People are flawed despite portraying perfection, be it physically or psychologically. Death is a very sensitive topic, and it affects the people who are left behind on earth. Some people can express their loss emotionally, but others bottle up. If we talk about suicides, it again affects the people who are left behind more than the person who has left. It traumatises the bereaved more!
Norwegian wood, named after the song by the Beatles, although is fiction, it reads like a memoir with a blend of behavioural science and romance, or the word should be smut.
I am sorry to say I found the book devoid of empathy. If that’s what the author tried to achieve, well he won!
The book deals with mental illness, suicide, selfishness, and man’s irrevocable lust, a downright misogynistic novel. It paints a picture of the male chauvinistic society where ladies are insignificant, objects of desire. Many suicides are showcased but it looked like nobody missed anybody. Murakami probably tried to depict how people take mental illness and suicide lightly.
A quote from the book: “If you think about it, an unfair society is a society that makes it possible for you to exploit your abilities to the limit.”
I didn’t like any of the characters in the book and maybe that was the aim too. The protagonist of the book is Toru Watanabe, it is very difficult to describe the character who is reticent but enjoys himself when anything is free. He is shown to be hogging his food despite his friend and girlfriend fighting at the table.  There were many other instances where he enjoys himself irrespective of who is unwell or depressed.
I buddy-read it with @eranhereads. Though I have read many Murakami books earlier, this one wasn’t like any of his other books! Probably one should read books after having pressed alt ctrl del in one’s brain, hence freeing any preconceived notions.