Book Review: Norwegian Wood

Norwegian WoodNorwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

One thing I love about this book is how Murakami managed to describe even the most trivial little things and make it very interesting to read. I wish I will be able to do that someday!

Now on to the plot, I don’t think there’s much of plot going on there… Yes, there’s a love story between Toru Watanabe (the main character) and two girls. How did that evolve to a whole book with a whole lot of descriptions on many random things? It’s Murakami’s brilliance. The book would draw you into reading more and more of it. Such a master storyteller.

The story kind of makes me wonder though, is suicide that common in Japan? It seemed that many of this issue showed up in the TV series I watched.

I’m not sure whom I will recommend this book for. If you’re a romance lover, I don’t think this is a typical story, not to mention it’s kind of twisted. It is very interesting to read, though. I haven’t read other Murakami novels (except for the running biography and his short stories collection) so I couldn’t say how this is compared to other novels.

Oh, I think I’m going to pick up more of Murakami in the future. Any recommendations?

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5 Comments

  1. JoV January 30, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    Interesting you wrote the review the same day I finished the novel, which is today. My reviews will be up soon. Kirim Salam, I am a Malaysian living in the UK. πŸ™‚

    Reply
    1. astrid January 31, 2011 at 2:08 pm

      Hi JoV, salam kenal :). Thank you for leaving a comment here. Your blog is great!

      Reply
  2. Starri Knytes January 31, 2011 at 6:44 am

    Sounds like an interesting read. It’s wonderful the way some writers can take a simple plot and fill it in with amazing detail. I’m sure you will be doing the same in the future, and I can’t wait to read it when you do. Great review! <3

    Reply
    1. astrid January 31, 2011 at 2:09 pm

      I certainly hope I’ll be able to do so. I still have so much to learn until I’m there… I’ll keep on working πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. Pingback: Norwegian Wood (No, not the song by Beatles, but the book by Murakami) « Bibliojunkie

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