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A review by mahtab
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
1.5
The book is very problematic in its approach to... well, anything. First of all women are a huge part of the book but the female characters either have only traumas for their personality or are manic pixie dream girls there to satisfy the male protagonist's ego. The two main female characters, Midori and Naoko whom the protagonist is supposed to be in love with are only seen in the light of their sexual appeal. There is nothing to make their characters convincing and realistic, their attitudes do not resemble those of real human beings.
The interactions and sex scenes felt a lot like unrealistic boyish fantasies of a teenager bragging about sexual encounters he never had "look at him he sleeps with a lot of pretty girls and he is so good at it the women decide to never have sex again with anybody else!" I was grossed out by the sheer amount of misogyny and objectification.
There is a scene in which a sexual encounter between a 31-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl is described. Unbelievably the 13-year-old girl is blamed for plotting this relationship and is constantly described as an evil manipulative lesbian who drew the innocent middle aged woman to her trap. So yeah, problematic as problematic goes.
The main character prides himself on being exceptional, different from everybody around him, and honest and nice. I actually found him to be mediocre, an incredibly self-centered liar. I know not every main character should be likable though, as long as you don't make them as bland as Toru is.
About the writing, I found it to be very mediocre and underwhelming. The text is not lyrical or poetical for what it is usually praised for. On the contrast the writing is very dry and bland but maybe the translation from Japanese doesn't do the original text justice.
There are good points to this book, the last paragraph is fascinating in the way the uncertainty of life is captured, the way memories come back to Toru I found to be realistic, there is a character Nagasawa with an interesting philosophy of life. But not enough to make this book worthwhile.
It was my first Murakami book and I don't think I will be able to pick up another for a long time. Maybe I should take Nagasawa's advice on not reading books from an author who has not been dead for at least 30 years.
The interactions and sex scenes felt a lot like unrealistic boyish fantasies of a teenager bragging about sexual encounters he never had "look at him he sleeps with a lot of pretty girls and he is so good at it the women decide to never have sex again with anybody else!" I was grossed out by the sheer amount of misogyny and objectification.
The main character prides himself on being exceptional, different from everybody around him, and honest and nice. I actually found him to be mediocre, an incredibly self-centered liar. I know not every main character should be likable though, as long as you don't make them as bland as Toru is.
About the writing, I found it to be very mediocre and underwhelming. The text is not lyrical or poetical for what it is usually praised for. On the contrast the writing is very dry and bland but maybe the translation from Japanese doesn't do the original text justice.
It was my first Murakami book and I don't think I will be able to pick up another for a long time. Maybe I should take Nagasawa's advice on not reading books from an author who has not been dead for at least 30 years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Misogyny, and Mental illness
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Suicidal thoughts