Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

I've never been a fan of The Beatles, though I've tried. The only song I enjoy listening to has to be Norwegian wood, and it's entirely due to how much I enjoyed the book that shares it's name. It's quite a skill for a novelist to awaken interests in you through prose that didn't exist before. Perhaps through the way I find myself identifying with the characters, I find myself taking on aspects of their personality through memetic imitation. Perhaps each person will find different writers able to cause these interests and feelings in themselves, if so, Haruki Murakami is an author able to do that to me.

For the longest time, people had recommended this jazz bar owner turned author to me, but I was often unable to spare the time to find my entry point. In fall 2012 however, I was in the midst of a reading streak fueled by a HMV sale on books, and I was able to find Norwegian Wood for a few mere pounds. I had no idea if this was one of his best works, but for a price so low I didn't see much harm in taking a gamble.

Upon reading even the first chapter, Murakami's distinctive style hit something deep within me. His insight into the mind of Toru Watanabe is so well formed, and the entire book is steeped in a wistful tone. Though told in Toru's point of view, the narrative at times is very hard hitting and devoid of reaction, certain plot points are delivered so matter of factly that they leave a lump in your throat whilst the story skips along with little comment. It is an extremely kafkaesque style, and a most unromantic romance story. That's not to say the relationships forged don't feel authentic, the characters are very three dimensional and you feel for them in all the ways intended.

I was barely able to put Norwegian Wood down once I picked it up, and once finished I felt a great urge to read more by Murakami. Recently I managed to track down What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and 1Q84 and can confirm that this author is not a one hit wonder. It takes little consideration to say that Norwegian Wood will go down as one of the most influential novels of my young life.

"Isn't it good, Norwegian Wood?"

Bilingual bonus: A point on the titles of Murakami's works I'd like to point out is that the original title of Norwegian Wood is ノルウェイの森 or Noruwei no Mori, but mori refers to wood as in forest, rather than the material which is the subject of the Beatles' song. The forest refers to the forests that Toru and Naoko often walk through when falling for each other. Also, with 1Q84, the japanese name for the number nine is pronounced "kyu" and is a homophone for the english letter Q. I do love a good pun.