Top Story: 23.September
Norwegian Wood
Based on Beatles song, this moving story describes fragileness of human spirit.The book tells about events of life of young Toru Watanabe in 60's, the time of free love and student strikes.
Narrator, Toru Watanabe falls in love with girl, Naoko. Her boyfriend committed suicide and starts to live in isolated sanatorium in order to recover from her loss. Their love is distant, rather than close and intimate. There is calm coolness and wonderful beauty in the characters.
The book indeed sounds like autobiography, but it is actually not, said Murakami. Instead he says it's adventure and challenge, a straight and simple story for him. Himself, he says his youth was much less interesting.
Norwegian Wood has indeed wonderful simplicity and modesty. Murakami never writes lines without meaning, his words has a certain point. The main character has to make choices, real and difficult ones. The book has a taste of real life, without extra polish. It is remarkable how beautifully Murakami writes about even very dark and sad things. This book has pure optimism and hidden truth.
Dramaturgy of the book is very good as well. It flows like a water. There is lot of symbolism that most of Murakami's fans will certainly enjoy picking, like mushrooms in autumn.
Norwegian Wood is most famous book of Haruki Murakami. Almost everyone knows Norway no mori in Japan. I truly recommend this to anyone interested in contemporary fiction. It has everything, 1960's pop, love, casual sex, daily life. Dreams and fantasies.
Norwegian Wood is available in English both as Vintage and Harwill Press editions. Translation is made by Jay Rubin who is great Murakami fan himself. There is also earlier English translation by Alfred Birnbaum which has grammar notes on the back.
