A review by margueriteleech
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

challenging reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This is a very slow paced reflective story about a young man's coming of age story in Tokyo. The briefest of synopsis: he goes to college in Tokyo after his best friend dies by suicide in their final year of school where he falls in love. We follow the character as he learns to deal with the mental anguish of his loss and as he adapts to his new life. The sex scenes and the author's portrayal of women, while in some ways very graphic and 'realistic' (as in not overly romanticised or idealised) was also pretty bizarre and strange. Mental illness is a strong theme in this novel. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this style of story me but I can readily accept that this novel dealt with some very difficult topics in a very sensitive manner and was well ahead of its time. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings