Name: Norwegian Wood
Rating: 3.887796887796888 (1221 reviews)
ISBN: 9780847809547

Jerri Holan

Surveys the Norwegian tradition of building wooden houses and churches, describes surviving examples, and discusses log and stave details

A Tradition of Building

Norwegian Wood

ノルウェイの森 / Noruwei no mori

Vasilia Alexandra

Brett Lister

moira

Cassandra Tang

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

Imzy

Anna

Helen 

kemi

Beatriz Salvador 

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.

Haruki Murakami

Elbrich Fennema

Een jonge student in Tokio wordt heen en weer geslingerd tussen verdriet om een gestorven vriend en een mogelijke nieuwe liefde.

Norwegian wood

Edwin Lang

Three themes emerged in my reading of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood: the impact of death particularly on young souls, how we can fall into bondage to another and loss. In Human Bondage Somerset Maugham deals with being held a virtual captive to another who does not return the affection, in Philip Carey’s love for Mildred with whom he had had nothing in common and who had used and mocked his love for her, certainly never returning it. This is what I saw in Toru Watanabe’s obsession for Naoko, a young woman whose life had been undermined if not ruined by the inexplicable and unexpected suicide death of Kizuki, a childhood boyfriend. The difference between Carey and Watanabe was that Philip Carey was inherently strong, intelligent and deep, and his obsession with Mildred was profoundly authentic and selfless; in Norwegian Wood Toru Watanabe remains weak, superficial and selfish, and the love he and Naoko share, if that is what it is, is dysfunctional and destructive. For loss, I believe in Watanabe it was more his being part of the first post-War generation, a generation that had lost anything to anchor them down, infuse their life with the meaning that it once had in Japan’s position as an imperial militaristic force for almost a century (from the 1860’s to 1945 when Japan was master of much of Asia and significant parts of China itself). No overriding imperialistic dreams that had motivated and unified the country for almost a century existed for Toru and his generation. There were riots but no 1960’s anti-establishment revolution for students like him. Their balloon had burst long before. It was I believe even worse for the author himself: I suspect that as Haruki Murakami completed Norwegian Wood, he was aware that his country was about to lose its economic dominance as well - such a resounding success to that point that Western business schools waxed eloquent of it being a miracle - only to see the country stagnate and slide into a deflation that remains with them today. Perhaps that was the real role of the quite prominent character, Nagasawa, a University school friend of Toru Watanabe, eminently likable, memorable, rebellious in his way, alive with a fire and vision, envisioning a future for Japan that others in their despondency seemed to have given up on. Unfortunately he was also ruthlessly narcissistic. There may have been too many Nagasawas in upper-echelon Japan. In the mid-1980’s as Haruki Murakami was finishing Norwegian Wood, it was beginning to dawn on critics that Japan had simply not been playing fair: its success came from adversarial trade policies, it was infested with industrial cartels, there was an entrenched oligarchy that readily sacrificed the well-being of the Japanese citizens to economic imperatives. Characters like Nagasawa were the seeds that effectively destroyed Japan a second time. For his part Watanabe was a dead soul, he had been that way even before his best friend, Kizuki, committed suicide. It is no wonder that Haruki Murakami say Norwegian Wood is no autobiography. Toru Watanabe prides himself on his literary skills but calls consuming a Herman Hesse masterpiece in a day reading and yet lingers longingly over the emptiness in The Great Gatsby probably because he felt an affinity. Watanabe is a feelingless monster. But of the two most attractive and engaging characters, next to Nagasawa, is Midori Kobayashi, a vibrant girl, innately good, alive and loving, and wonderful in her humanity and ability to repeatedly forgive Toru Watanabe. I cannot see Midori remaining with Watanabe, and I cannot see him being anything but alone. For me, Midori – as I suspect for the author too, who had along with Toru and Naoko’s roommate in the convalescent hospital, Reiko Ishida, given her a full name – seemed heroically good (as I think had even Nagasawa, although rather bad) in the face of the despair that seemed to consume all those around them. I liked Midori the best. It struck me as no surprise that Midori’s father, near death awakened, fascinated with Toru Watanabe’s talk of Euripides, a playwright he was studying in University whose work is notable for its strong, bright, brave and complex female characters. If Midori Kobayashi were alive today, and as young as she was in the novel, she would be one of the many Japanese women adopting a single life style, not in the way the author described in 1Q84, living an empty aimless life and trolling for men to sleep with in one-night stands, but living in the way she had in Norwegian Wood, remaining intelligent and engaged, taking care of her dying mother and then her dying father, and sitting from time to time bravely and insolently before a statue of a dead God, in this case Buddha, naked and with her legs spread wide. She was a woman no man would likely tame and few would be worthy of. Edwin

