Nicholas Nebiolo's Blog Post #2 (Norwegian Wood)

  I find myself torn with Norwegian Wood. Despite thinking that the prose is some of Murakami’s best and really enjoying the subtle depth of each of the main characters, I found myself feeling unengaged by much of the actual events of the story. I think part of this comes from just how grounded the story is. Without the usual magical flourishes of a typical Murakami story, the constant malaise comes across as a bit masturbatory and self-indulgent. Near the middle of the book, it seems like Toru literally doesn’t experience any joy for a good hundred pages, making it feel a little one note.  I also couldn’t help but notice the clear parallels between Norwegian Wood and Sputnik Sweetheart, which made me start mentally comparing the two. 

• Reiko and Miu’s failed piano careers.

• Reiko and Miu’s wrinkles/white hair.

• K and Toru having very similar personalities, both interest-wise and humor-wise.

• K feeling deeply (maybe even romantically) interested in Miu and Toru being deeply (and maybe even romantically) interested in Reiko.

• Sumire feels like an amalgamation of Naoko and Midori.

• K and Toru’s depressive rumination after Sumire and Naoko disappear/die.

• The stress of not being able to have sex in both (Sumire and Miu vs Naoko and Kizuki).

• Sumire and Naoko disappearing in the woods.

• Ending with an abstract phone call from a phone booth. 

Having read Sputnik Sweetheart first, I think I found it more compelling. Whereas Norwegian Wood revels in its sadness to a slightly excessive degree, Sputnik Sweetheart comes across like a more mature and hopeful take on a similar story. While this all sounds pretty negative, I do wanna emphasize that I still thoroughly enjoyed Norwegian Wood. I thought the way Naoko embodied many of Murakami’s magical themes (wells and feelings of split personality) and clashes with the more grounded reality of the story as a result of it, helped to characterize her as someone who feels like she can’t reintegrate into society very well. I also loved the fire and water motifs used to contrast Midori’s passion and Naoko’s languidness. Overall I thought it was a great book, but I found myself missing some of the magical elements that are usually present in Murakami’s books.