Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami REVIEW
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- čas přidán 7. 05. 2021
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Murakami's Art of Fiction interview with the Paris Review (most of the interview is behind a paywall, but the questions about NW that I mention in the video come at the very beginning, and are visible to all):
www.theparisreview.org/interv...
US readers, buy the book on IndieBound (yep I'm an affiliate):
www.indiebound.org/book/97803...
UK & other European readers, buy it on Blackwell's (also an affiliate):
blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
UK readers, buy it on Hive and support your favorite independent bookstore (also an affiliate):
tinyurl.com/yjb3mapz
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I’ve read almost all of Murakami’s fictional works and I find that the problems you mentioned persist throughout his catalogue. His narrators/protagonists tend to have a very passive mindset and their relationships with women are almost always sexual, which also makes the female characters in his novel not as fleshed out imo. Having said that, I think a lot of people (me included) read Murakami’s works for their surreal atmosphere and the way he describes a sort of magic in the mundane.
Great review. Personaly I think that the book is about nihilism in Toru and Naoko after their best friend killed himself. Both of them become aloof and disinterested in real world. They find in each other someone who would understand the way they feel, and see the world similarly. It's also a love story where she doesn't love him back, actually she never loved him at all. Same as the song 'Norwegian Wood' by Beatles, which the book is named after.
So excited to see your take on this book that literally changed my life. Norwegian Wood is a private book for me. I had a crush on a girl at my senior high school, and somehow I felt the same vacancy deep inside her that I only felt in Naoko in literature world. She was happy on the face but didn't have passion for any thing or anyone. Seem to have some fairly close friend but no one knew her really and after we graduate, none of her friends know where she went and have any contact with her anymore. She just seemed nice with everything while not wanting to really build connection with anything and anyone. We all felt there might be some trauma inside her but not knowing what it could be. Since we don't have any way to find her now( changed phone number, no any social media account), I guess I would never find out what happened. I was a stupid asshole that I screwed something back then that I still carried regret in me. I go to Norwegian Wood every time those memory come back to me, though I wouldn't really finish it again cause it's too heavy for me.
I have a complicated relationship with Murakami, as will probably be obvious from the length of this comment. I moved to Japan five years ago and consequently started reading more Japanese literature, including Murakami. The first book I read was The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and loved it, I found it quirky without being frivolous, and pleasantly accessible without necessarily detracting from the complexity of its content.
What I found most obnoxious is that everyone especially Midori keeps praising Watanabe as if he is a man womankind have been waiting for. Moreover, every female in his circle keeps justifying his self-centered detached attitude as endearingly 'weird'.
Just stumble to your channel through the magic of the youtube algorithm and I'm really happy about it, altho I´m not a person who is a literature expert by any means, I often ponder about the books I read, Norwegian Wood certainly is one of them (Tokio Blues is the name of the novel in Spanish).Here are my thought about it. I'm a native spanish speaker and it took a bunch of time to write this comment (very rarely I comment on a video), but I really enjoy your perspective, and there are very few people in my life who I can comment on this sort of thing. So, pardon me if my english it's a little broken, I´m very rusty on the grammar and the writing part of the language.
Yeah, it actually reminded me a lot of catcher in the Rye which I didn’t particularly enjoy. Though I am a female so maybe that has something to do with my perception of it. To me it’s so very manic Pixie dream girl fantasy, which we see so much of in films today, books too of course
Ciao Mattia, i finished the book yesterday, it was my first Murakami. Most of your observations resonated in me. I am swimging between i loved the book and i found some aspects superficials or too artificials. Maybe i lack a lot of knowledge of Japanese culture to fully appreciate the symbolism and some of the meanings. I remeber some passages as very poetic and others unbielevably flat. Nevertheless it is happening something that to me happened with very few novels: I can't let it go and move on. It is stuck in my head and i crave hearing and reading comments about it. There is a profound sadness about this book that is repulsive and attractive at the same time, like a vertigo.
Loved the review
This is a brilliant review. I definitely enjoyed the book, however the last interaction Toru had with Reiko honestly ruined the novel for me. I had hoped that their relationship with keep to a sibling dynamic, with Toru looking up or seeking Reiko for advice as she did for him in previous chapters, but ultimately faltered this concept by making them sleep together. Arguably one of the most compelling characters becomes just another muse for Toru. So poorly executed and comes out of no where. It’s almost disrespectful to the character of Naoko since the two are only joined together out of mutual friendship to her. And of all times that they’re having a funeral for her. Murakami is a brilliant writer - but it’s quite evident that he’s never spoken to a woman before.
oh my gosh i literally finished the book 5 minutes ago, well this worked out pretty well... by the way, great review!
I read Norwegian Wood after reading Kafka on the Shore and to me the former is everything I didn't like about the latter and not much more.
I finished this earlier today and was so on the fence on how I felt about it but you've voiced it perfectly ! I totally agree with it being a good novel but not a great novel. I feel as though it contained snippets of wisdom (especially surrounding the theme of death) and the way that Murakami did this, I found to be very beautiful. In general, I really enjoyed his style and his prose. However, it is the 'teenage boy' element that made me question how much I enjoyed the novel. Its is clear that all the female protagonists were dealing with serious issues however I felt as though Watanabe always remembered women in relation to what they have done to his penis. Likewise, female pleasure was rarely explored. I know it is a male narrator but surely its not impossible to think about female pleasure also. I dont know if thats a very annoying point to make but it really stood out to me. Also, sometimes I found some sexual scenes just simply unnecessary and ,to be frank, a little confusing. Despite this, I did enjoy reading this novel and I thought that Murakami included some lovely moments which made an impact on me. I definitely feel as though it is a novel I will have to revisit in a few years to really make a concrete opinion on. Excellent video ! Thank you so much !
great review, I felt exactly the same a good book with some terrible passages, hate how he deals with women's sexuality
I love this review! You should try The Wind Up Bird Chronicle! It has been my favorite Murakami work by quite a lot. It changed my reading life when I was younger, I would love your take on this book!
Oooooh, I've been waiting for this one, thanks for reviewing! I really recommend Kafka on the shore
I finished the book three days ago, I find it a great book on celebrating and bringing respect to the dead, but also about celebrating the greatest mysteries of life. I loved how Murakami focused and channelled his energies to describe the emotions and first experiences. For me, it was an experience that was really close to me sometimes even though I cried, and suffered I wanted to live the same experiences for me the symbolism of death is well depicted, and at the end of the book endeared me to those themes.
kafka on the shore, hardboiled wonderland, 1q84, and killing commendatore are my personal favs and i reccomend them