Elda Mengisto

"The more the memories of Naoko inside me fade, the more deeply I am able to understand her. I know, too, why she asked me not to forget her. Naoko herself knew, of course. She knew that my memories of her would fade. Which is precisely why she begged me never to forget her, to remember she had existed. The thought fills me with an unbearable sorrow. Because Naoko never loved me." (10) Compared to the surrealistic worlds of Haruki Murakami's other books, "Norwegian Wood" is a lot more grounded in reality, and bound up in sadness too. Taking place in the late 1960s, we meet Toru, who goes to university in Tokyo, studying theater for some reason. He develops an affection for his friend, Naoko--they however have a mutual friend who died by suicide years ago. As a result, she ends up in a faraway shelter At the same time, he meets Midori, who has her own quirks and is bound for adventure. I actually decided to read this book because of Wu Bai's song "Norwegian Wood"--I wondered about if this book inspired him to write this song about how one was trying to get into another person's heart, where the lake was always clear and the moon shines down. From the first chapter, I hinted it was the case, because Toru was trying to remember if Naoko felt for him. A sense of fragility arose with her (especially considering she was closest to Kizuki), which permeates throughout the entire novel as Toru wonders about her state. Everything ends up quite melancholic as a result. So despite Toru attending university, he seems adrift in it all. "For a while I attended classes but refused to answer when they called the roll...All I managed to do was to isolate myself more than ever from my classmates" (48). He watches people come and go, like Storm Trooper in his dorm, before meeting Midori. She came off as pretty cool, albeit strange, and that contrasts with the more introverted Naoko. Curiously, I never got the sense of a love triangle--I just wanted to see how he interacts with the world around him. One thing which touched me throughout the book was how the people bonded with each other in almost sad circumstances. For example, when a building caught on fire in Midori's neighborhood, "[She] brought two floor pillows, four cans of beer, and a guitar from downstairs We drank and watched the black smoke rising. Midori drummed and sang. I asked her if she didn't think this might anger the neighbors" (74). Her previous comment on how she didn't mind dying also came off key, and hinted at a morbid streak. All the interactions at the Ami Hostel also hinted at this, from Reiko's entire story with her losing the piano to Naoko telling about her relationship with Kizuki. "'Because we would have had to pay the world back what we owed it,' she said, raising her eyes to mine. 'The pain of growing up. we didn't pay when we should have, so now the bills are due. Which is why Kizuki did what he did, and why I'm in here.'" (128). This sad passing of youth is why I got attached to the story so well, not only to the characters, but also to their circumstances. Even Nagasawa, who acts as a playboy to the more demure Toru, goes upon is his time with his damaged girlfriend. One quote which particularly stands out was "'That's not hard work. It's just manual labor,' Nagasawa said with finality. 'The 'hard work' I'm talking about is more self-directed and purposeful'" (203). There's a sense of taking control of destiny here, despite not fitting in the context of romance. It's a surprising take from a character who liked pleasure more than not. The ending basically made me think about it for a second, because I was shocked about the turn of events after Reiko sends her thoughts about Naoko's progress. There seems to be a lull throughout; I didn't expect that Toru and Naoko would be soulmates, but I expected that something better would come out of it all. That said, I did understand Toru's wanderings afterwards. I actually loved Norwegian Wood more than I thought, partially because of the nostalgic feel throughout. I saw these characters like damaged youth, those who need love in uncertain times. It's still quite relevant today, despite where you're from. (9/10)

