Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakumi

As you must have guessed, this novel gets its title from the Beatles song 'Norwegian Wood (This bird has flown)'.

This novel doesn't contain the supernatural element that pervaded Murakumi's 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle'. It's more realistic but melancholy and thought provoking. Again, Murakumi has conjured up real, flawed, interesting characters who each have an effect on our main character Toru Watanabe. In contrast, Toru Watanabe seems to be a bit bland and placid.

The novel is set in the 1960s and has the Tokyo student uprisings as a backdrop. Toru is not directly involved and both he and Midori, his friend, have no sympathies for those that are. They see their actions as half-hearted and their ideology as not thought through.

The plot had some very unexpected and tragic moments. This meant as with 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' I was absorbed from beginning to end. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Current obsession...

I have recently discovered the author Haruki Murakami. What a find! Having not indulged in a good book for a while I decided to spend a relaxing 20 minutes or so choosing something at 'The Pocket Shop' in Malmö central train station after work.

I read the blurbs of several novels whose covers caught my eye and 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' stood out from the others. I read this:

Toru Okada's cat has disappeared and this has unsettled his wife, who is herself growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has started receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life - spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table - are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.

The plot line in this novel takes you on a really wild ride, from realistic to fantastical, from modern Japan to a minor character's war experiences in 1939, Manchuria. Whichever point you are at, it is completely absorbing. It was truly painful to have to put this book down but unfortunately I must work, sleep and eat.

Translated from Japanese, I simply marvel at the language used within its pages. Murakumi is exquisit and sensual in his descriptions, often using surprising comparisons. His characters are believable, unique and engagingly flawed.

This is a book that made me think deeply and still entertained me. I will not rest until I have read every novel he has written. I am currently reading 'Norwegian Wood' and loving it equally as much!