Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood

It’s been so long since my last post. It’s not that my schedule is too full for my to blog — it isn’t — but rather I feel my writing inspirations gradually drained from my soul in this mindless meat grinder that is involuntary national service.

It will be a journey of rediscovery as I slowly relocate my lost ethos. Full recovery will take a while. For now, I’d like to start off with a book review — I believe the first ever on this blog if you don’t count manga and light novels.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

I have always been a sci-fi person. When my peers were raving over Khaled Hosseini, I was enjoying decade old works of Orson Scott Card (a crazy Mormon dude who tells good stories). When Neil Gaiman’s Stardust was enjoying renewed attention thanks to its rather decent movie adaptation, I was busy having my mind blown by Arthur C. Clarke’s Rama Saga.

So it’s no surprise that I kind of missed the Haruki Murakami train the first time. Having only finished Norwegian Wood recently, I suppose there is a tinge of regret that I kept myself out of the loop for so long out of genre snobbery. While my usual favourites of sci-fi are gripping works of conceptual imagination, Norwegian Wood is a breathtaking ride in emotive imagery.

Norwegian Wood

A book is often judged by its story, but in that aspect Norwegian Wood is hardly epic. It is a simple story of teenage love and adulthood, one which in summary could be easily dismissed as mere pulp fiction. What the book does best is not the plot, but the overwhelming emotions Murakami conveys through his writing style that give life to the main characters.

The protagonist of this first-person narrative is Toru Watanabe, a somewhat unmotivated and cynical college student who is not too sure about where he is heading in life. He possesses a surreal detachment from the world around him, perhaps as a result of past pains. Although the story is told from Toru’s inner perspective, he nevertheless emits an aura of eccentric unpredictability in the way he responds to the things happening around him.

Norwegian Wood

The bulk of the story took place when Toru was studying literature in a Tokyo college. In Tokyo, he met his childhood friend Naoko, whom he shared a painful past and with whom he was emotionally entangled (it’s complicated). Through his bond with her, he sought to regain normalcy and recover from the past. Unfortunately, things do not always turn out for the best and happiness is not guaranteed even in fiction. He often found himself unsure about his choices and uncertain of even his own desires. He also met Midori in school, a cheerful and eccentric girl who seemed to contrast heavily with both himself and the deeply troubled Naoko.

I’m sure my description is doing a horrible job at conveying the feel of the novel — partly because I like to keep things non-specific so as to avoid spoilers — so I’ll just stop here and add that this typical-sounding setup is surprisingly engrossing when read in Murakami’s words. You can almost reach out and touch the characters as they try to communicate their souls through the imperfections of language.

Norwegian Wood

At this point, it is important to note that I read the English translation of Norwegian Wood by Jay Rubin, which I believe is the more recent version. The original Japanese version is sold in two volumes and I have read the first one. As my command of Japanese is more or less functional, I find that I enjoyed the English translation a great deal more. I chalk it up to my inability to react in the intended manner to the emotive nuances in Japanese. Maybe I should study Japanese Literature in college. Or not.

Norwegian Wood is a great book about loss beyond death and love beyond lust. Whether you are a teenager still searching for answers or a grizzly old fart hungry for nostalgia, there’s something in it for you to take home.

Now I need to figure out which one of Murakami’s works to read next.

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30 Responses to Norwegian Wood

  1. omo says:

    As a genre snob also, I will take this as a like-minded recommendation more so than a review.

    Glad to hear that “ethos” is the only thing you lost during the service…? Maybe it’s time to revisit Gunslinger Girls.

  2. Qubicfactor says:

    Welcome back :)

    You would sometimes find that the world spins without you when in there…

  3. Bradley says:

    I thought you got squashed in training or something. I can relate to what you’re saying, about losing inspiration while suffering through the mindless repetitions of military life. I spent 8 years in the US military, and now, a year later, I’m still trying to regain my creativity and passion for writing / reading.

  4. leofish says:

    Should read Murakami’s “Wind Up Bird Chronicle” next. Definitely one of his best.

