Norwegian Wood (Vintage International) Kindle Edition

“I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me...this bird had flown.”BeatlesHaruki Murakami borrowes his novel title “Norwegian Wood” from the Beatles.On a cold soggy November day as Toru Wanatabe's flight makes its decent into Hamburg a version of the Beatle's track Norwegian Wood comes through the p.a. system. Thirty-seven-year-old Toru feels a shudder go through him. He remembers his story. Eighteen years have gone by when during a walk Nakao said to him:"I’d never find my way back. I’d go to pieces and the pieces would be blown away."The pieces do get blown away but Toru remembers every detail of the sad and strange love story, a story of life and death.It began as a tale of three close friends Kizuki, his girl friend, Naoko, and Toru who spend much time together. A short time later Kizuki who was good at everything and had everything, it would seem, commits suicide. After this Toru’s and Naoko’s friendship develop into deep love. She is a much-troubled girl and eventually ends up in a sanatorium, Ami Hostel, in the mountains.Other characters come into Toru’s life too. A fellow university student, Nagasawa, strong, debauched. He leads a charmed life at his university and only reads books by authors dead 30 years with one exception, Fitzgerald. Reiki is Naoko’s interesting room-mate. She is wise, kind, and spends much time learning to play new pieces on her guitar. It is when visiting Naoko in the Santorum that Toru first hears a version of Norwegian Wood played by Reiki. Midori, another strong character, a wild and energetic girl teaches Toru to take life as it comes. Her energy and flirtatiousness and a sense of sexual freedom give much relief to Toru through his troubled times.Murakami's characters are fully developed and strong, and strong too is his dialogue. As always he is good at balancing the light and dark side of life. Throughout the story Toru is torn between his loyalty to Naoko and his attraction to others.This novel like his other novels is deep and philosophical, at times strange but always with a touch of humour. Much of the author's love of Western music, of pop and jazz, comes into play in Norwegian Wood first published in in 1987Toru’s painful love story is meditative and quiet. Naoko had insisted he remember her in the future, constantly reminded him not to forget her. He remembers.

Brief Description: At the start of the book, we meet Toru the businessman on an airplane. As he is getting ready to deplane, he hears the Beatle's song, Norwegian Wood, and it transports him back to the past--to the late 1960s when Toru was a quiet and serious college student who kept mostly to himself. However, a chance encounter with a girl from his hometown, Naoko, leads to a strange and unclassifiable relationship. The two are bound together by the suicide of a mutual friend years before, whose death continues to haunt their lives. Although Toru is doing his best to adapt and fit in with the world, Naoko struggles and eventually seeks help at an asylum. Toru, who finds himself bound to Naoko in ways he doesn't fully understand, is confused when he also finds himself drawn to a sexually liberated and outspoken fellow student, Midori. As Toru attempts to balance his commitment to Naoko and his attraction to Midori, he finds that he can only be free when (as the song says) "This bird has flown."My Thoughts: OK ... I'll be upfront about why this book didn't work for me as much as it could have or I wanted it to. The main problem is that I was super-excited to try one of Murakami's fiction books and was prepared and pumped up for weirdness and alternate universes and talking animals and, unknowingly, managed to pick the one fairly straightforward book that Murakami wrote. (I only found this out afterwards. If only I'd read the blurb that said this book was "a complete stylistic departure" from his mysterious and surreal novels!) So, I was hoping for surrealism and found, instead, realism. Not to say this was a bad book, but it wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for. (Apparently, I should have chosen The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles or A Wild Sheep Chase instead.) The writing is graceful and fluid, and the story was accessible. Although tinged with melancholy and surprisingly graphic sex scenes/talk, Norwegian Wood ended up being a memorable and haunting coming of age story. It also evokes the strangeness and melancholy of the titular song.

