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booksarebrainfood 's review for:
Norwegian Wood
by Haruki Murakami
Really torn on this one!
Plot 1/2: This book isn't supposed to be extremely plot oriented, but I gave it half a point for sort of holding the relationship with Naoko throughout as a plot anchor, which turns out to be very poignant and sad.
Writing 1: Murakami is an extremely talented writer. I love love loved the descriptions of Tokyo and Kyoto, his descriptions of nature and people are so vivid that this book is almost cinematic. A really nice balance of detail while remaining light and readable I also thought the themes were explored really cleverly, for example the title Norwegian Wood put me in mind of the infamous suicide forest of Japan when the novel deals with these issues, but also is the title of a Beatles song which is related to Toru's sort of exploration of western culture that makes him feel connected to the world and is a really crucial part of his coming of age. The death of his friend at 17 is notable as it felt symbolic of Toru's death of his childhood, and it is no coincidence that this novel covers the years of 18/19/20 a transitional phase, which is interesting as the novel begins with older Toru on a plane, a transitional phase of reality. It also demonstrates the power of music and how it can take you back to years in the past and how interconnected our memories are with music.
Characters 0: Ugh. I'm not sure how far I can critique this as a novel set in the 60's and written in a culture that isn't mine, especially with translation, but I was not a fan of any of the characters at all. The men were piggishly sexist and predatory, Toru is an extremely unreliable and unlikeable narrator who everyone seems to like even though he is boring and narrow minded, the women were romanticised and degraded in the same breath, Midori in particularly is subjected to this manic pixie dream girl status who is supposed to save him from his issues. I'm not sure what Murakami was trying to achieve by including the character in the asylum as she was clearly a very toxic and predatory woman, and it didn't sit right with me that Murakami would sexualise teenage girls so flippantly while blaming them for their own abuse. Weird and was not a fan of that at all, the gratuitous descriptions of intercourse throughout felt like seedy and unnecessary panderings to male readers and to Murakami's own fantasies since this is so closely linked with his life. They also use a character who is clearly autistic as a joke, as well as fetishising mental illness and dealing with it in a really archaic and sexist way. Not a fan of that at all.
World Engagement 1pt : I loved the way this novel dealt with those crucial years of coming of age, as Toru and those around him battle adulthood while bearing scars of childhood. He does such a good job of exploring social disconnect, so many characters say that they feel that no-one understands them, and this sadly leads to suicide in a few cases which is all too common. I liked how Murakami coded Toru's life and his friends with the novels he was reading, for example reading the Great Gatsby when he meets Magasawa to whom he acts as a Nick Carraway figure observing as he gets into debauchery in the expensive clubs and hotels of Shibuya, and reading the Magic Mountain while visiting Naoko in the facility in the snowy mountains of Kyoto, there are also references throughout to the Catcher in the Rye, mentioned by Reiko who sort of takes his innocence in their engagements as the prostitute poses this threat Holden Caulfield, as well as the sort of stream of consciousness narrative and getting up to various exploits with Midori. Naoko in the asylum also put me in mind of the Bell Jar, and their clinging onto the Beatles and other western indie singers shows that this engagement with western culture has created a disconnect between them as it doesn't give them the tools to deal with their own world.
Enjoyability 1/2: I deducted half a point for the amount of times I rolled my eyes at the characters annoyingness, but I gave it the other half as I really enjoyed Murakami's writing. I read this book in 2 sittings it was a joy to read linguistically, and I really enjoyed this version of coming of age stories set in a different place than I'm used to reading, and the exploration of the characters attachment to their friend who died young.
I will definitely be picking up more Murakami novels and hope they amend some of the issues I had with this one, as I think he had a lot to say that I connected with.
Plot 1/2: This book isn't supposed to be extremely plot oriented, but I gave it half a point for sort of holding the relationship with Naoko throughout as a plot anchor, which turns out to be very poignant and sad.
Writing 1: Murakami is an extremely talented writer. I love love loved the descriptions of Tokyo and Kyoto, his descriptions of nature and people are so vivid that this book is almost cinematic. A really nice balance of detail while remaining light and readable I also thought the themes were explored really cleverly, for example the title Norwegian Wood put me in mind of the infamous suicide forest of Japan when the novel deals with these issues, but also is the title of a Beatles song which is related to Toru's sort of exploration of western culture that makes him feel connected to the world and is a really crucial part of his coming of age. The death of his friend at 17 is notable as it felt symbolic of Toru's death of his childhood, and it is no coincidence that this novel covers the years of 18/19/20 a transitional phase, which is interesting as the novel begins with older Toru on a plane, a transitional phase of reality. It also demonstrates the power of music and how it can take you back to years in the past and how interconnected our memories are with music.
Characters 0: Ugh. I'm not sure how far I can critique this as a novel set in the 60's and written in a culture that isn't mine, especially with translation, but I was not a fan of any of the characters at all. The men were piggishly sexist and predatory, Toru is an extremely unreliable and unlikeable narrator who everyone seems to like even though he is boring and narrow minded, the women were romanticised and degraded in the same breath, Midori in particularly is subjected to this manic pixie dream girl status who is supposed to save him from his issues. I'm not sure what Murakami was trying to achieve by including the character in the asylum as she was clearly a very toxic and predatory woman, and it didn't sit right with me that Murakami would sexualise teenage girls so flippantly while blaming them for their own abuse. Weird and was not a fan of that at all, the gratuitous descriptions of intercourse throughout felt like seedy and unnecessary panderings to male readers and to Murakami's own fantasies since this is so closely linked with his life. They also use a character who is clearly autistic as a joke, as well as fetishising mental illness and dealing with it in a really archaic and sexist way. Not a fan of that at all.
World Engagement 1pt : I loved the way this novel dealt with those crucial years of coming of age, as Toru and those around him battle adulthood while bearing scars of childhood. He does such a good job of exploring social disconnect, so many characters say that they feel that no-one understands them, and this sadly leads to suicide in a few cases which is all too common. I liked how Murakami coded Toru's life and his friends with the novels he was reading, for example reading the Great Gatsby when he meets Magasawa to whom he acts as a Nick Carraway figure observing as he gets into debauchery in the expensive clubs and hotels of Shibuya, and reading the Magic Mountain while visiting Naoko in the facility in the snowy mountains of Kyoto, there are also references throughout to the Catcher in the Rye, mentioned by Reiko who sort of takes his innocence in their engagements as the prostitute poses this threat Holden Caulfield, as well as the sort of stream of consciousness narrative and getting up to various exploits with Midori. Naoko in the asylum also put me in mind of the Bell Jar, and their clinging onto the Beatles and other western indie singers shows that this engagement with western culture has created a disconnect between them as it doesn't give them the tools to deal with their own world.
Enjoyability 1/2: I deducted half a point for the amount of times I rolled my eyes at the characters annoyingness, but I gave it the other half as I really enjoyed Murakami's writing. I read this book in 2 sittings it was a joy to read linguistically, and I really enjoyed this version of coming of age stories set in a different place than I'm used to reading, and the exploration of the characters attachment to their friend who died young.
I will definitely be picking up more Murakami novels and hope they amend some of the issues I had with this one, as I think he had a lot to say that I connected with.