I really enjoyed this book. I hadn't ever read anything by Murakami before and I’m hooked now. I enjoyed the way the story was written: kind of surreal and withdrawn with a sad undertone throughout.

I thought Toru was a great character. He’s not gregarious or completely withdrawn; he’s just surviving. People close to him have committed suicide (which I heard, and I’m not sure if this is correct, that young people committing suicide had become a fad in Japan in the 70’s), leaving Toru and especially Naoko to just keep on.

All the characters were great and felt really real. Reiko’s history about the girl she was teaching piano to, the relationship between Nagasawa and Hatsumi, Midori.

To answer some of Joel’s questions:

1. It does feel like a Japanese story to me. Everything about the book: the conversations, the mannerisms and habits that the characters have, the food they eat, etc. I think the book did a very good job of quietly describing Japan in the 70’s.

2. I had never heard of Norwegian Wood before this book. I found it, listened to it and it almost broke my heart. It’s just a sad, beautiful song that suddenly had more meaning after reading how in love Naoko was with it. Here are the lyrics (for those who don’t know):

"I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me
She showed me her room, isn’t it good, norwegian wood
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair
I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said, it's time for bed
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath
And when I awoke I was alone, this bird had flown
So I lit a fire, is not it good, norwegian wood"

I’m going to disagree with Joel in that I think this story could have been set in and English speaking country and be just as good. Maybe. I feel as though if Toru were an American man, people might think he was emotionless or too quiet, but because he’s Japanese, he is (probably) considered to be “thoughtful”. Does that make sense? But I like reading about people like that; people that are too quiet or too crazy or too different.

But about them not understanding the song’s lyrics… let me give you a poor (embarrassing) example. A few years ago I’m watching Mtv Unplugged and this sassy little Columbian singer is performing. That’s right: Shakira, before she started singing really bad English sings. She did “Inevitable” and I was a goner, man. I was, like, crying and had goosebumps. I bought the Donde Estan Los Ladroses and still have no idea what she’s talking about on any of the songs. Now, if I suddenly had to pay a coin to a jar in order to listen to that song, I would. You might not know what they’re saying, but it moves you and means something to you. I think that’s how Naoko instinctively felt about Norwegian Wood.

(Now that I think about it, I hope “Inevitable” isn’t about something lame, like “I stole a sweater and went to jail/Isn’t it inevitable”… That would be a total let-down.)

amy | January 27, 2004 08:35 AM

I haven't finished it quite yet, but I had to pop in to say that I'm absolutely loving this book. The translation has such a lyrical tone about it that it makes me wish I could read Japanese. I should be done in the next day or so, so I'll be back to read the other comments and questions in the extended entry then.

Thanks for bringing this book to us, Joel. I'm really enjoying it.

marydell | January 27, 2004 06:51 PM

Amy and Mary, thanks for the comments. I have to admit I was really hoping for a few more participants as this is truly a great novel (In my ever so humble opinion). Amy, as I said in my post, I recommend South of the Border, West of the Sun next. It can be read as a sort of sequel if you replace "Hajime" with "Toru".

Are people still reading or did you all hate it?

joel | January 29, 2004 05:03 AM

Joel, I'm in the same boat as Mary. My library finally got the book in via interlibrary loan, and yesterday I cracked it open and made it through a few chapters. (Another problem: I had two books to read for classes this week, and it's my fault, since I assigned them.)

So far, I'm definitely enjoying it, especially the narrative. I'm not sure I'm finding the prose as lyrical as Mary does, but it's definitely not bad or poorly written by any means. I'll check in soon as I finish it. Sorry about the tardiness.

Andy | January 29, 2004 12:14 PM

I picked the wrong word for what I was thinking about the book in a moment of exhaustion. It's easy to read and I think the voice of the book is a lot like what I'd expect of the narrator. Sort of laid back and not wrapped up or uptight about any one thing. Am I making sense?

(In my defense, I am stuck at university waiting for my 7:15 pm class to start because my 4:05 pm class was canceled. It is about 5:30 pm and approaching 400 degrees in here and it's all I can do to keep from passing out. Which would be bad because I could theoretically sleep through the 7:15 pm class.)

marydell | January 29, 2004 05:27 PM

By the way, I thought I had stuck Norwegian Wood in my bag this morning, but I didn't. This is a library that contains no books, so I'm pretty much out of luck.

marydell | January 29, 2004 05:30 PM

dear joel,
you are going to kill me, but forgive me afterwards.
i've not read your novel. not to make excuses for myself, but i'm practically broke, no job no income--just school. when i got my hand on some wad of dough, i ordered your novel and the novel that i'm to host in feb. guess what...they've not gotten to my house yet!?
i just hope that i can finish the novel that i have to read before discussion week.
i don't know where my head was when i picked a five hundred something page book for the shortest month of the year!
i will get around to your novel, i just can't at the moment.

ana | January 31, 2004 04:26 PM

Well everyone, since it's officially February I guess we all need to move on to Middlesex but I hope you all do get a chance to finish Norwegian Wood.

