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Norwegian Wood

PostPosted: October 8th, 2011, 2:24 pm
by Memnoch26
I find this book very entertaining. its full of drama and fooling around as well. The main character narrates his life starting with his teens and goes through lifes challenges.

Well, while I find the book very lively and interesting, the movie is quite disappointing - Too serious and too boring for me.

For those of you who doesn't know Haruki Murakami - he is a very famous and award winning Japanese writer. His new book - IQ84,released 2009, got sold out on the release date and sold a million within its first month. The english version will be released just this month. Been waiting for it for 2 years.


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WIKI
The novel is a nostalgic story of loss and sexuality. The story's protagonist and narrator is Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo. Through Toru's reminiscences we see him develop relationships with two very different women — the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and the outgoing, lively Midori.

The novel is set in Tokyo during the late 1960s, a time when Japanese students, like those of many other nations, were protesting against the established order.

A 37-year-old Toru Watanabe has just arrived in Hamburg, Germany. When he hears an orchestral cover of the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood," he is suddenly overwhelmed by feelings of loss and nostalgia. He thinks back to the 1960s, when so much happened that touched his life.

Toru, his classmate Kizuki, and Kizuki's girlfriend Naoko are the best of friends. Kizuki and Naoko are particularly close and feel as if they are soulmates, and Toru seems more than happy to be their enforcer. This idyllic existence is interrupted by the unexpected suicide of Kizuki on his 17th birthday. Kizuki's death deeply touches both surviving friends; Toru feels the influence of death everywhere, while Naoko feels as if some integral part of her has been permanently lost. The two of them spend more and more time together, trying to console one another, and they eventually fall in love. On the night of Naoko's 20th birthday, she feels especially vulnerable, and they consummate their love. Afterwards, Naoko leaves Toru a letter saying that she needs some time apart and that she is quitting college to go to a sanatorium.

The blossoming of their love is set against a backdrop of civil unrest. The students at Toru's college go on strike and call for a revolution. Inexplicably, the students end their strike and act as if nothing had happened, which enrages Toru as a sign of hypocrisy.

Re: Norwegian Wood

PostPosted: September 30th, 2012, 10:32 pm
by vienna08
I love this book. This is a must read.

I really like midori's character.