A review by fanny_bobanny
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

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

2.5


Disclaimer: I read the books translated in Greek so I don't know if some things are that bad in the English or other versions.

I should have quit reading this book the first time it came to my mind. Almost everybody commits suicide and that's not the worst part. I understand all the "existential crisis" that all the characters are going through but they could be a lot less of "pick me, I'm special" persons, it's exhausting the whole "nobody understands me because I'm so quirky/ weird/ depressed/ different" kind of thing. Also what is going on with all the sexism in the book and all the problematic lines e.g. "I'm going to rape you". I get that the book was written in 1987 but wow. Lastly, I didn't like the way it ended but I get that some people might like it because it leaves room for a different life for the character after all the things he learned from his friends "not being strong enough" and committing suicide but I just didn't like it. I will try to read 1 or 2 books of his just to understand if it's this one I have a problem with or i don' t like the writer.

I liked the way he described the environment, the food, the smells and I'm sure it's much more beautiful in the original language. Also, it was really easy to read.
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