Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami was written in 1987 and it soon became one of his most popular books. This novel was filled with melancholy, nostalgia, and hope. Reading it felt like being in a dream. It completely sucked you into the life of the main character Toru Watanabe, and when you woke up you found yourself staring at a ceiling feeling numb. Whether you like it or not, it will surely make you think about adulthood, loneliness, and the purpose of life.

The beginning of the story is slow. It is written in first person from the male lead perspective – Watanabe. I honestly love Murakami’s writing style, it is so poetic and addictive. His dialogue is impressive as well. Regarding language and description of emotions, Murakami is one of the best.

The plot is pretty simple. Watanabe is grown up, his life is full of regrets and then he hears the song Norwegian Wood by Beatles. It brings him back to his teenage years. Watanabe had only one friend back then, Kizuki. Naoko was Kizuki’s girlfriend and they had known each other for so long, that their dating seemed more than natural. It all ended when Kizuki unexpectedly killed himself. Watanabe realized that death is part of life, not the opposite, and Naoko’s mental health went downhill. They both moved to Tokyo to forget about their past and accidentally bumped into each other there.

In my opinion, the plot was not the strongest part of this novel, and it is rather simple, but it is effective. The main focus is on the characters and their interactions.

The characters were the most important part of the story. They were all flawed, maybe too much. The portrayal of women is pretty misogynistic throughout the whole novel too. However, they are all interesting if not loveable.

Let's start with Watanabe. I suppose his loneliness, isolation, and the disability to relate to the outside world were pretty relatable. What I do not like about his character is that he slept with three main female characters. There were many moments when the trauma of the female characters was unnecessarily sexualized just to fill Watanabe’s sexual needs. I liked his character development though. In the end, he finally had to live as himself, not as Kizuki’s friend or Naoko’s love interest, but as Toru Watanabe.

Then there is Naoko. A pretty girl with a mental illness who manipulates everyone. She did not fight with her demons, she was the demon from the start. What I liked about her character was that her mental illness was not romanticized. I noticed that especially on social media it is popular to make it look like depression and suicidal thoughts are normal and that everyone feels like that. This makes it difficult for people who suffer from mental illness to ask for help because they are told that they are just lazy and that it is not that deep.

And finally, Midori. She was supposed to be different than other girls because she did not have a problem talking with Watanabe about nasty stuff, but she turned out to be the perfect girlfriend for many insecure men. She was hardworking, she could cook and she was attractive. Her struggle to feel loved by people was well written though.

No novel has ever made me feel so uncomfortable and in love at the same time. I felt miserable, understood, and confused. Nevertheless, I do not get why Norwegian wood is so popular. I have already read some of Murakami’s books and in my opinion, this one is one of his worst. I would not suggest starting with Norwegian wood if you did not read Murakami before. I would not recommend it to everyone, especially if you like action or something funny. However, I suppose it is worth trying out if you like dark psychological books. Or if you want an existential crisis.