Reviews

Perhaps love's greatest paradox is its duality of consolation and destruction. Murakami masterfully captures this sentiment, making Norweigan Wood a resonating tale for all those who have experienced the complexities of love. I think the Beatles put it well: "I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me?". A must-read.

jcoryv's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Listened to this on Audible.

3.5 Stars.

This book should be subtitled “Triangles”. Lots of love triangles. Great group of characters and the story grew on me as it went, but… meh.

jessiedev's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I love reading any Murakami, but the sentimentality of this was a little disappointing. I prefer his stranger, more dreamlike works.

kabirahuja2431's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I am such a Naoko when it comes to writing things down and I wish I was like Watanabe that I could just lay down all my thoughts into words perfectly. Reading Norwegian wood was some of the most immersion I have felt from any form of storytelling in recent times. I am a slow reader, but I could read hundreds of pages of this book in a single sitting. I could feel myself drawn into the story in a way it felt nothing outside of the book existed for me while I was reading it. Although, it's easy to dismiss Norwegian wood as just a love story but it was so much more than that for me. It felt so honest and personal. Although the book is riddled with references to other books, music or art in general, I could feel so much of the author in the book. The way he was able to capture the sadness that lies within all of us, even if the story had a lot of dramatic elements, all of the emotions felt genuine and as I mentioned earlier honest. I do not know how much of it gets lost in translation, but Murakami's prose always feel so vivid, without any overlong descriptions that I am used to with reading fantasy. Murakami's prose is what I will call precise and for me atleast created the perfect atmosphere of the setting of the story. I think this book will grow on me even more, that's why I am giving it a 4/5 for now, but reading Kafka on the Shore and now this, I am extremely impressed and I cannot wait to checkout Murakami's other works.

lozzy1991's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

zojoyce's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

lydiab213's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I can't explain why I loved this book.

It's a little embarrassing because of the graphic content, but the story made me feel something. I guess I'm a sucker for stories about young adults with friends who have committed suicide.

I can't, in good conscience, give it more than 3 stars or recommend it. It's beautifully written, but just too explicit.

More...