Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Norwegian Wood

by Haruki Murakami

From the bestselling author of Kafka on the Shore: A magnificent coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia, “a masterly novel” (The New York Times Book Review) blending the music, the mood, and the ethos that were the sixties with a young man’s hopeless and heroic first love.

Now with a new introduction by the author.

Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

Stunning and elegiac, Norwegian Wood first propelled Haruki Murakami into the forefront of the literary scene.

Reviewed by maggiefan on

1 of 5 stars

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This book has pissed me off. I just can't. It is so freaking unrealistic and stupid.
The main things that bother me in this book are:
1. FREAKING SEX ON EVERY SINGLE PAGE. I don't mind sex in books at all, don't get me wrong. But there are TOO MANY sex scenes. And the main problem with this is that love is sex and sex is love in this book. This fact makes me so angry that I just can't...
2. Every single character in the book was flat. The main character was super boring. All he did was whining about Naoko and how he was such a bad person for using girls and also saying "yeah, I guess", "hmmm", "I don't know", "sure", "I understand". I screamed every single time he said something. Naoko was just a stupid girl who could not say no to a man. "Yeah, I don't love you, but if you want some blowjob, I'll do it ;)". Midori... Oh god, where should I start... She was so selfish and capricious. She knew from the start that Watanabe had a girlfriend (kinda), but she was so possessive towards him. She thought only about sex. I just could not stand her. I can't say much about Reiko. Can I just remind you of the last scene in the book? Should I add anything? I think no.
3. There is no plot. At all. You can ask: "How is this possible?" I can't answer this question. The author somehow managed to write a book without a plot and it frustrated me so much.

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  • Started reading
  • 21 December, 2017: Finished reading
  • 21 December, 2017: Reviewed