Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

2 reviews

dugfromthedirt's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.75


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bweeb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a first time reader of Murakami, I didn't know quite what to expect; whether the book would be emotional, light-hearted, disappointing. To say the least, this book was extremely emotional, for me at least, and left me feeling completely drained and empty. Murakami's matter of fact style writing was refreshing yet deeply touching; I felt myself moved to tears several times throughout the book. Sometimes, often rather, I would be too moved to continue reading and first had to process what I just read. 

As for the ending of the novel - at first I was left a bit puzzled, then I reached my own interpretation, whether or not it is what was intended I am unsure of. For me, I saw his delusion / slip out of reality as him inheriting the 'illness' from Naoko, that she inherited from Kizuki the night she 'moved on' from him (the night Toru and her slept together. As for Toru, he inherits the 'illness' when he 'moves on' by calling Midori; although this is a rather grim interpretation, I myself feel it is what suits my understanding of the novel as a whole the best. To add on however, of course he chooses not to commit, unlike Naoko and Kizuki, as the novel begins with him recalling these events. This isn't to say that he isn't 'ill', as were Naoko and Kizuki, but chose to continue living for whatever reason. Furthermore, I think Midori's and his relationship is important to note for the ending because when afflicted by depression/suicidality/etc., as is stated earlier, no amount of love from any person can help; meaning he had to choose to live, Midori did not pull him out of it.

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