A review by aralyn42
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

3.0

This book left me uneasy, despondent, restless, and disappointed, emotions mirrored in both the characters and most likely the author. That is the mark of true writing, to manipulate ones emotions until they are indistinguishable from the emotions of the three - the reader, the writer, and the narrator. Am I feeling my own emotions, or am I feeling that of the protagonist, who shifts his reality as smoothly as his thoughts, and paints his memories with the sensations that imprinted upon him, rather than concrete events or meaning. One imbibes the same sense of hopelessness and nostalgia, and is left to question their own lives and memories.
I would not say that either the plot or the characters were compelling enough to warrant more stars, but the descriptions and the slow, contemplative pace, artfully weave a quietly wonderful novel.