  5. Harts says:

    “I feel my writing inspirations gradually drained from my soul in this mindless meat grinder that is involuntary national service.”

    Hmmm, as I was in a military reserve service meeting just a few months ago myself, this sentence awakes now-not-so-past memories.. Mindless grinding is the right way to put it:P

    Good to have you back!

  6. Soulstrider says:

    Oh shit you are still alive :O

    Fortunately in my county we haven’t compulsory military service, so I can rest knowing that my inner soul won’t be butchered by the state.

    The book seems ok, not really my favorite genre but the characters seem interesting, specially the main.

  7. Soshi says:

    Man, you beat me to reviewing Murakami’s works.

    Most people prefer “Kafka” and “Wind-Up Bird'” to “Norwegian Wood”; the latter’s quite unpolished and pulls more on your ability to sympathize with the characters more than Murakami’s otherwise divine story-telling skills. In anycase, “Norwegian Wood”‘s still my favourite Murakami book and I can’t wait to read it in Japanese. :D

    I’m no Murakami expert but if memory serves me right, I’ve read nearly everything minus his latest biography-ish novel and the Pinball series. So… if you like sci-fi-ish kind of stories, then “Dance Dance Dance” and “Wild Sheep Chase” are very good.

    If you don’t have much time, or would like to like, take him in smaller (but equally poignant) doses, his shortstory compilations are good too! I recommend “The Elephant Vanishes” because it has “The Second Bakery Attack” and “On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One April Morning” (badly paraphrased here) — the second is by bfar his best short-story ever, in my opinion!

    Okay I rambled on long enough!

  8. Keiichi says:

    I’m happy to see that you haven’t lost the will to continue on this site for whatever reason. You’ll rediscover your ethos eventually. Until then, stay alive!

  9. sgtfrog says:

    Wow… Your literary style has changed. Or is it just me… I kind of noticed it happen with your next to previous one. Hmm… Still I understand what you mean when you try to convey the true awesomeness of a book with out spoiling it.

  10. sgtfrog redux says:

    But I am glad you are “bach”

  11. Azure says:

    This was my first Murakami and still remains my favourite even after going on to his other books. For some reason I could never get the same feeling reading the others. The setting in Norwegian Wood feels a lot more “real”, allowing you to really emphathise with the characters. His other works are more, surreal and biazzare.

  12. steelkokoro says:

    You sound different indeed.His short stories are good too.

  13. sandslayer says:

    Fascinating. I might pick it up next time I’m looking for a good book to read (I’m still only half-way through “The God Delusion”, though I only recently got it). Thanks for notifying us of this book, I can only hope it’s as good as you say it is.

    By the way, it’s good to see you’re back. I want more from you, darkmirage! D:

  14. omgwtf says:

    My first book by Murakami, loved it. That made me read “Kafka” and “South of the Border, West of the Sun”. Definitely recommending to everyone :)

  15. spartass says:

    First image that popped into my head was that of a stiff Danish dick.

  16. Anon says:

    Hey, welcome back. Glad to hear that the service hasn’t ruined your mind.

    You mentioned the possibility of studying Japanese literature in college. All I can say is… don’t do it. Those courses are always catered to non-Japanese speaking folks. You’ll only read translated works and the discussions are all in English. Whatever nuances you think you’re missing out on… you won’t develop the skills to pick up on them in these courses.

    I’m not sure what you mean in that your “command of Japanese is more or less functional,” but if you are looking to improve, the only way is to continue to read Japanese novels. I’ve been using Japanese for almost 15 years now and every time I read a novel (a real novel, not a juvenile or light novel), I still pick up something new.

    As for the next Murakami novel, I recommend Kafka. It’s wild, and I guarantee that you won’t be able to put it down. It might be a little confusing when you first begin reading because of the way the story is organized (you’ll see what I mean once you start), but stay with it and you’ll definitely be hooked. It’s thematically similar to Norwegian Wood, so if you liked that, you’ll like Kafka.

