Haruki Murakami

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

ノルウェイの森 / Noruwei no mori

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.

Stunning and elegiac, Norwegian Wood first propelled Haruki Murakami into the forefront of the literary scene. Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. A magnificent coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia, Norwegian Wood blends the music, the mood, and the ethos that were the sixties with a young man’s hopeless and heroic first love.

Beatrix

I have always loved Naoko, and I still love her. But there is a decisive finality to what exists between Midori and me. It has an irresistible power that is bound to sweep me into the future.

“Nobody likes being alone. I just hate to be disappointed.”

Tori Perdue

Death was not the opposite of life. It was already here, within my being, it had always been here, and no strugglewould permit me to forget that. 

There is no way around it my memory is growing ever more distant from the spot where Naoko used to stand—ever more distant from the spot where my old self used to stand.

kemi

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.

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:

Udit

** spoiler alert **
           boring at first because of its long and lengthy chapter, this book was nonetheless an experience. an unique one at that too. although its not as interesting as kafka since i read it like what? 6 days? this book took me over a month. blame chapter 2 to 4 for its very important albeit slow world building and also my procrastination lol. the last chapter hit me very hard and i almost cried. not bad for my second read.

again this book was recommended to me by abhishek. abhishek if u r reading this ily :3*

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!!

Doris Ivandic 

I loved this book. It discussed such interesting topics and had insightful perspectives on death, love, grief, the male gaze, and sex. It was sad,emotional, and reflective. It reminded me of Sally Rooney while reading it, and I could see this being Sally Rooney for men - that might be a completely wrong take, however that’s how I felt whilst reading it and it left me with the same feeling Rooney usually does. Now I really intend on reading more Murakami :) 

—————-

“That’s the kind of death that frightens me. The shadow of death slowly, slowly eats away at the region of life, and before you know it everything’s dark and you can’t see, and the people around you think of you as more dead than alive. I hate that. I couldn’t stand it.”

Jackie Lu

** spoiler alert **
           “Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.”

holy fuck i love the way this guy talks about regular mundane tasks and as sad as it was, I love the way he writes about death. so fucking beautiful. literally screamed “what??” at the beginning of chapter eleven haha :(

Annika Arguemore

3.5 stars.

At first, I found it boring and dragging, but then as the story developed, I found myself immersed in Toru Watanabe's world. I found his perspective of the world very refreshing. Toru Watanabe proves that the silent ones have the loudest, and most interesting minds. This book felt like a rainy afternoon spent in solitude.

PB’J

“ไม่มีใครอยากโดดเดี่ยวลำพัง ฉันเกลียดความผิดหวัง” i found the name of my sex tape.
พออ่านใกล้จะจบเพิ่งรู้ตัวว่าในคืนวันรุ่งขึ้น เราจะอายุ 20 เท่าวาตานาเบะเลย เพราะอายุเท่าตัวละครมั้งเลยรู้สึกว่ามันพูดกับเราในหลายๆครั้ง ประโยคสุดคลิเช่อย่างชีวิตคือกล่องช็อกโกแลต, คุณพยายามากเกินไปที่จะเจือวิธีเฉพาะตัวเข้าไปในโลกรอบข้าง ปล่อยให้กระแสโลก พัดตัวคุณให้ลอยเคว้งซะบ้าง เราคิดว่าเราจะร้องไห้กับหนังสือในเรื่องความรักนะ แต่น้ำตามันเจือไปด้วยชีวิตทั้งนั้นเลย มีความหมายมากเลยนะเนี่ยที่อ่านมันจบวันนี้พอดี รักตัวละครมิโดริ น่ารักมาก โคตรบริสุทธิ์ เป็นตัวละครที่เรานึกถึงเค้าเป็นสีสดทุกครั้งที่เข้าฉาก 

ถึงวันศุกร์ที่ 7 ตุลาคม 2565: “ฉันอายุ 20 ปีแล้ว ฉันพร้อมจะชำระราคาของการมีชีวิตอยู่สืบไป” Happy Birthday.

★★★★★ // impossible to forget. broke my heart into a million pieces.

One of the most incomprehensible books for my mind. No matter how much I go over the moments in it in my head, I can’t form a definite attitude towards it. Incredibly weird, sometimes disgusting, but at the same time instilled a pleasant feeling of calm in the soul. Although for the most part there was an unbearable feeling of emptiness.

Camilla

春樹·村上

ノルウェイの森

Bianca Layog

some admittedly truly beautiful writing in this. his obsession with boobs can get a bit uncomfy? but i also like that the book isn’t afraid to be gross/disgusting. the characters are all people whose worst qualities constantly get exaggerated and pushed to their limits & yet they find some sort of solace and happiness in each other, which is beautiful in its own twisted way. just wish maybe he wasn’t as obsessed with sex? what’s with the main character and reiko like be so for real 😭😭😭 anyway so glad i read this—my first murakami!—on my flight home. :)

maybe i'm missing something but an insufferable protagonist + ridiculous female characters single-mindlessly preoccupied with fucking him trying to pass as a novel about depression and suffering. anyway, didn't care for the content. murakami is a good writer though. 

emily 

nagkasakit ako sa utak 5 years after basahin ito

Norwegian Wood

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