‘What happens when people open their hearts?’
‘They get better.’
OVERVIEW:
Haruki Murakami’s (translated by Jay Rubin) Norwegian Wood set in the 1960s Japan is a modern-day classic. A winter’s tale transcending troubled teenage times, striking a melancholic chord yet at the same time preserving the essence of love and life.
REVIEW:
Norwegian Wood starts with 37 years old protagonist and narrator, Toru Watanabe, reminiscing about his teenage days while hearing ‘Norwegian Wood’, a famous Beatles track after a long air journey.
What starts as a mere recollection of certain events turns into a flashback of the past. It may seem that there is nothing very deep or intriguing about the novel, yet, there is a flow to it, which engulfs the reader and takes them on a painful and exciting journey through the 1960s Japan. Though the story is set in Tokyo, it keeps shifting from Kyoto to other parts of the country. Being a novel about recalling past events, it does not, or rather cannot flow linearly. These time shifts enable Murakami to chart the development of lead characters and the impact of other people on their lives.
A calm and easy-going guy, popularly called Watanabe, is in his late teens, and hardly befriends anyone except Kizuki and his girlfriend Naoko. The three develop a bond that transcends time and entwines their destiny in the most unimaginable way possible. Things change when Kizuki commits suicide, and Toru and Naoko find themselves together in an incomprehensible connection.
‘I want you always to remember me. Will you remember that I existed and that I stood next to you here like this?’
― Norwegian Wood
Lines like these, particularly this one, struck a deep chord with me. Maybe because it depicted the closeness between Toru and Naoko in their later years, or maybe we all experience these emotions at least once in our lifetime.
Throughout the novel, one gets a glimpse of an emotional imbalance as if emotions were hung loosely in the air. But instead of distancing the reader (read me) and making them want to run away or keep the book down, it urges them to explore the unexplored and get to the heart of the characters and situations.
Struggling to make a life in Tokyo, Watanabe surges from times of intense happiness to depressing ones. There are descriptions of copious drinking and graphic sex involved along with misunderstandings, the pressures of university life, pain and misery of unrequited love and a lot of gloominess – factors that typically characterize a teenage state of mind. It also clearly states the confusion of being emotionally and physically close to two girls at the same time.
The novel takes the reader on a journey through post-war Japan, through shoddy lanes and up-market localities alike; it shows real places populated by human beings and the chaos life brings.
Given that this is a translation, the thing that worked for me in understanding the novel is the poetic feel and the metaphors used enabling me to connect to the characters and their life situations.
Norwegian Wood is an ordinary story that deals with basic human emotions of fear, loss, self-discovery and happiness. Lastly, it is a novel about learning to let go and coming to terms with reality to move forward in life.
Have you read this book or any other works by Murakami, if yes do let me know your views in the comments section below!
PS There is a movie adaptation released in the year 2010. Personally, I haven’t seen the movie so cannot comment if it is true to the book or not.
RATING: 4.5/5
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