Norwegian Wood (Tokio Blues) by Haruki Murakami

I had recently bought a whole bunch of Haruki Murakami novels because I have fallen in love with his style. His narrative holds this air of melancholy… missing the past, but also a terrible sense of unhappiness. It’s utterly depressing, but this is why it’s so good.

Norwegian Wood (or Tokio Blues, in Spanish) is already being adapted into a film with a possible release for Dec’10, so it wasn’t a stretch to think about actual people playing the characters in the book.

It tells the non-chronological story of Watanabe Toru, who all of a sudden remembers Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend in high school, who ended up killing himself. It deals with the aftermath of the suicide, Naoko’s life pre and post-suicide, and Watanabe’s life pre and post-suicide as well.

Just as the other Murakami novels, the story has that vibe of quiet sadness, great soundtrack and a sense of great cinematography. The characters are often quiet, and internalize everything. They are so real, that you can’t help getting into someone else’s shoes and call someone a jerk or a bitch.

I had problems starting  the novel, I read the first two chapters fine, but lost something during the middle part that made it almost tedious to continue with it. However, I was over it once I read about Midori, and how her developing relationship with Watanabe clashed with Watanabe’s feelings for Naoko… and then Reiko. As much as I wonder why these three end up sucked into the gravitational forces of Watanabe, and how I think that is somewhat sexist… I can’t help but want the best for him. And, in my opinion, that was with Hatsumi…

I can’t wait to see this on screen!

3.5/5