A review by sharppointysticks
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

3.0

I hadn't previously read anything by Haruki Murakami (other than the short story The Elephant Vanishes) but have been very curious about him for quite a while. I've heard that you shouldn't judge the author based on this book alone as it is not typical of his other writing, but I can't say if that is true or not since I haven't read any of his other novels. This was a tale of a young student, Toru, trying to find his way in the world and navigate through the complicated maze of feelings and thoughts in his own head and in the minds of the many girls in his life. It reads like an autobiography even though it is not. Many brush it off as just being a love story, but I think there is more to it than that. Definitely a coming of age story in the same vein as The Catcher in Rye. Another reviewer compared it to Garden State and I definitely see that. It sort of reminded me of The Virgin Suicides. I know it's not a perfect comparison, but they had a similar feel to me. I did like it though, and now I am even more curious about other works by this author.