A review by marthmallow
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I’m not really sure how people can focus on the ‘depiction of grief’ with all the misogynistic writing, tones of pedophilia, and the disturbing portrayal of sex. I understand it was written in the 80s so maybe it hasn’t aged well but I will not be recommending this unless someone wants a hate read.

I really don’t understand how Reiko was almost portrayed as the wise hero of the novel when she was ‘seduced’ by a thirteen years old girl and had a mental breakdown… then proceeded to have sex with her dead roommates boyfriend?

. The whole novel was riddled with concepts I could not support and I deeply disagreed with the portrayal of sensitive topics.