Review: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (Spoilers)

  

Norwegian Wood pushes boundaries, throws all relationships and the quest of sexuality into question. You will be hitting your head against the wall, pulling faces out of pure confusion and be ever so gripped at the moments of emotional tension. 

                                      

This was a slow plough through during the first chapters i’m not going to lie. But the emotional journey you go on with Toru holds a very strong connection. There were times I almost hated him. I hated how easy he was to give in to peer pressure, how complacent he was to his friends' wrong doings and how he never truly spoke out for what he believed in, despite the inner conflict he felt as a witness. Toru isn’t fiercely loyal, he’s not prominently passionate - and so at first he can be irritating to watch. But as the book progresses you see more of his vulnerabilities and get a deeper dive into his internal dialogue. His moral conflicts seem more human and we begin to understand that he is just a simple young man, who has experienced a share of trauma. 

It’s this trauma that unites him and Naoko. Naoko is the ex-girlfriend of Toru’s deceased best friend who killed himself with no warning, sign or indication that he was depressed or suicidal. After some time of his passing, Naoko and Toru are reunited and spark a very complicated relationship. Naoko is obviously very troubled, she is very reserved and quiet, but lashes out in moments as her pain pours out. After sleeping together, Naoko goes AWOL and it is later discovered that she is seeing treatment for her mental health issues. There are scenes of sexual nature, but they don’t feel natural - they feel out of place and unemotional on Naoko. All whilst Toru has this intense emotional feeling for Naoko, and while he thinks it’s love - as reader’s, it seems more like a trauma bond. 

Toru’s presence of being ‘the third wheel’ sits entirely in line with his timidly misfit character. 

This is secondly apparent in his presence between Nagasawa and Hatsumi. The development of this sub plot particularly struck me, reading the sad fate of Hatsumi really engaged with me (not to mention how it completely foreshadowed the suicide of Naoko). The stark contrast of the narrative switching back to the present day made me realise how lost I was in the story of his adolescence (I completely forgot there was a present day narrative). 

Reiko feels like an important character to mention, but I didn't really warm to her. Her position in the novel feels like a purposeful way to prod the reader to think up some internalised debates and conflict. And if this is the intention of her role, then it does that well. She is definitely memorable.   

Now Midori. I endlessly love her character and what she brings to Toru’s life. She is a truly forward thinking liberated spirit and lifts the people around her. The story between the two of them had me increasingly frustrated with Toru and his list of boundaries and ignorance. And whilst their ending was brief, it was hopeful and warm. There was a place of solidarity and home with Midori. 

Death and grief are the feelings that are left post reading. Whilst there are moments to smile at, characters to route for and many other positives, the reflection of Norwegian Wood is suicide. But this is still a digestible and fairly balanced read. 

Overall, I would rate this 4 stars on the dot.