alone in an extremely well-cared-for ruin.

How wonderful it is to be able to write someone a letter! To feel like conveying your thoughts to a person, to sit at your desk and pick up a pen, to put your thoughts into words like this is truly marvelous. Of course, once I do put them into words, I find I can only express a fraction of what I want to say, but that’s all right. I'm happy just to be able to feel I want to write to someone. And so I am writing to you.

The thing he wanted to convey tried to like to make an impact of maybe overshadowed by “going with the flow” character of Watanabe. for sure it's a vigorous episode in the fiction that will make you cry and soothe the broken in you as well. 

there is a fine line between respectfully traversing immorality in fiction & the glorification of it, & this lacks the former. the resounding verdict that murakami fails to write women as .. . Women ..  stems from his inability(?) (possibly by choice) to explore & characterize these female personas any further than sexual beings with barely any defining traits.

again, my issue with this book isn’t the overtly excessive amount of eroticism and/or the detail & poor choices by the characters; those make for beautiful stories, if done well! however, here, it’s not. funnily enough, i think that the overarching theme of grief is never fully explored/is overall lackluster. 

sie llave

there is a fine line between respectfully traversing immorality in fiction & the glorification of it, & this lacks the former. the resounding verdict that murakami fails to write women as .. . Women ..  stems from his inability(?) (possibly by choice) to explore & characterize these female personas any further than sexual beings with barely any defining traits.

again, my issue with this book isn’t the overtly excessive amount of eroticism and/or the detail & poor choices by the characters; those make for beautiful stories, if done well! however, here, it’s not. funnily enough, i think that the overarching theme of grief is never fully explored/is overall lackluster. 

Maureen

If I could describe Norwegian Wood in one word: liberated. Definitely not like the usual books I’ve read, but you can’t remain in your comfort zone forever, right? I think it applies to books as well. I had to look past a lot of things in order to appreciate the book in all its splendor. One thing I really loved was how introspective the protagonist, Toru was. The way he describes his surroundings and feelings is extremely vivid. If you were to lift his words from the story and situate it in this world we live in, it would not make sense. One might think, “nobody actually talks like that.” However, the world Murakami creates is a special one, and so, you must be willing to suspend disbelief to fully immerse yourself in his work. I can’t speak much since this is my first time reading Murakami, but it’s what everyone else is saying. I really am looking forward to reading more.

A Japanese Catcher in the Rye. Toru Watanabe is a character that could match Holden in many ways. The story is catching, but ends up being a little bit dry by the end. You want to get through it as fast as possible. Still great and interesting writing from Murukami as always. His stories always can make you feel like you tasted, smelled, and saw a little of Japan from afar. 

BC Hark

春樹·村上

ノルウェイの森

Katerina

** spoiler alert **
           I found Murakami’s writing intriguing and full of depth. But... this book is not worth more than 3 stars.

“Norwegian Wood” is about a Japanese boy, Toru Watanabe, who slowly steps into adulthood, which carries all the pain and frustration it always does. He is torn between future and past, and clumsily makes his way through life. 

One of the things I found interesting in “Norwegian Wood” was the character’s thoughts on death. They were naive at first and then slowly - more and more real, down to earth even. He comes to terms with what death is. He accepts it. 

One particular quote stayed with me: 

“I tried hard to forget, but there remained inside me a vague knot of air. And as time went by, the knot began to take on a clear and simple form, a form that I am able to put into words, like this: Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life.” 

Murakami writes about life (and its inevitable death) in a deep and beautiful way. I do think this is what I found most fascinating. As well as my love for the Japanese culture.

“Norwegian Wood” takes you to Japan in the 60s - through its small and big cities, the mountains, the politics even, and Tokyo’s different faces each season of the year. You get to experience everything Japan was before, and still is to this day. 

But the plot was not necessarily my thing. I have heard a lot about Murakami’s style and his deep take on life but “Norwegian Wood” wasn’t what I expected. It even disappointed me a little. 

There were too many empty scenes and heavy thoughts that don’t always suit a young boy such as Toru Watanabe. 

And last... after trying to find a deeper meaning in the ending and having to think about it a few days after I closed the book, I can say that I was not fascinated by it. 

