Norwegian Wood

Murakami has a strangely languorous, easy going style to his writing which makes his books easy and quick reads. This may of course be in part due to some great translation from the Japanese by Jay Rubin of his books. Or it may be because I still haven’t read some of his supposedly more complex works. I was introduced to Murakami with his small, quirky but ultimately intriguing novel After Dark. This made me interested in exploring more of his work. Finally I zeroed in on his most popular work, the one which made him (unwontedly) into a celebrity in his home country and later elsewhere in the world. Norwegian Wood.

The story begins with the narrator, Toru Watanabe in a flight and hearing the Beetles Norwegian Wood playing. This takes him back to his student days in Tokyo and his first love, Naoki (whose favorite song it was), who was also the girlfriend of his best and probably only friend during those days Kizuki. A life of disillusionment, confusion and aimlessness, he had moved to Tokyo to pursue his drama course. Not out of any great passion for the subject, but because it offered him a relatively easy way to university in Tokyo. Toru does not have any particular ambitions or passions, it would seem. Perpetually indifferent or bored at the antics of the world and its superficial denizens, he drifts along attending lectures or reading the Great Gatsby. He also thinks back to the days he shared with his best friend Kizuki and his girl Naoki. They were almost a perfect company until darkness sets in and things are never the same again. He runs into Naoki in Tokyo and they start spending time with each other. However, Naoki has demons of her own and she has to depart. Toru drifts back to his aimless existence until he comes across an impetuous and wildly different young woman, Midori. A strong, at times ambiguous relationship develops between them and Watanabe starts wondering where his heart really lies.

The book deals with the existential angst faced by a lot of urban class youth in their early to mid twenties, not just in Japan but the world over. Toru is a character who, though an upright and nice guy, can never understand the superficial and phony desires and behavior of most of the people around him. At times an almost Holden Caulfield kind of character, which is mentioned in the book once. Midori is a wonderfully fresh and invigorating entry into his life and ours while reading this great book. The theme of loss, pain, desire, passion, helplessness and enduring love are seamlessly explored in the book and strikes a chord among the readers. If anything, this book has encouraged me to explore more of Murakami’s more complicated work.