Norwegian Wood is a bit of a different read from other Murakami novels in the sense that it is a slice of life love story. There are no magical dark forces or surreal events happening, and I think this can be credited for the success of the novel. Many young readers will read Norwegian Wood and feel understood.
Now, I think it is undeniable that Murakami projects himself into the personality of Toru. The story sometimes take place in locations where Murakami lived in Tokyo, and the way Murakami and Toru talk is even similar (just from looking at Murakami interviews). I am also interested in the drastic difference between Naoko and Midori. Naoko seems sentimental and emotional, while Midori is the opposite; she is vibrant and bubbly. If Naoko is someone who lives in the past, understandably so following Kizuki’s sudden death, then Midori is the symbol of living in the present. I think it is really interesting how Murakami incorporated Midori into the story as a total contrast to the heroine.
A theme of this novel that I think is underexplored is confronting death. Toru and Naoko both witnessed someone close to them die, and it changed them and shaped the narrative. Toru said, "The night Kizuki died, however, I lost the ability to see death (and life) in such simple terms. Death was not the opposite of life. It was already here, within my being; it had always been here, and no struggle would permit me to forget that. When it took the 17-year-old Kizuki that night in May, death took me as well." This isn’t something someone as young as Toru would usually say. Fundamentally, after realizing the closeness of death, he is changed along with Naoko. I wonder if something similar had happened to HM when he was young.
-Allen
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