Norwegian Wood

Ciertas canciones resuenan en el fondo de mi memoria como un grifo roto en un jardín secreto, una corriente sutil que mantiene vivas algunas flores entre la maleza. Norwegian Wood, la hermosa y brumosa canción de los Beatles, que presta su nombre a esta novela con toques impresionistas de mi nuevo autor de culto, Haruki Murakami, se asoma entre las casualidades de uno de esos viajes insípidos...more

Ciertas canciones resuenan en el fondo de mi memoria como un grifo roto en un jardín secreto, una corriente sutil que mantiene vivas algunas flores entre la maleza. Norwegian Wood, la hermosa y brumosa canción de los Beatles, que presta su nombre a esta novela con toques impresionistas de mi nuevo autor de culto, Haruki Murakami, se asoma entre las casualidades de uno de esos viajes insípidos y cotidianos en que solemos perder la memoria, hasta el asiento de avión en donde Toru, el protagonista, espera su desembarco, y lo arrastra de vuelta a su propio jardín interior hasta instalarlo en una conversación con su pasado. Un recorrido de pasos inconclusos a lo largo de los recuerdos adolescentes, de paseos sin rumbo por interminables calles de Tokyo y bosques de ensueño en los suburbios, para seguir la pista de un amor intocable y suicida que se consume como un incendio en una tarde de domingo, y se reaviva en la fidelidad por los amigos y por uno mismo, y en la búsqueda de la propia originalidad al amparo de la propia tragedia. Murakami sin duda nos extiende una invitación a una velada melancólica y sensual, entre los fantasmas más hermosos e inseparables de la inocencia perdida y del inolvidable primer amor.   hide

Norwegian Wood is a sort of period romance set in the wild and turbulent late 60s university campuses of Tokyo. The book left me a little disappointed, partly due to its slow pacing and partly due to the characters (which, while interesting, never felt particularly believable). Attitudes about sex and relationships seemed particularly bizarre (some of this may well be due to cultural...more

Norwegian Wood is a sort of period romance set in the wild and turbulent late 60s university campuses of Tokyo. The book left me a little disappointed, partly due to its slow pacing and partly due to the characters (which, while interesting, never felt particularly believable). Attitudes about sex and relationships seemed particularly bizarre (some of this may well be due to cultural or generational differences). Suicide is a recurring plot element, so don't turn to this if you're looking to be cheered up. This is a book where the ups and downs of life happens to the protagonist, and he feels little ability to change the world about him. I liked the use of symbolism, the use of music in the story, and the occasional touches of humor. The ending was pretty strong, and helped redeem what would otherwise have been a lower rating.   hide

A dark, and very emotionally intense book - it explores romantic love and sexual love through the eyes of a young undergrad, whose friends are also grappling with their teenage emotions, some of whom take their lives in the course of the book. Set in Japan of the 1960s, the book also takes a swipe at the student uprisings that took place during that time. This book is less metaphysical compared...more

A dark, and very emotionally intense book - it explores romantic love and sexual love through the eyes of a young undergrad, whose friends are also grappling with their teenage emotions, some of whom take their lives in the course of the book. Set in Japan of the 1960s, the book also takes a swipe at the student uprisings that took place during that time. This book is less metaphysical compared to Kafka by the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle , but is a worthy read and did not disappoint.   hide

The Novel opens with the main character in a plane taxiing to the stand hears a muzak version of the Beatles Norwegian Wood... the favorite song of his best friends girlfriend and it takes him back 20 years to his student days in Tokyo of the last couple of years of the 60's.. The book explores uneasy relationships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire and the angst that is as we all know is...more

The Novel opens with the main character in a plane taxiing to the stand hears a muzak version of the Beatles Norwegian Wood... the favorite song of his best friends girlfriend and it takes him back 20 years to his student days in Tokyo of the last couple of years of the 60's.. The book explores uneasy relationships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire and the angst that is as we all know is being a young adult. Torn between his past and his future. A love story... We should note that this is translated from Japanese and possibly some of the subtelty may have been lost. An easy uncomplicate book, a real departure for Murakami, some of the sex scene are graphic and possibly superfluous to the story, nevertheless a good read.   hide

The author constructs the novel within an English Literature class setting. There are many references to other classic books and song names. The beautiful words describe the scenes in such detail. I can see the flag being raised in the courtyard in my mind. A variety of realistic characters. Very real character development. I love Storm Trooper. Not too much happens, but the description and...more