  17. quendidil says:

    Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is his best work so far IMO.

    As for Sci-fi, have you read Anathem by Neal Stephenson or The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin?

  18. ETERNAL says:

    A Norwegian Wood post. Thank you. No, seriously, thank you; I absolutely adored this book when I first read it a few months back, and it’s great to see it getting attention in the blogosphere. I’m still not sure which Murakami book to read next, but I get the feeling that I’ll be disappointed either way – not because he’s a bad writer, but because the premise and execution of Norwegian Wood is something that I doubt I’ll ever be able to experience again, no matter how badly I want to.

  19. sesshomaru_haku says:

    I read Norwegian Wood last year; it’s now one of my favourite books. His writing is just…beautiful.

    I don’t really fancy reading many of his other books, though, because the content just…makes my head whirl. @__@ (Kafka is a good example of this.) But one book I would really like to recommend is ‘South of the Border, West of the Sun’. It’s pretty sad and also very well-written. If you liked Norwegian Wood, you’ll love this.

  20. loldongs says:

    Just read any, honestly. Murakami is gorgeous – what I can really recommend is the earlier work, though.

  21. steelkokoro says:

    Why am I listed as being in the USA?

  22. quendidil says:

    It seems to be fine now. You’re in Japan as of post 21.

  23. ayasawada says:

    Hey, DM’s back :)

    ‘South of the Border, West of the Sun’ is my favourite and a heavily underrated Murakami novel. Highly recommend (and it’s short).

    His short stories are also great. ‘The Elephant Vanishes’ is a good collection.

    And as something different, I found ‘Underground’, his interviews with people involved in the Tokyo gas attack, to be really interesting.

  24. Rey Cazador says:

    Try reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Its interesting. Btw its good to see you return to blogging.

  25. Ben says:

    Wind-up Bird Chronicle is indeed a good choice. But his most unsettling epic has to be Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

  26. DxJ says:

    You’re alive!

    I’ve heard good stuff about “wind up bird chronicle”, but because it’s an official IB programme book, I’ve decided to skip it (Yeah my logic isn’t waterproof I know).
    I love his short stories! The long stories are too deep for me, but the short ones are amazing! Like Honey Pie and ” The 100% perfect girl”, which is just amazing. I’ll take you up on the Norwegian wood though, give a long murakami another shot!

  27. Ashleigh says:

    I would recommend Sputnik Sweetheart. One of his greatest novels imo.

  28. DragonGaze says:

    Just finished reading this a few minutes ago after hearing you recommend it, and thank you very much. Absolutely loved it, and no doubt it will stay with me for a long time.

  29. Shintaku says:

    I read Norwegian Wood first, and I just had to read more of this author.
    So I did: Wild Sheep Chase was second, and the bundle about all the earthquake stories after that. ‘After The Quake’ as bundled in English, unfortunately I read all of them in Dutch, but I think for once the translator did a proper job and didn’t use an English translation as a basis. At least the rythm felt right.

    I’m yet WAY off reading in actual Japanese beyond kindergarten-level, but I can’t help but wonder what his ‘real’ timing feels like …

    Usually, in proze people make sentences like :”He lit a cigarette from his pocket”, yet with Murakami, he can draw them out like :”He looked around in his pocket for a cigarette, and found the lighter to light it with and inhaled”…

    According to the interview included after one of these books that’s quite unusual…

    For some reason or another, I like his style of writing. A LOT. But I will be looking around for more of different authors as well ^^

  30. DxJ says:

    Just finished it, theres a short story entitled “firefly” in one of his short story collections, which is a gently modified version of everything up until mr.Clean gives the firefly (his name was changed from shock trooper to something else).

    Anyway great book, first of his long works that I’ve read through; I don’t care if people say that it’s easy to read and unoriginal (Jay Rubin talks about this in the afterword in my edition), I loved it.
    It’s harsh, yet soothing. It’s realistic, yet not at the same time.
    Awesome

    Btw how does this site assign those random pictures :D

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