When I started reading books by Haruki Murakami last year on a whim, I knew eventually that I would need to read Norwegian Wood, which is his most recognised work. After suffering from a bout of depression, I felt the urge to read something depressingly engrossing that would cause me to re-evaluate life. Norwegian Wood was quite simply, the perfect book for the job.
It follows the memories of the 37 year old Toru Watanabe, who hears a cover of the song Norwegian Wood by The Beatles. Hearing this song makes Toru reminisce of the 1060s; and its here where the story takes off, with the memory of a younger Toru.
It begins with Toru’s friend Kizuki and Kizuki’s girlfriend Naoko. Toru is often the third wheel in their friendship, and he’s the one dose of reality for the couple that keeps them attached to the real world. Unfortunately, Kizuki commits suicide on his 17th birthday. Toru feels the great loss of his friend, while Naoko feels as if some part of her soul has been shattered.
Fast forward two years, and Toru is now at university, while he’s also maintained sparse contact with Naoko. One night, the two reunite to celebrate Naoko’s 20th birthday. But Naoko is feeling down and in a vulnerable state. This leads to the two sharing a moment that is never forgotten between them.
The rest of the story consists of Toru’s everyday life as a university student. There’s comic relief, by way of his roommate “Storm Trooper”, and Toru experiences many one night stands with women. Most of them introduced by his charismatic campus buddy, Nagasawa. Who’s popular with the ladies.
Toru eventually meets Naoko again, who’s staying in a mental health residency, and he’s introduced to Naoko’s mid-aged roommate Reiko, who briefs Toru on her condition. It’s during this visit that Toru and Naoko admit to their feelings for one another, and from then on, the book follows Toru’s plight of being committed to Naoko.
It’s difficult to really explain what’s so enthralling about Norwegian Wood, because much of its appeal is delivered through its subtext and prose. Although the story doesn’t seem like much on the surface, Murakami touches on a number of important themes throughout. Everything in this book speaks to the soul of the reader, from the dialogue, to the prose and to the subtle things that the narrator points out without explicitly saying it.
But why is this a great book to read while depressed? I mean, obviously it deals with matters of dating, mental health, suicide. But if it was just that, surely those themes would be enough to put the reader in a deeper slump than before? But no – I think what really made this book help me through my down time, was the way in which it tells such ordinary life stories, while putting forward the idea that life is equally as painful and mundane for anyone who breathes.
Haruki Murakami is one of few writers who I feel has the ability to speak directly to my soul with everything he writes, and that’s why I cannot get enough of his work. The level of ambiguity in which he approaches his stories is the exact amount that I crave in my books. He provides a surface level story to consume that is layered with deep subtext that pings my subconscious mind.
But if you’re someone who expects your novels to wrap everything up at the end, with not an ounce of open-endedness, then you should prepare to not get everything you were looking for from Norwegian Wood. It’s just not that kind of book. This is a book that touches on complex themes while offering beautiful prose that paints in the vintage 1960s Tokyo lifestyle. Norwegian Wood is a statement about love and life. And it will go down as one of my all-time favourite books.
