Reading List: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Before anything else, I think I should say this is the first time I truly feel like I was a character in a book. It’s Midori. I’m pretty sure a lot of girls – the hopeless romantic ones – can relate to her. :D

It’s horrifyingly haunting. Honestly, the book drove me crazy for a few days after I finished it. It has the power to make you feel alone and depressed. It makes you reflective about how you live your life or about life, in general or about love and how far have you gone for it. The weather, when most of the significant scenes occurred, plays a role of building such feeling. The whiteness, coldness and stillness of winter depict misery and death. The sadness drawn in the story is mentally excruciating. It feels almost the same as after reading a J.D. Salinger book, only this one feels extreme. Salinger is depressing, as well, but it has an element of agitation (since it kinda has a metaphoric touch of some socio-political issues) that neutralizes the sadness.

A love story and a twist. It’s not your ordinary mushy love story. Well, it’s a love story for a fact that it, basically, is a plot of boy-girl relationship. However, looking at it more closely, there’s a lot beyond it. There are insights to sexuality, death, loss and grief. The characters failed to recognize and move on from the impact of loss on their lives, which hindered them to grieve and go to a natural process of healing. This, in effect, further defined their decision and expression of love. 

*Photos not by the author