Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Norwegian Wood

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Influenced by one of my favourite bands, the title is named after the song 'Norwegian Wood' which is Naoko's favorite song. This book is about the transition from young adulthood into adulthood, touching on themes such as sex, love, loss, friendship, suicide, etc.

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yorozuya's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My first Murakami and despite travelling while I started the book, I devoured it in the little time I had!

There's some messed up bits in here I won't lie but the writing style is so smooth and the way these dark themes are explored are so intriguing! The way Murakami describes memories will definitely stay with me for a while to come, and so will that very first scene of nothing but a description of a forest and a well...

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abbyluvsfrogs444's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a hard book to rate and review. I've been off and on reading this for almost two years. It's not that I didn't like it, I just always found something better to read. This was such a complicated book. I have complicated feelings about it. Toru was duller than a butter knife. And I hated how the only thing he seemed to like about Naoko was her body. I don't believe that he loved her. He lusted her. Big difference. It felt very objectifying whenever he talked about Naoko. The way mental health is talked about is...interesting. I'm not sure Murakami gets it. And I don't think he understands women either. Stick to writing about your dull, little men, sir and leave women out of it.

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kyoe983's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The one thing that this book keeps consistent throughout the story it's aesthetic. Through Murakami's writing style and the translator's work, we're transported in the somber and full-of-death world of Toru Watanabe, with every scene, place, thought, and dialogue seeming extremely vivid. This clearness of the story seems very entertaining while reading, but if you take it away you'll realize that Murakami writes about a bunch of nonsense. The flaws of this book are numerous, and even if it seems you're following a story while reading, you're not. There are just events. Rememberings of a 40-year-old man. Are his thoughts even real? He does mention in the first chapter that he doesn't remember much, and then proceeds to write a full book, very vividly and detailed, about his life 20 years ago. Maybe that also explains why the ending is so fucking bad. Maybe.

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