Norwegian Wood

I just finished reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and for the last hour, have been staring into space, reading countless reddit threads and pondering whether or not I should reread it again straight away.

What introduces itself as a love story between young adults quickly and seamlessly morphs into a story of grief, loss, and indecision. The story perfectly captures the volatility of university days and the angst of dating during your early adult years.

The reason why I loved this book so much was due to the relationship between the characters. Each relationship was brought to life through the raw and unfiltered dialogue between characters, and whilst I loved some and hated others, I felt emotionally attached to their lives and celebrated their wins and mourned their losses. Although this book is fiction, Murakami's writing brought every character to life by describing all the little quirks that differentiate people, making me now question whether or not I actually know these people. Internet forums tell me that this was not the Murakami to start on and very distant from his other works, which makes me even more excited to delve into his other books. Let me know if you have any thoughts on him and a massive shoutout to my friend Danny for recommending this.

I do want to acknowledge that parts of the book may contain elements of misogyny and conversations with others have revealed that it is unfortunately a theme in several of his books. Japanese and Asian literature in general contains problematic themes and we're keen to explore this through an episode in more detail, but I do still believe the story he's crafted is incredibly rich and compelling, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Shoot us a message with your thoughts if you've already read it!

- Jeff