I do understand why everything happened the way it did and why it was necessary for all events to take place. I do understand why certain things in life need to happen in order to let go of the past, but this doesn’t make me neither love nor accept the way “Norwegian Wood” ended. 

Perhaps the third star this book receives goes to The Beatles and one of their best songs. Naoko was a sentimental one, after all, and her taste in music didn’t disappoint all the sentimental souls out there. 

(I would love to read more of Murakami, but I do hope I stumble upon something better in the future.)

I was amazed at how Murakami gave the sense of atmosphere and mood impeccably. There were some quotes in the book that made me take a second and say dude Woah. I will be reading more books by him in the future definitely. :D

Lourdes Porta Fuentes

Toru Watanabe, un ejecutivo de 37 años, escucha casualmente mientras aterriza en un aeropuerto europeo una vieja canción de los Beatles, y la música le hace retroceder a su juventud, al turbulento Tokio de finales de los sesenta. Toru recuerda, con una mezcla de melancolía y desasosiego, a la inestable y misteriosa Naoko, la novia de su mejor ûy únicoû amigo de la adolescencia, Kizuki. El suicidio de éste les distancia durante un año hasta que se reencuentran en la universidad. Inician allí una relación íntima; sin embargo, la frágil salud mental de Naoko se resiente y la internan en un centro de reposo. Al poco, Toru se enamora de Midori, una joven activa y resuelta. Indeciso, sumido en dudas y temores, experimenta el deslumbramiento y el desengaño allá donde todo parece cobrar sentido: el sexo, el amor y la muerte. La situación, para él, para los tres, se ha vuelto insostenible; ninguno parece capaz de alcanzar el delicado equilibrio entre las esperanzas juveniles y la necesidad de encontrar un lugar en el mundo.

Tokio Blues

Andrea Morales

4.5 ☆’s

“desde el principio estuvimos unidos en la frontera entre la vida y la muerte.”

“hasta ahora había deseado permanecer eternamente en los diecisiete o dieciocho años. pero ya no lo pretendo. […] he cumplido veinte años. y debo pagar un precio por seguir viviendo.”

hay dos tipos de personas: los que se aferran a la vida y los que se entregan a la muerte. and this book showed both sides perfectly.

update: 5 stars esta madre me dejó mal

Noha Zainal

armoni mayes

i’m so glad to be done with this godforsaken book 
if i had to read one more mechanical ill placed sex scene i was going to gouge my eyes out

Chourouk

It felt surreal to read this with the events that were happening in my life. It helped me face my fears in the most poetic way.

I am sorry I am not the target audience for male characters that think women are a hollow form with a pair of tits

I re-read this book after a long long time and finally i understand......... no, its just desprate episode

kayla

I re-read this book after a long long time and finally i understand......... no, its just desprate episode



Marz 

I'm unsure honestly what to say. While I enjoyed the writing in the beginning and annotated quite a few quotes there was just so many weird and uncomfortable points in this book. 

Firstly unrelated to content this book was a DRAG to read, despite not being that long it felt like it took ages to complete it. The pacing is incredibly slow and it felt like it was just a guy living his mediocre life, just doing things for quite a bit of this book. 

Secondly it's hard for me to ignore the weird pedophilic side story that occurs to Reiko. It honestly unsettled me so much that afterwards the whole book felt a little tainted for me. 

Thirdly I just did not like the way any of the characters were written, especially the women. Toru is just some guy, with no particular interests or aspirations. Midori is some weird manic pixie dream girl type.

I will say though that my experience was not completely negative. I enjoyed the discussion of death and grief, of relationships in early adulthood and growing pains. I really liked Midori's character in the earlier part of the book when she spoke about being a caretaker to her ill father and the snobbyness in how working class people are treated when asking practically about revolution. I wish there was better characterisation and just less weird sex scenes...it would have made this book way better to me.

Jenny Qian

the portrayal of women in this book makes makes me sad.

took me a very long time to finish this book. the writing is captivating, but sometimes i was just like D:

Antonio Bolio

Varias personas me recomendaron este libro. Decidí leerlo antes que las primeras obras de Murakami por esa razón, pero creo que fue un error; no me dejó nada particular la historia.