Tiff W

If I had a cigarette, I would have smoked it. If the train was running, I would have jumped in front of it. If there was anything in my stomach, I would have lost it all. It just felt like the thing to do… that’s the way reading Murakami affected me, even the next day. “Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life.” I’ve always been conscious of prolonging memories after death, wearing it as a natural part of me so that it became ordinary, and only sometimes, painfully, realizing how deep it had left a mark on me. Maybe that was why I enjoyed the book so much. I felt just as messed up as Toru. He’s the kind of person who wants to live but can’t figure out what to live for. So he lives for the dead. He’s the kind of person who does what you secretly want to do, but don’t dare try. And since he lives for everyone besides himself, so everyone can’t help but like him. When they’re all gone, he realizes, what’s left that’s truly his? We want to feel pain, to feel love, but longing was just better. Pretending our morals held but really having none at all. “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” A small piece of irony considering Norwegian Wood is Murakami’s bestselling novel… so maybe I’m not alone in thinking these things? And aren’t we all Midori, hot and cold but waiting helplessly, trying to understand where everyone else is? I heard this book is not like Murakami’s other novels, but having my first Murakami be his memoir on writing/running, I can’t help but feel a connection with the author as a runner, writer, and lost first-time adult still going through growing pains.

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.

AGAK GILAA BACANYAAA all the women in this book deserve better 

rena

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.

While halfway through, I remember thinking, maybe this is the one Murakami book I won’t hate, but when I read that last chapter, he proved me wrong. Creepy, predatory. Though I have a few theories, and if they were how he intended for it to be, then it’s actually good. 

secam se da sam ovu knjigu, dok sam je citala, dozivljavala kao tamnu modru plavu boju

Natalija

"she breasted boobily down the stairs and also bill evans was playing for some reason"

young dzugashvili

One of my first audiobooks as I walked the streets of Tokyo. Absolutely hypnotic and mellow. I loved it :) 

Owen Kasparian

no matter how horny or freaked out this book seemed, it was still so profound and had this raw uncensored essence that made me feel so deeply for the characters that i even cried at the end because of the fact how sad it was … i’ll probably be thinking about this book for a while so that’s why im definitely giving it 5 stars. don’t get me wrong, the sex scenes were quite excessive and random at times but i think i focused more on the complexity of the characters and all the other topics this book dealt with, that’s how i made myself feel more comfortable reading it with that perspective 

micki

The writing style sits very comfortably within my soul. 

Nicole Apostol

The writing style sits very comfortably within my soul. 

Shit though, Murakami is a horny fuck. 

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

beatnik misogyny and insufferable main character. it still moved me despite it's flaws. the atmosphere is intricate and quaint and i appreciate its nods to the titular song and the era it came from. 

kate 

Excessive sex is forefront in Murakami’s novels; 

my understanding of his writing is sex isn’t obscene or to sensationalize, rather it is one way to try out deep intimacy between his characters (with vaginal penetration being most powerful and substantial); 

Another way deep intimacy manifests in his stories, but as more a build-up than a release: listening to jazz records with somebody in the privacy of a closed room.

At the end of the day, although innately gendered, I think men and women are equal in his stories (they get objectified and objectify, they get sexualized and sexualize, they are ill-fated and are forced into roles and responsibilities that bring them anguish all the same) and why I don’t agree with that statement at all

but idk I’ve only read 2 murakmais so far

william wukkuan

Excessive sex is forefront in Murakami’s novels; 

my understanding of his writing is sex isn’t obscene or to sensationalize, rather it is one way to try out deep intimacy between his characters (with vaginal penetration being most powerful and substantial); 

Another way deep intimacy manifests in his stories, but as more a build-up than a release: listening to jazz records with somebody in the privacy of a closed room.

