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| Norwegian Wood | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 162 reviews)
Sales Rank: 4493
Category: Book
Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher: Vintage
Studio: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Label: Vintage
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 298
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0375704027
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.635
EAN: 9780375704024
ASIN: 0375704027
Publication Date: September 12, 2000
Release Date: September 12, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
First American Publication
This stunning and elegiac novel by the author of the internationally acclaimed Wind-Up Bird Chronicle has sold over 4 million copies in Japan and is now available to American audiences for the first time.It is sure to be a literary event.
Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before.Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable.As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
A poignant story of one college student's romantic coming-of-age, Norwegian Wood takes us to that distant place of a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.
Amazon.com
In 1987, when Norwegian Wood was first published in Japan, it promptly sold more than 4 million copies and transformed Haruki Murakami into a pop-culture icon. The horrified author fled his native land for Europe and the United States, returning only in 1995, by which time the celebrity spotlight had found some fresher targets. And now he's finally authorized a translation for the English-speaking audience, turning to the estimable Jay Rubin, who did a fine job with his big-canvas production The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Readers of Murakami's later work will discover an affecting if atypical novel, and while the author himself has denied the book's autobiographical import--"If I had simply written the literal truth of my own life, the novel would have been no more than fifteen pages long"--it's hard not to read as at least a partial portrait of the artist as a young man. Norwegian Wood is a simple coming-of-age tale, primarily set in 1969-70, when the author was attending university. The political upheavals and student strikes of the period form the novel's backdrop. But the focus here is the young Watanabe's love affairs, and the pain and pleasure and attendant losses of growing up. The collapse of a romance (and this is one among many!) leaves him in a metaphysical shambles: I read Naoko's letter again and again, and each time I read it I would be filled with the same unbearable sadness I used to feel whenever Naoko stared into my eyes. I had no way to deal with it, no place I could take it to or hide it away. Like the wind passing over my body, it had neither shape nor weight, nor could I wrap myself in it. This account of a young man's sentimental education sometimes reads like a cross between Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and Stephen Vizinczey's In Praise of Older Women. It is less complex and perhaps ultimately less satisfying than Murakami's other, more allegorical work. Still, Norwegian Wood captures the huge expectation of youth--and of this particular time in history--for the future and for the place of love in it. It is also a work saturated with sadness, an emotion that can sometimes cripple a novel but which here merely underscores its youthful poignancy. --Mark Thwaite
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| Customer Reviews: Read 157 more reviews...
 The new Salinger without being repetitive. September 2, 2008
Murakami's Norwegian Wood seems like another Catcher in the Rye without any traces of annoying repetitiveness of themes. Watanabe, the protagonist of the novel, has already become a figure to emulate in some respects...
 An Utter Waste Of Time August 11, 2008
I've read three of Murakami's books, and quite frankly, I don't understand his appeal to so many people.
In this book Watanabe is a listless, dull, young man. To give you a taste for his depth, witness the following excerpt of a conversation he had with a friend who, according to Watanabe, had a profound insight into Mozart's music: "...with Itoh's smart and heartfelt commentary ('There - that part., "How about that?')...." Other conversations throughout the book are equally stimulating.
I struggled to get through this book filled with suicide and depression, without any insights.
Haruki's Best August 7, 2008
I have read all Murakami's Books mostly in Japanese. I have been in love with the book ever since 16. I recently bought this book because I wanted to see how my favorite book is translated in English. I was deeply impressed by the translation - very accurate and great choice of words to preserve a tone of the book. I totally recommend this book.
An Experience, not an Exposition July 8, 2008
"Norwegian Wood" tells of a college student's life in the 1960s in Japan. The narrative primarily concerns itself with the relationships of the narrator, Toru Watanabe.
Watanabe is a humble, self-described 'average' guy. In contrast to his perfectly plain self-depiction, he quietly questions the social mores and structure around him. His reluctance to mindlessly conform isolates him from most, but one-by-one he befriends a diverse cast of characters, all of whom are struggling with something. There's Naoko, the ex-girlfriend of Watanabe's dead best friend, the womanizing Nagasawa, Nagasawa's main squeeze Hatsumi, and the spark-plug Midori.
"Norwegian Wood" is a novel about love, it is a novel about youth. It explores passion, why we burn and feel for others, the context of sex in love, and so many other things. But it NEVER analyzes, it never stops and reflects upon itself. It keeps moving, allowing us to experience all these emotions for ourselves and make of them what we will. I can't express enough how much of an experience this book is.
Inevitably "Norwegian Wood" has been compared to its influences: 'Catcher and the Rye', 'The Great Gatsby', and Thomas Mann's 'The Magic Mountain.' While each novel has its own flavor, 'Norwegian Wood' is arguably the most affecting of the bunch. It hurts every time I read this book. This novel has life in it, and the more you perceive and are in touch with your own experiences in this world, the more meaningful and poignant your time with this book will be.
 Tragic, romantic but NOT pathetic! May 30, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is my second favorite by Murakami. I think his strength lies in his style of writing. As if you read Bukowski without swearing and vulgar stuff.
I can't add anything that is not written, and I don't wanna spoil it for you. Go get it.
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