Norwegian Wood

Author: Haruki Murakami

Toru Watanabe is what I would describe as a westernized Japanese college student. He has a passion for western culture and music and comes across as  an intellectual loner. Some say that Murakami based this book on his own experience growing up in Japan. 

The story begins with the tragic suicide of his close friend Kizuki, whose girlfriend Naoko develops a close friendship with Toru. The ebbs and flows of their friendship are what make the bulk of the novel. In between Toru encounters many interesting youthful characters that are beautifully fleshed out by Murakami. He has a gift for narration that makes me remember these supporting characters several months after I have read the book. There’s Midori who is a vivacious, outgoing classmate who has a boyfriend but is intrigued by Toru. There’s his other classmate Nagasawa who also has a girlfriend, but is a master at picking up girls and one-night stands. There are some other intriguing characters that are hard to describe unless you are Murakami.

I can see why he is such a celebrated author and adored by fans in Japan and the rest of the world. Apparently, Murakami became such a celebrity in Japan after the publication of Norwegian Wood that he had to flee the country to Europe and America for his own safety and sanity. He returned only in 1995 and continued his prolific writing.

He has a very pleasant writing style that is wonderful to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be reading more of him.