August / Japan Reading: Norwegian Wood

[Scheherazade]

In August, we will be reading Norwegian Wood by Murakami.

Synopsis:

When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.

Please post your thoughts and comments in this thread.

[Amylian]

I reached chapter 4 and planning on reading it tonight. I have got to admit that, although I had read many great books in the past, I am still blind for not knowing and experiencing such a great writer.





==It may be a spoiler==
Up till now, though Toro Watanabe determined to live in isolation, he still meets lots of people and gets to know them, which actually breaks his determination or promise that he would live alone. I mean, he may unwillingly and unknowingly starting to be socially connected more than he ever was. What do you think?

[papayahed]

In chapter 1 Toro is remember the day in the field and the well, what's that all about?

[Amylian]

In chapter 1 Toro is remember the day in the field and the well, what's that all about?

The way I understand it, it was about Toro's reminiscenes in that field and his blurry memories. He is asked by Naoko not to forget that they were there, but the moment Toro's recollecting all the memories, he seems he has forgotten the very details. As he mentioned, "Memory is a funny thing" in page 6.

[papayahed]

Any significance to the well that nobody can find until they fall into it?

[Amylian]

Any significance to the well that nobody can find until they fall into it?

As far as I am concerned, I think "the well" signifies something "unknown" and "deep". The way I see it, it might be a reference or "foreshadowing" to Toro Watanabe's life. As later in the novel, he drowns deeper and deeper into the "unknown" as he keeps moving forward. However, no one would hear him if he falls and only be left there, in the middle of the "well", hearing and watching other go on with their lives and he, down there, alone with loneliness. Now that may not be the perfect explanation I have, but I am sure someone better than me will clarify it soon; I need to know, too.

[lugdunum]

For those who like me weren't quick enough to get Norwegian Wood from their libraries (and have got beaten to it by other LitNet members or Murakami fans) I have found an online version here:
http://sparkplugged.net/2008/04/read...n-wood-online/

Ps: I'm not sure that I'm allowed to post this kind of links (for copyright issues) so if not, please delete my post

[Scheherazade]

Finished Becoming Madame Mao today and started reading this one.

Thought I would just read a few pages to get a feeling what it was all about but I simply could not put it down and ended up reading the first three chapters.

I am enjoying it very, very much. Murakami's style is absolutely amazing and the story is unfolding so smoothly.

Re. well> I wonder if it symbolizes some of kind of depression we all can go through... Kizuki obviously had some problems no one knew about... And Toru and Naoko as well. Actually, thinking about it now, maybe all the characters live in their own wells in a way; the kind of wells that outsiders do not realise even that they are there.

[Niamh]

Going to pick this up tomorrow.

[Niamh]

Went into town today to buy N.W. Do you think i could find it? Nooooooooo! So now i have to order it from Amazon. I hope to join in soon!!!

[mickitaz]

Woo hoo.. I picked mine up this afternoon (along with a new pair of much needed reading glasses). I am all done with work for now.. Getting ready to curl up with a cup of tea and dig in.

Hey Niamh.. I got mine at Borders... do you have one near you?

[mickitaz]

Okay, so I am well into the book by now; having read 150 pages. I am enjoying the reading so far. Murakami's writing is very fluid. I especially find interesting his choice of words for describing a particular scene; where others scenes he simply commentates on general, brief observations.

In reference to the question of the well, I believe it is the hospital's "pink elephant". The well, I think, is a way for the patient's to explain a member's "disappearance". In other words, I think when a patient commits suicide, they use the well as a metaphor; rather than admit therapy failed.

I find Turo's and Naoko's relationship interesting. While Turo expresses care, concern (maybe even love) for Naoko; I feel that in reality, perhaps he is not really in love with her per se. Given the circumstances of Kizuki's death, I feel the two were/are bound by circumstances.

I feel Turo's way of dealing with Kizuko's death, and other "friendships" thereafter is perplexing. He seems to detach himself from those around him, merely existing; waiting for an end to something. He never really seems to build a relationship with any one person. While he will enter conversations, there is no real emotion attachment to the relationship he builds. The same goes for his relationship with Naoko. For some reason, I feel there is this wall between the two, where emotion is void. Yes, he says he cares. But somehow, his actions seem to say otherwise.

Naoko on the other hand, seems to be the opposite of Turo in terms of emotional attachment. This is the reason why she observes herself as "twisted". Then again, given her experience with her sister committing suicide and Kizuki...one can hardly blame her. Even with her relationship with Kizuki, it seems there was this detachment emotionally. While they certainly had a connection and a deep freindship; I think romantic love was absent from their relationship.

Reiko is another interesting character. While I am at the part where she is revealing "her story"; once again, she seems to be the go between for Turo and Naoko. The two can't seem to exist together without a third person. First, it was Kizuki, now Reiko. It is almost as is their relationship is co-dependent on a third party. This is intriguing.

Reiko on the other hand, seems to be co-dependent on a whole other plane. From the time she was little, her drive in life was to exceed at other's expectations of her. While she did succeed, her mental breakdown prior to her major recital indicates there was something else going on. I also find the story on how she met and married her husband quite intriguing. While she was passionate about her piano, she was "fond" of her husband.

Perhaps it is different with Japanese society, and what they place their emphasis on; in terms of what is important. That I am not sure. I have a premonition on what will happen with Naoko and Midori. I feel if anyone should be in the hospital, Turo should. He doesn't seem to be addressing Kizuko's death emotionally. This detachment is also seen in his discussion on his major in the university; and his lack of wanting to aspire to a specific goal.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book so far. The relationships are interwined in such a way I have not experienced. I look forward to how the book will end.

[HerGuardian]

Hi everyone.

The story flows so smoothly that even a very slow reader like me would finish 110 pages in 3 days. I feel all the time urged to keep reading to see what is there next. I liked the story and the way the characters are presented. Also, there's this paragraph by Midori when she described how she hates dying because of long sickness as all her family has gon ethrough.

"That's the kind of death that frightens me. The shadow of death
slowly, slowly eats away at the region of life, and before you know it
everything's dark and you can't see, and the people around you think
of you as more dead than alive. I hate that. I couldn't stand it."

Though death in itself is so dark and harsh, the way it's described here made it darker and harsher.

[eyemaker]

Oh man! I missed the last copy from the bookstore near us! I hope to join in, later perhaps...

[mickitaz]

There is a phrase on page 25 which I feel sums up the them of the book:
"Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life."

As each character progresses, we see how death has touched them; and how they adapted to the change. Turo seems to just accept it, and help those around him to cope. Naoko seems to take it on a personal level, to the point where she cannot separate herself from that identity. Midori appears to be afraid.