It's on my short list of books to read once a year or so. :)

Heh. As I was typing this the box from Amazon just came with my copy of Middlesex. Timing is everything.

Enjoy and good luck everyone. :)

Joel | February 1, 2004 08:41 PM

I hope this discussion isn't over. Although I haven't been able to find enough time for reading, I still want to check in when I'm done.

marydell | February 2, 2004 05:29 PM

Longtime browser, first time poster. I loved the book, and I'm definitely going to try to read upcoming selections. I don't think the story is "Japanese" specifically. It's not even a novel of the 60s. I have a different opinion than Joel--I think the characters do understand the Beatles lyrics perfectly. Toru certainly understands the group fairly well, and he shows it. It brought a smile to my face when he spoke of the great sages John, Paul, and George (purposefully leaving out Ringo). This alone was enough to show me that he grasped the essence of the Beatles. Apologies to Ringo fans (if you're out there). What I liked most about the book was that it illustrated the idea that "we're all crazy in our own way." That's sort of a cliched idea, but Murakami makes it come to life with the actions of the book, especially through Reiko's. Many thanks to Joel for his selection. I've already got a few friends lined up who I'm going to force it upon.

MattGeorges | February 3, 2004 09:44 PM

Mary, no the discussion isn't over! I made an assumption based on the date and was wrong. Sorry! :)

Matt, thanks for the comments. I think that while Toru may have understood the Beatles the other characters didn't. I may be shooting myself in the foot because I can't find the page but I thought I remembered Toru's surprise because Reiko loved the music so much but didn't speak a word of English...

"we're all crazy in our own way." is a theme that shows up quite often in Murakami's books (imho).

Amy, I feel as though if Toru were an American man, people might think he was emotionless or too quiet, but because he’s Japanese, he is (probably) considered to be “thoughtful”. Thanks for this comment. I've been pondering it and wondering if people feel that their pre-conceived notions of Japan and Japanese people played a large part of the characterization for them? Either breaking or reinforcing stereotypes?

For myself, Naoko is the only female character that fit my pre-concieved ideas whereas the reality is that the vast majority of Japanese women seem to be more like Midori and Reiko.

Toru seems very real to me although I'd be hard pressed to say why. And he doesn't feel distinctly Japanese to me either, although, again, I'd be hard pressed to say why...

Another question - I loved the ending. The last page of the book. I feel like it answered some of the loose threads. Some others who've read it hate it. What did you all think?

Thanks for the comments. :)

joel | February 4, 2004 05:10 AM

I'm a week late here, and I apologize, but such is the beauty of asynchronous conversation.

I have little knowledge of Japanese culture or life, but the story didn't feel particularly Japanese to me. Like Joel suggested, it felt to me like "just a typical story with Japanese names" and locations. And it did feel similar to American novels about adolescent angst. However, their moods and attitudes certainly may have been particular to that time and place, as Amy said. I just don't know.

I'm still trying to figure out what I think about the writing. It seems flat and immature to me, but I suspect that's intentional (and not the product of translation). The text even suggests this. For example, toward the beginning, Watanabe slams the student protestors' writing: "I had no problem with what they were saying, but the writing was lame. It had nothing to inspire confidence or arouse the passions."

That's exactly how I feel about his writing. It's amateurish; with some striking examples, many descriptions use dry, nondescript words like "pretty," and he overuses words like -- this one particularly bothers me -- "munching." Ugh. It seems like newspaper writing, not literature.

Generally, that sort of writing would turn me off, but again, I think it's written like this to illustrate Toru's disaffectedness. And because of that approach, the narrative to me feels propelled primarily be external forces. If Watanabe had his way, he'd just drift and never attach to anything, but when he encounters people, they give him (and occasionally the prose) life. Even Storm Trooper does that with the gift of the firefly, which is one of the places where the prose lifts out of its slump.

Toru is propelled through life solely by others, and that makes him a fascinating character and narrator.

Andy | February 5, 2004 10:24 AM

Andy, thanks for your comments. That was an aspect of the book that had never occured to me - the writing is an illustration of Toru's disaffectedness. While I agree with you about the writing being immature and flat in places I'm not sure that it's not the fault of the translator as Murakami is widely regarded as a very lyrical author (unfortunately, I'm unable to judge for myself as my ability to read Japanese is not quite up to the modern lit level).

I may go through and re-read a few of the others in my collection now, just to check for similarities in style... :)

Of interest, maybe, is a new anthology called "Birthday Stories" which was edited by Murakami. The foreward that he wrote is the first time that he's written in English.

joel | February 8, 2004 05:45 AM

I confess, I'm still not done. (My job has been rough over the past few months and has left me very little free time. I try to read every night before bed, but I only make it through about one paragraph and then I fall asleep.) However, I am close enough to the end to make a comment about the un-Japaneseness of this book.