At the end of the day, although innately gendered, I think men and women are equal in his stories (they get objectified and objectify, they get sexualized and sexualize, they are ill-fated and are forced into roles and responsibilities that bring them anguish all the same) and why I don’t agree with that statement at all

but idk I’ve only read 2 murakmais so far

the depiction of grief in different perspective was heartfelt however the random sex and the way women are perceived in the book bothers me so much. 

teia

i kinda get it but at the same time i don’t really. finished this on the plane and wasn’t really loving it until the ending made it better. still not sure how i feel about watanabe tho

Luoyi

I don’t know if this was the best book to start with murakami’s work but I do enjoy his writing style. His detailed writing is what builds the atmosphere and I think that is what carried the overall tone in this book. The underlying theme regarding sexuality and intimacy was too much for me but I can appreciate how he works through other topics like grief, mental health and living for yourself.

elizabeth ❀

😵‍💫Fixated on unimportant details and descriptions. 

💤Pointless, endless conversations and storylines. 

🤢The amount of times I said ew or what the fuck was incredibly high. 

Jovana Gjekanovikj 

😵‍💫Fixated on unimportant details and descriptions. 

💤Pointless, endless conversations and storylines. 

🤢The amount of times I said ew or what the fuck was incredibly high. 



Ich weiß nicht wie ich anfangen soll… es ist mein erstes murakami Buch und habe aufjedenfall mehr erwartet.

In diesem Buch geht es um zwei Sachen: s*x und tot. Es gibt überall verborgene Bedeutungen. Aber wenn man das wegschneidet und zum Kern geht, ist das nur noch übrig.

Es ist aber auch ein starkes buch. Es erzählt keine besondere Geschichte. sondern untersucht den menschlichen Geist und die Geschichten, die in der normalen Vergangenheit von gewöhnlichen Menschen um uns herum versteckt sind.

Am Ende weiß ich nicht, was ich zu diesem Buch sagen soll. Ich mochte es manchmal und habe es manchmal gehasst. Wenn dieses Buch Murakamis Werke repräsentieren würde, würde ich nie ein anderes von ihm lesen. Aber ja ich weiß dass es nicht so ist! 

Bin ich froh, dass ich dieses Buch gelesen habe? Würde ich es empfehlen? Die Antwort, die mir für beide Fragen in den Sinn kommt, ist nein. Es kann sehr deprimierend sein und hat mich  emotional belastet. Und nachdem ich fertig war, hatte ich nicht das Gefühl, dass dies ein Buch war, das man  unbedingt lesen muss. Es war nicht besonders gut, und es sendete keine wichtige Botschaft. Aber aus irgendeinem unerklärlichen Grund war es immer noch lesenswert. In gewisser Weise.

Fatima

Ich weiß nicht wie ich anfangen soll… es ist mein erstes murakami Buch und habe aufjedenfall mehr erwartet.

In diesem Buch geht es um zwei Sachen: s*x und tot. Es gibt überall verborgene Bedeutungen. Aber wenn man das wegschneidet und zum Kern geht, ist das nur noch übrig.

Es ist aber auch ein starkes buch. Es erzählt keine besondere Geschichte. sondern untersucht den menschlichen Geist und die Geschichten, die in der normalen Vergangenheit von gewöhnlichen Menschen um uns herum versteckt sind.

Am Ende weiß ich nicht, was ich zu diesem Buch sagen soll. Ich mochte es manchmal und habe es manchmal gehasst. Wenn dieses Buch Murakamis Werke repräsentieren würde, würde ich nie ein anderes von ihm lesen. Aber ja ich weiß dass es nicht so ist! 

Bin ich froh, dass ich dieses Buch gelesen habe? Würde ich es empfehlen? Die Antwort, die mir für beide Fragen in den Sinn kommt, ist nein. Es kann sehr deprimierend sein und hat mich  emotional belastet. Und nachdem ich fertig war, hatte ich nicht das Gefühl, dass dies ein Buch war, das man  unbedingt lesen muss. Es war nicht besonders gut, und es sendete keine wichtige Botschaft. Aber aus irgendeinem unerklärlichen Grund war es immer noch lesenswert. In gewisser Weise.

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. 

Ayushee

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

Norwegian Wood A Tradition of Building

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