El personaje principal está rodeado de amistades que se suicidan, que a su vez tienen vidas rodeadas de muerte. Ok, la muerte es parte de la vida, pero sentí que estuvo a punto de ser ridículo.

Storm Trooper-lieber.

Rodrigo Figueiredo Severino

Emotional romance novel about moving on and letting go and accepting life as it comes. It started off a little boring but definitely started picking up trough a cast of very endearing yet tragic characters. The ending was confusing, but hopeful, happy in a sad way. I enjoyed this very nuanced read.

Nabila Azahra

4.5 stars!

Just something about the way Murakami built the story.. it really was breathtaking

muskaan bal

Here's a challenge for Haruki Murakami: Don't be a misogynist for twenty seconds. I think the grotesque way he views women is overlooked simply because of his literary standing.

Aparna

Hey #bookstagram fam💖
The year 2018 has come to an end..
How was your 2018?
How many of you have listened to 'Norwegian wood' by 'The Beatles'?
Do you like the song? 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁
#currentlyread:
Norwegian wood is one of the slow paced novel crafted by Murakamis sheer brilliance of making it interesting. This has been the start of My #murakami readings.
#bookreview:
Set in 1960's the story revolves around friendship,love and suicides.
The story is set in Japan portraying the friendship between Toru(Watanabe),Kizuki and Naoko were the best of friends and life went on well until Kizuki committed suicide leaving Naoko and Toru in sorrow.Naoko and Toru started spending time together although they remain confused in expressing their feelings. Naoko disappears to sanatorium by writing a letter to Toru, inflicting a pain in him.

The first few pages were hard to read as it was very very slow. I didn't stop and I won't lie the plot is so crazy. It(book) wasn't that easily accepted because of its expression of the characters flaws which were a slap on the face. You could relate to it even now.
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#bookgasm #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #harukimurakami #norwegianwood 
#bibliophile #bookrecommendations #igbooks #bookdragon #booknerd 
#ilovebooks📚 #goodreads #epicreads #readingforlife #kimmersbooks #bookishfeatures #bookstagramindia #bookstagramindiafeature #bookstagramfeatures #booktagramfeature

JoAnna

Norwegian Wood is a beautiful slow burn. Murakami gives the reader a lot to think about re: the concept of mono no aware and (view spoiler)[the inextricable connection between life and death (hide spoiler)]. I felt sympathetic towards every character, even those that were nearly caricatures. What a great book—I have a lot to think about.

Very intense for the last chapter, bit of disappointment cuz I don't want to close this book on inappropriate things ... sorry

Alma

I somehow remember everything that happened yet nothing that was written. It was an exhausting read, yet engaging when I set my mind to it. It was overly sexual, especially the women, and at times it felt completely aimless. I hesitated between 2 and 3 stars for a while but decided on 2 because rating it any higher felt like cheating my 17-year-old self, who tried desperately to get through this book and, obviously, failed. I definitely want to re-read it in its entirety sometime, if only just to remember it better

Callas

faye

3.5 ★

Picked this up on a whim and did not expect that it'll keep me up until 6 AM — crying in my bed. I went in with my first Murakami book without reading much reviews and I can say I'm really surprised with a lot of things! 

First, I expected to love it and would be rushing to start another one of his works but nope. This book makes me want to stay away from reading any other work of his for a while! (I'm interested to read some more in the future) Why? Murakami's way with words on matters such as life and death is heartbreaking and bittersweet. It is quite the heavy read for someone who's only taking a break from her usual young-adult / fantasy books a.k.a ME. I should read through reviews next time, yes.

Second, the graphic sexual scenes made me feel so icky !!!! It was uncomfortable reading through the last chapter. Was it really necessary? *rolls eyes*

Third and last (I think ?), how women were written in this book is just :/ I don't like it and I struggled to get through the whole book because of that. When I thought I'm about to like or enjoy a female character, they end up in a weird sexual fantasy/scene and it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Again, Murakami writes so well but I felt some aspects are just not for me. I did enjoy a part of it and I wish I could elaborate more but words fail me haha I think I'll go back to reading my fantasy novels now for the good of my mental health!!

Norwegian wood

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