There are some authors who bank on meticulous research for their stories. Then there are authors who believe imagination to be their main strength. Murakami is a kind of author who doesn't want to spoil his imagination by going to the places he wants to write about. Haruki Murakami, theatre arts major, suddenly had the inspiration to write his first novel while watching a baseball game. With Norwegian wood, Murakami tasted unprecedented success. Success which shocked him and put him into depression to some extent. To avoid the craziness of his super stardom, he had to flee Japan for a few years.
Norwegian Wood is a love story, amidst student movement, set in late 1960's. The story has all the elements- tenderness, passion, longing and loss, to make a perfect youthful love story. Quirky humour and casual conversation between the characters about varied topics like books, music, sex and weather makes this book an interesting read.
Norwegian wood, named against a Beatles song, listening to which the protagonist Toru Watanabe's memories take him back to his student days and his first love Naoko. Naoko is his best friend kizuki's girlfriend. Their relationship is complicated, which Toru himself finds it difficult to explain at times. To make things even more complicated, enters a vibrant girl Midori into Toru's life. Reiko and Nagasawa friends of Naoko and Toru respectively make up other interesting characters. All the characters are different and complex, yet so similar and simple. Rest of the story is about the choice Toru has to make between the two women in his life.
One can find a lot of symbolism in Murakami's style of writing. One such, which is interesting is, after a steamy eventful night Naoko disappears from Toru's life. Later, one night, Toru sets free a firefly from a bottle, which is a gift from his roommate. As the insect flies, Toru muses, "Long after the firefly had disappeared, the trail of its light remained inside me, its pale, faint glow hovering on and on in the thick darkness behind my eyelids like a lost soul", a metaphor, which perfectly describes Toru's longing for Naoko.
Jay Rubin has done a commendable job of translating it into English. Independent on Sunday rightly puts it as "This book is undeniably hip".
PS :- When I was going through my old files I found this review which I had written some four years back. Norwegian Wood is the second Murakami book I had read then after Wild Sheep Chase.
Norwegian Wood is a love story, amidst student movement, set in late 1960's. The story has all the elements- tenderness, passion, longing and loss, to make a perfect youthful love story. Quirky humour and casual conversation between the characters about varied topics like books, music, sex and weather makes this book an interesting read.
Norwegian wood, named against a Beatles song, listening to which the protagonist Toru Watanabe's memories take him back to his student days and his first love Naoko. Naoko is his best friend kizuki's girlfriend. Their relationship is complicated, which Toru himself finds it difficult to explain at times. To make things even more complicated, enters a vibrant girl Midori into Toru's life. Reiko and Nagasawa friends of Naoko and Toru respectively make up other interesting characters. All the characters are different and complex, yet so similar and simple. Rest of the story is about the choice Toru has to make between the two women in his life.
One can find a lot of symbolism in Murakami's style of writing. One such, which is interesting is, after a steamy eventful night Naoko disappears from Toru's life. Later, one night, Toru sets free a firefly from a bottle, which is a gift from his roommate. As the insect flies, Toru muses, "Long after the firefly had disappeared, the trail of its light remained inside me, its pale, faint glow hovering on and on in the thick darkness behind my eyelids like a lost soul", a metaphor, which perfectly describes Toru's longing for Naoko.
Jay Rubin has done a commendable job of translating it into English. Independent on Sunday rightly puts it as "This book is undeniably hip".
PS :- When I was going through my old files I found this review which I had written some four years back. Norwegian Wood is the second Murakami book I had read then after Wild Sheep Chase.
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