The reason why I felt that this story could easily have taken place in the West is because it contains so few references to Japan besides the names and places. The only Japanese cultural bits I remember are Toru's university (dormitory setup, radio calisthenics, and the raising of the Rising Sun) and the food (Midori cooks him dinner in the style of a particular Japanese region and later gets up in arms over rice balls). Practically all of the other cultural references are Western. Music, literature, and even a clothing designer all come from the West. At one point, I believe a nap is even referred to as a "siesta." (Translator's license?)

Since there are so many things in this novel we can relate to, I think it makes it seem like the story could easily take place outside of Japan. It has quite a different feel from Memoirs of a Geisha which felt more foreign in context although it was written by a Westerner.

marydell | February 8, 2004 04:06 PM

First time here. Hello everyone.
I've read this wonderful book, glad you recommended it.
And I just don't quite understand one thing: Is the mental problem of Naoko real or it's just like a metaphor?

thanks!

peter shi | February 10, 2004 09:52 AM

Btw, what story is the song "norwegian wood" about?

Why the girl invites me to her house, which has no a chair? Why the girl was laughing and I went to sleep in the bath? And why especially 'norwegian' wood? Was the girl's house made of that and 'I' burnt it down?

Anyone knows more background of this song?

peter shi | February 10, 2004 10:12 AM

Go to HERE and scroll down to Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).

"It was a parody, really, on those kind of girls who, when you get back to their flat, there would be a lot of Norwegian wood. It was completely imaginary from my point of view, but not from John's."

amy | February 12, 2004 09:10 AM

Thanks a million Amy!
Now I understand why the song is so vague to me.
I love beatles! (even not understanding their songs:)

peter shi | February 12, 2004 12:12 PM

All righty. As you can tell, I'm not done talking about this book especially since I finally finished it and have had a few days to digest it. When I first began reading, I expected Murakami to be something like a Japanese Nick Hornby and my disappointment and difficulty in finishing probably reveals a personal flaw when it comes to literature.

I'm going to have to agree with mattgeorges and say that Murakami, at least, understands the lyrics to Norwegian Wood. Toru, the protagonist, understands the English subjunctive (to be honest, I'm not even sure I understand it even though I think I speak English fairly well) and I suspect that he is largely based on Murakami himself. In addition, the translator's note at the end says something about this being the first translation authorized for publication outside of Japan. Murakami must be more picky about his English since he was pretty quick in okaying several other languages first.

I think Norwegian Wood, the song, is supposed to be a metaphor for Naoko's life. Like going to the groupie's apartment, you think you're going to have a hot time when she takes you home. However, once you get inside, you find out the place is decorated in crappy furniture with no place to sit, she makes you sleep in the bathtub, then leaves you all alone the next morning. After Kizuki's death, Naoko lets Toru into her life, he finds out she has problems and can't really let him be a part of it, she shuts him out with her confinement to the sanitarium, then flies the coop by committing suicide.

marydell | February 22, 2004 10:33 AM

Mary,

Murakami is a fluent English speaker. As such, the majority of his protaganists are as well. (Murakami admits that most of his prot. are just verstions of himself.) He has taught Japanese culture at universities in the States and has translated Raymond Carver and Raymond Chandler into Japanese.

As for the song being a metaphor for Naoko's life, I'm not sure I agree. I think the song (and all Beatles' songs that appear in the novel) is Toru's attempt to define his life and the people in it. I think many people associate certain songs with certain people or times or places in their lives because it gives them a way of encapsulating that experience. I think that's all that Toru is doing. As he's looking back over his life he remembers the song and uses it to define a period of his life, not Naoko's.

Joel | February 23, 2004 07:00 AM

Perhaps I'm suffering from a case of looking to deeply for meaning. Over on the Middlesex, everyone's been trying to figure out the deal with Chapter 11's name, and I haven't posted my theory yet. It's a doozy.

Here's a Murakami question for you (since you seem to know a lot about him): Why is Norwegian Wood so popular in Japan?

marydell | February 26, 2004 06:29 PM

I liked this book, but I was disturbed by the suicides. Explanations on Kuzuki's suicide? I agree that it had a totally different feel to it than Memoirs of a Geisha but I think that had to do with the time period bc modern times have reduced Japan's isolation. Norwegian Wood does have a slight American Jack Kerouac/Henry Waldo Emerson feel to it. I didn't get to post this in time, bc I was too busy reading Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima. I'm now well into the third book. I'd love to discuss the Sea of Fertility with anyone. Is there a place to discuss books not one the reading list?(First time poster)

tangerinedream | March 7, 2004 02:34 PM

Tangerine, unless you're a member, there's no place on BookBlog to discuss titles that aren't on the reading list. However, you might want to try i love books.

marydell | March 9, 2004 01:34 PM