Toru’s semi-unrequited feelings for Naoko really got to me at points, and somehow the lack of a clean and easy straight line to explaining the state of their relationship made it more compelling. But I still kind of consider it a romantic love story, in some complicated interpretation. Nor a love story in the traditional sense. Okay, so this isn’t a romance in the traditional sense.

Some of the problems faced by the characters are startlingly relevant on a universal level. I recommend looking up a lot of the songs that are mentioned, as they strongly resonate with the story being told here. There’s also the matter of the many references to older but well known Western musicians and authors. The plot is just tidier to organize and think about compared to my experience with The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. The themes of it are pretty basic to grasp- love and romance, coming of age, loss and mourning. This is perhaps the most recommendable and approachable Haruki Murakami novel. I sympathized strongly with Toru even when I sort of disliked him.

The atmosphere can be almost dense and oppressive- but also warm and full of genuine emotion.

They’re definitely not one-note in nature. The characters have interesting things to do and say and sometimes left me very surprised, or frequently changing my mind about them. The characterization leaves a strong impression, even though it veers into some unbelievable territory. The characters are intense, wildly varying forces of personality. Haruki Murakami’s writing style is kind of known for that, and all that I loved about The Wind Up Bird Chronicle is mostly present here. There is well realized imagery here, some punchy and memorable dialogue, and interesting analogies. The highly quotable writing style conjures vivid emotions. Plus, a lot of people might not be aware there’s a movie adaptation to check out. I usually dislike movie versions of book covers but this is one of those rare occasions where I preferred the movie cover for more accurately depicting the age of the characters. Also on a random note, there are many different covers for this book. I struggled so much with writing and organizing this review, and finally decided to split it into three easy, concise sections.

Norwegian wood book