Monday, October 31, 2011

Book Review and Analysis: Haruki Murakami's 'Norwegian Wood'


Let’s enter the world of good books.  Possibly there are two categories of books here; works which make you feel good for the next few days but leaves you soon and the works which stays with you forever like a sweet memory.  And this beautiful work of Murakami which essentially deals with the theme of loss of loved ones and the way the characters try to cope up with it definitely belongs to the latter category. This possibly is the most simple and straight forward work from Murakami but still it retains all the essence and the flavor of his writing.

Norwegian wood essentially deals with the life of central character ‘Toru’ and the people who leave an impression in his life. Toru is calm, cool and easy going guy who enjoys the company of his best friend (Kizuki) and his girl friend (Naoko). Three of them stay together most of the time as if a common soul has been guiding them. Major turning point occurs in Toru’s life at the age of 17 when Kizuki commits suicide. With this Naoki loses her mental balance. In her emotional turmoil, she finds solace in Toru and lands up sleeping with him on her 20th Birthday though she is confused about her role in the world without Kizuki. She enjoys being with Toru but prefers to focus on healing herself and goes to an asylum forcing Toru to wait for her.

In the meanwhile, Toru realizes his love for Naoko but prefers to remain silent giving Naoko space and time to consider her decision. With the help of his friend Nagasawa, he sleeps with many women trying to come over his situation. Later, in the college, Toru befriends Midori. Though Midori tries to behave normal she seems to be very lonely and soon finds rescue in Toru who patiently gives her the comfort she is looking for. In some tender moments she breaks out and we realize how emotionally unbalanced she is like Naoki. But unlike Naoko she prefers to face the world and tries to come to an understanding with it. In line with these is the fantastic character- Reiko, Naoko’s roommate in the sanitarium who essentially is like the bridge between the characters of Toru and Naoko. Reiko understands Naoko at the same time coping up with her own instabilities (She has got her own touching story).

Thus the book presents us with completely different ways of dealing with the emotional imbalance. One tries to escape the world, one tries to come in terms with the world, one tries to look out for some hope and the other tries to sleep with women. For me the book is very special for its beautiful depiction of the amazing feeling of being in love and clearly demarcating it from lust. The beautiful poetry in prose and the usage of metaphors to get the right impression hits everyone alike. The pain, the love and emotional impact experienced by every character which is very special in its own sense are so well presented and it enthralled me. I am sure it would make every reader discover something about him/her. It’s no wonder the novel had created wonders in Japan becoming both the critical and commercial success. Please give it a try if you find sometime and feel the difference.

If you liked the review, pls go through the link of the book "Unrecognised Potential" written by me.


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