July 23, 2024 |  Genres:  Literary Fiction   Magical Realism  

Norwegian Wood

Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. A magnificent blending of the music, the mood, and the ethos that was the sixties with the story of one college student's romantic coming of age, Norwegian Wood brilliantly recaptures a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.

An amazing read for college students. I always feel like Murakami's writing gives off a surreal quality whenever I read his books and Norwegian Wood is one of the best examples of that. It's an incredible story about growing up, love, grief, and everything in between and is very classically Murakami. One of my all-time favorites.