The author constructs the novel within an English Literature class setting. There are many references to other classic books and song names. The beautiful words describe the scenes in such detail. I can see the flag being raised in the courtyard in my mind. A variety of realistic characters. Very real character development. I love Storm Trooper. Not too much happens, but the description and poetry in the words make it a terribly good read. Moments in life - some very relatable, some very powerful. Very easy to step into this world. I love how he references other literature through out the book, music too - though I don't recognize the songs. And I love how he talks about the construction of a story inside the book ie. the deus ex machina reference via the English lecture. Deals with suicide. What happens when one person is waiting for another to move on in life. This if the first Murukami book I read. I was looking for a fictional book set in Japan because I had just been to Tokyo. I thought it was a way to understand the culture and its people better, and somehow came across a site that said he was a very famous author. Now I plan to read all his books and discover the magic he posesses as a writer.   hide

Let's be honest, the protagonist of this story, Toru, was and had to have been modeled after myself. A young twenty-something only child who spends all-too-much time in introspective thought while wandering through his city's streets while observing the epistemological codes of society. Other than the fact that he has three separate women fall in love with him at once and the fact that he...more

Let's be honest, the protagonist of this story, Toru, was and had to have been modeled after myself. A young twenty-something only child who spends all-too-much time in introspective thought while wandering through his city's streets while observing the epistemological codes of society. Other than the fact that he has three separate women fall in love with him at once and the fact that he actually acts on his will to disassociate from society at times we are one in the same. Oh also, Toru has a pretty quick witted emotive response tendency, that also I don't have. But with all that said, Norwegian Wood is kind of like my life story, but a lot more tragic and dynamic, and contains a monotonous voice that screams at the reader.   hide

“Norwegian wood” is a story of Wanatebe, a twenty year old student in Tokyo of the 1960s. Wanatebe is in love with two girls. One of them is Naoko, the girlfriend of Kidzuki, his late friend, who killed himself in the age of 17. Wanatebe and Naoko met through Kidzuki, and became “together” some time after his death. But Naoko is mentally ill, and is stationed in an asylum. Wanatebe, in...more

“Norwegian wood” is a story of Wanatebe, a twenty year old student in Tokyo of the 1960s. Wanatebe is in love with two girls. One of them is Naoko, the girlfriend of Kidzuki, his late friend, who killed himself in the age of 17. Wanatebe and Naoko met through Kidzuki, and became “together” some time after his death. But Naoko is mentally ill, and is stationed in an asylum. Wanatebe, in the meantime, goes on with his life and meets Midori, a student in his university - a slightly twisted girl, whose hobbies are getting drunk and watching porn movies. I won’t spoil the rest for you… In some ways it’s a melancholic, elegiac book. In other ways, it’s thoughtful and optimistic - depends how you look at it, and in what mood you are when you read it. Anyway you see it, the book is written very well.   hide

Murakami's most "normal" book, this is still not for everyone. Very slow, not much happens, main characters are depressingly lost and displaced except for the (thank God) refreshingly spunky Midori and Reiko, but even they are damaged. Murakami does, however, write beautifully and with incredible sensitivity - maybe too much at times. Descriptive sex going on in here, and a fair amount, so beware...more

Murakami's most "normal" book, this is still not for everyone. Very slow, not much happens, main characters are depressingly lost and displaced except for the (thank God) refreshingly spunky Midori and Reiko, but even they are damaged. Murakami does, however, write beautifully and with incredible sensitivity - maybe too much at times. Descriptive sex going on in here, and a fair amount, so beware conservative readers and parents.   hide

A MUST BE. Although this is the old story: Boy meets girl; girl goes away; boy can't decide whether to pine or move on.Yet, Marukami is a really great writer. A good observer of human peculiarities. And someone with lots of fantasy. His novels aren't afraid to pull tricks usually banned from serious fiction: They are suspenseful, corny, spooky, and hilarious; they're airplane reading, but when...more

A MUST BE. Although this is the old story: Boy meets girl; girl goes away; boy can't decide whether to pine or move on.Yet, Marukami is a really great writer. A good observer of human peculiarities. And someone with lots of fantasy. His novels aren't afraid to pull tricks usually banned from serious fiction: They are suspenseful, corny, spooky, and hilarious; they're airplane reading, but when you're through you spend the rest of the flight, the rest of the month, rethinking life. I really like his writing a whole lot, but not all of his books are that good. At the end, the all talk about the same: a lonely man, finding out what this world is, who he is. And how to find real love.   hide