Student Must-Read 4: Norwegian Wood
“I have a million things to talk to you about. All I want in this world is you. I want to see you and talk. I want the two of us to begin everything from the beginning.”
What is it about Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood that captures the imagination of readers around the world?
First, we meet Toru Watanabe, who is on a plane landing at Hamburg Airport. As the Beatles’ hit “Norwegian Wood” starts to play, much like the madeleine cake dipped in tea in Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the song transports Toru back to his memories of being 20 years old in 1960s Tokyo.
Murakami’s achievement in this evocative novel is difficult to encapsulate in words. He creates a tone and feeling for being in your 20s: the struggles with love, the clash of emotions, and the shifts from melancholy to passion. Norwegian Wood unfolds within Toru’s mind like a mystery he is still trying to solve.
At the beginning, Watanabe befriends classmates Kizuki and his girlfriend Naoko. But when Kizuki commits suicide, a great shadow falls over everything that follows. Everything changes for Watanabe and Naoko; their relationship and futures are irrevocably altered. While Watanabe meets the vivacious Midori Kobayashi upon returning to college, Naoko finds herself at a secluded mountain sanatorium near Kyoto. As the novel progresses, Watanabe becomes increasingly torn between his complex feelings for Naoko and Midori.
What Murakami achieves here is unlike many of his more imaginative works, such as 1Q84 and Kafka on the Shore. Norwegian Wood is stripped back and palpably real. Moments stand out, captured with pinpoint realism and yet somehow surreal. Readers will vividly remember the scene between Watanabe and Midori as a fire burns in a nearby building.
But why is this a must-read for students? In Watanabe, readers will see parts of themselves. The juxtaposition between Naoko and Midori and the emotions they evoke in Watanabe highlight our need for spontaneity, dynamism, and humour, while also delving into the deeper, more melancholic sides of life and its complexities. There are no easy solutions in Norwegian Wood, only complex, moment-by-moment experiences.
This novel is a must-read for students, particularly those transitioning to or already in college. Through the stories of our key protagonists, students will gain a fascinating insight into not only their own lives, but also into Japan in the 1960s.
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