ismiserob

I started this book having been told that if I liked Murakami, I would LOVE this, and I became more and more perplexed the farther I got into the story. It's not that it's bad - it's the voice of the same author that I loved by way of Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and I cared about what happened to the characters in the end. It's just not that great. It's a love story with the trademark Murakami eccentricities, but there's nothing particularly unique or terribly moving about it. My reaction at the end was, "Aw. That's nice." A few things I will say to dispel any of the common misconceptions about Norwegian Wood: this is not Murakami's masterwork, it's merely his best KNOWN work. And maybe given that there are more sex scenes in it than probably all of his other books combined, that's not surprising. The sex isn't gratuitous, and since the story is told from the perspective of a 19(ish) year old male who's trying to navigate relationships with the people around him (mostly female) I think it would be odd if sex weren't a major theme. I don't know many 19 year old guys with women around them that don't think about sex often. Just for the record, the sex does move the story along and it's interesting to watch his opinions and habits change, as they do for all of us as we sexually mature, but still. You get descriptions of female orgasms and breasts, so I can only imagine that helps to boost this novel's popularity. Anyway, back to the point - the second myth I want to dispel is that this is NOT the Japanese Catcher In The Rye. Maybe I'm biased because I hated CITR, but this book has a much more sympathetic protagonist and I found myself able to relate to his version of angst much better than I ever did to Holden Caufield's. I always found Holden to be whiny and annoying; Toru is wrestling with the more universal problem of basic loneliness. Loneliness is another recurring theme that I think is really well-developed in the story, and since suicide is such a problem in Japan, that also factors in as part of the theme. This exploration alone does elevate this book above the normal love story fare, I'd say, and was part of what made me see it through to the end. I guess all things considered, it was a pretty easy and entertaining read, and it doesn't leave you dissatisfied, so I can't complain too much. It just wasn't anything special. And I think I feel like anyone can do easy and entertaining; I didn't need that from Murakami. So if you want to understand why people love him, this probably isn't the book to do it, but if you want a piece of above average book candy, this is not a bad choice.

2022-11-14 16:09