Reviews

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

milica's review against another edition

5.0

This is my second time reading this book. First time I read it I was in high school and my literature teacher brought bunch of books to class one day and said we could borrow whatever we wanted to. Norwegian Wood caught my attention and even though it's been a few years and I could barely remember what the book was about it always held a special place in my heart so a few months ago I bought a copy of my own.
Lately I've been going through a really bad period and one day I just picked up the book and started reading it. The timing was perfect. It has honestly helped me with issues I am going through right now, especially because I am the same age as characters in the book and deal with a lot of the same feelings they do. I could relate to Toru, Naoko and Midori, and I saw some aspects of their personalities and feelings in me.
This is one of those books I'll keep going back to throughout life because it just gets better and every time you read it you learn something new from it, about the world or about yourself.

kdelfitzis's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

crabbynico's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

genevievegenie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

erikajoy's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

Minor: Grief

titannineteen's review against another edition

I'm just really bored. This book is like weirdly sanitized perversion.

nasalle2842's review against another edition

1.0

This was 293 pages of absolute torture. I wish I never read this book. I went in thinking I was going to read a literary masterpiece but I finished it wishing I could tear my eyeballs out and erase any memory I have of reading this. Toru Watanabe is just a revamped version of Holden Caulfield from catcher in the rye - both are so self-righteous and think they were put on this earth to “fix” people they view as “broken.” I couldn’t stand the characters. The men were pricks and the women were written in such a John Green way they were almost laughable. The sex is awkward and incredibly painful to read; if it wasn’t pedophilia it was rape or coercion and so so so deplorable. I genuinely do not understand how people love this book or even like it. Below I have a pros and cons list.

Pros: it’s over
Cons: I read it

daniealexa_c_s's review against another edition

5.0

Este no es de esos libros que te los quieres terminar en un par de días. Este libro es de esos que quieres paladear, de esos donde no ocurre mucho, pero a la vez ocurre todo. Unas pocas páginas al momento bastan para hacerte reflexionar sobre el rumbo de tu vida y como van tus relaciones con los de tu entorno.
El personaje principal no lo ví muy real, pero lo importante eran los personajes que rodeaban a Watanabe: un grupo muy variopinto, cada uno con sus demonios.
Durante la lectura, no pude evitar compararlo con el manga Oyasumi PunPun por su similitud en los temas que tratan ambas historias.
Este libro tiene permiso para destrozarme cuantas veces quiera hacerlo.

bluereen's review against another edition

4.0

If I could describe Norwegian Wood in one word: liberated. Definitely not like the usual books I’ve read, but you can’t remain in your comfort zone forever, right? I think it applies to books as well. I had to look past a lot of things in order to appreciate the book in all its splendor. One thing I really loved was how introspective the protagonist, Toru was. The way he describes his surroundings and feelings is extremely vivid. If you were to lift his words from the story and situate it in this world we live in, it would not make sense. One might think, “nobody actually talks like that.” However, the world Murakami creates is a special one, and so, you must be willing to suspend disbelief to fully immerse yourself in his work. I can’t speak much since this is my first time reading Murakami, but it’s what everyone else is saying. I really am looking forward to reading more.

alisarae's review against another edition

3.0

The character development, wordsmithing, and story telling were technically superb. I just wasn't expecting this sort of story from Murakami, and I didn't love any of the characters.