No início, confesso que tive dificuldade em mergulhar na trama, mas à medida que avançava, fui totalmente cativada. Cada página parecia trazer uma nova camada de profundidade à história, tornando-a cada vez mais envolvente. Quando finalmente cheguei ao fim, fiquei completamente imersa nos personagens. Os dias seguintes foram preenchidos com reflexões sobre os temas e mensagens que o enredo tão habilmente abordou. Sem dúvida, tornou-se um dos meus favoritos, uma obra que continuará a ecoar na minha mente por muito tempo.

Amazing book, must read!

Wonderfully written and paced. A wonderful reading of the human character for 20 somethings.

While on a flight to Germany and while landing, the writer happens to listen to the song "Norwegian Wood" by Beatles.The wonderful song would have raised and must have elated the moods of all the other passengers on board listening to the pleasant, musical,soothing,lyrics ,but for the writer Murakami of "Norwegian Woods",as being narrated that the song always reminded him of his shuddering past,an unforgettable memory and a saddened truth which can't be erased from his memory.By the above we may conclude initially that it looked as if we are reading a sad story of someone whose thoughts are linked with the song.It also looked as if we are reading an autobiography of the one who has written the lines,until denied by the writer. himself. Murakami starts the book,"Norwegian Wood " with an exceptional beginning by picking up a popular Beatles song, titled,"Norwegian Wood",while putting life into the characters of the book simultaneously, filling with feelings and emotions, bringing out wonderful description of nature around,meadows,past memorable memories and the city of Tokyo, during the period 1968-70.The vivid description of dorms,universities,porn and students unrest etc are also brought out with such an impact that as a reader ,we have a feeling of witnessing the same in the present.As we continue reading, we learn that the lines above are thoughts of the protagonist, in the book'Thoru Watanabe' and the song "Norwegian Wood" by Beatles,was the favorite song of his beloved 'Naoko'.But then,to say the book as an ideal love story is also wrong,because on the one hand you read about the intense love,passion,emotions & feelings between Thoru Watanabe and Naoko(who is his best friend, Kizuki' s girl friend), but on the other hand we also witness the same intense relationship between him and,his other girlfriend, Midori and which is no less as close.Besides,we also come across about the physical relationship between Reiko and Watanabe(after the death of Naoko & who also happens to be a roommate & close friend of Naoko at the rehab sanctuary). We also read, the multiple flings of Watanabe with other girls, along with his friend Nagaswa while at dormitory and during their college days etc makes the feeling strong that the book is not an ideal love story though it's hard to keep the feeling aside at many a places, which is an incredible art by the writer to keep the intrest of the readers.With the number of deaths in the story by suicides (Kizuki,Hatsumi,Naoka),the frequent failure of love between(Toru Watanabe with Naoka and Midori, & Nagasawa with Hatsumi) ,an happily married life ending into divorce due to an unfortunate rumor (Reiko's ending up in a rehab) makes the story sad and tragic.With out doubt these things on the part of the reader - I.e. the subtle feeling of autobiographical part,the love story part, and the sad & tragic part intrigues us.Thetakeaways from the book are the strong and unflinching friendships that exist between different characters.,the mention of Beatles songs and books like Great Gatsby,which are skillfully clubbed with the story.Though it's not a suggestion to listen to the song of Beatles or read the book ,but definitely most of the readers may endup doing so if not done earlier,just out of curiosity. The charecter of Toru Watanabe for eg, as a caregiver to Midori's father while giving her a break touches us near to the heart.Then complimenting Midori for her cuteness with words like "So cute that the Mountains crumble and the Oceans dry up,"etc brings out the wit in him ,the replies that comes from Thoru Watanabe,and also being a favorite and being liked by every other charecter in the bookgoes down long with the reader.Similarly, the mention of Storm Trooper and his habits of being a perfectionist bring a lot of laughter.Above all,both the writing by Murakami and the translation by Jay Rubin are outstanding..

This book is one of the very few that takes you deep within the soles of each of the characters.