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A review by juandb
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I do agree that it gets a bit weird sometimes, mostly due to Murakami's self-indulgence in regards to how much -and how deeply- sex is described (the scene at the end between Watanabe and Reiko felt particularly out of place), I mostly disagree with the reviews I've read that thrash the novel because of how awful the characters are; don't get me wrong, I do believe that most characters are pretty harmful both towards themselves and others, with Watanabe himself being the most so. But I just don't think that makes the book a bad one.
I read it as the story of an adolescent (let's keep in mind that for at least half of the book, Watanabe is a minor) whose remarkable levels of self-pity, coupled with a nonexistent capacity for empathy, prevent him from seeing just how much of a negative effect his actions have on those around him. He frequently -and thoughtlessly- acts in ways that cause considerable pain to both Naoko and Midori, and very scarcely considers the impact o those actions. With Naoko, he claims to worry about her wellbeing, but these thoughts rarely convert into actions; or rather, into some form of refrain. He appears and reappears in her life at times that he shouldn't, and when he does, he interacts with her in ways that he shouldn't. Her strange behavior (which is understandably so, given her decaying mental health), as well as Reiko's reassurances, are enough to keep him from ever considering the possibility that he might not be a great influence for her.
Speaking about Reiko, while she is generally nicer than most other characters, I felt like all things considered, she ended up being a negative influence both for Naoko and Watanabe. Her having lived in the asylum for so long, as well as her age and simply her manners, makes both Naoko and Watanabe (as well as the reader, at least in my case), see her as a sort of mentor figure; but I believe her carefree approach to Naoko's mental health is an important factor in the worsening of her condition. Through their letters we see Naoko become more and more detached from the world, gradually finding it more difficult to write her letters to Watanabe and then even developing auditory hallucinations; but Reiko insists that she's still fine, only admitting that she might need some more proactive help at the very end. Her whole thing about knowing whether someone will get cured or not just by looking at them seems to me like an indication that she isn't a very healthy influence for other patients. And even after Naoko's death, she seems to be of the opinion that there wasn't much that could be done about it -when Watanabe expresses this thought, she doesn't challenge it.
As for Naoko herself, I thought she was the most interesting and enigmatic character. She reminded me of Shin Hae-mi, from the movie Burning (2018), and Carol, from Safe (1995). Like Shin Hae-mi, she is misunderstood by pretty much everyone around her, becoming increasingly lonely and helpless; like Carol, her health problems are addressed by isolating her from the outside world, surrounded by people who, despite their best intentions, are unable to help her.
I read many negative opinions of Midori, and I do partly agree with them. At times she seems a bit too into the "quirky, not traditionally feminine, kind of innocent yet assertive girl" which makes it hard to take her seriously. However, she does deliver one of my favorite scenes from the book, when she writes her letter to Watanabe while sitting next to him. I do wonder whether it would have been a better ending if she simply hadn't forgiven him, which would have been a nice change from the submisiveness that women have towards Watanabe in the story. Either way, in spite of how things resolve later, it is a deeply moving scene, probably because it is the only time Watanabe is directly confronted in this way. He spends the rest of the novel downplaying the effects of his actions on other people, but this time, someone is explicitly telling him how hurt they were because of him. His reaction is telling: he makes no mention of felling guilty after reading the letter, and in fact, right after reading it he talks about how he went for a walk because he had nothing to do, and how he tried to write to her but ended up writing to Naoko.
My other favorite scene is when Watanabe accompanies Nagasawa and Hatsumi for dinner. In my view, Nagasawa is the character that allows Watanabe to feel better about himself in comparison. Nagasawa is a bad person, and Watanabe knows this. He evidently takes pride in how he eventually cuts ties with him, though not before having indulged him for so long, going out with him at night to find cheap sex. Nagasawa is a cold, selfish character who makes Watanabe, a slightly less cold, slightly less selfish character, feel like he is a good guy.
And to me, this scene is what makes that most evident. The whole evening, Hatsumi is crying for help, a help that Nagasawa knows she needs but isn't willing to give her. And when Watanabe has the chance to talk to her on his own, he offers barely any real, honest advice.
So to me, the story is about an unempathetic man who doesn't see the harm he causes, and so ends up surrounded in pain and death. It is understandably a hard read, but in my view, it's clear that its darkest elements -the overly masculine perspective, the abundance of sex, the one-dimensionality of the female characters- are purposely used to show Watanabe's distorted view of reality and people. The only elements I would change are, as I said, the way things end with Midori, as well as the overly crude depictions of sex.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship