A review by h0lland
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

emotional 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

4.0

The prose is so, so beautiful, and Murakami’s scene setting feels straight out of the romantic period. There’s a lot here about grief of both the living and the dead and what that means for having interpersonal relationships on any level. A common theme was the value (or lack therof) of being understood. In many ways I’m not sure where we are supposed to land on these themes by the end, but getting there was worth it.

PS
This did NOT pass the Bechdel test.
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