Norwegian Wood [IMPORT] (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I WAS THIRTY-SEVEN THEN, STRAPPED IN MY SEAT AS THE HUGE 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport..." (more)
Key Phrases: laundry deck, dorm head, donkey shit, Kobayashi Bookstore, Ami Hostel, Foreign Ministry (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: The Harvill Press; New Ed edition (2001)
• ISBN-10: 1860468187
• ISBN-13: 978-1860468186
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,984,464 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars long awaited, and worth the wait, April 5, 2001

By	W. K. Miller "kenmiller32" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Norwegian Wood (Paperback)

I had read and enjoyed Haruki Murakami's tetralogy (Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, A Wild Sheep Chase, and Dance Dance Dance), and I loved his Wind-Up Bird Chronicle novel, but I was ready for something new.

In reviews and on websites, I had read over and over about Norwegian Wood, the "straightforward" novel that was published years ago in Japan, which still was not for sale in the states, since there was not an authorized translation available. This novel sold a HUGE number of copies in Japan. I was wondering: I love those other novels by Murakami. Are they so demanding? Complicated? If Norwegian Wood is so much simpler than the other novels, will I even like Norwegian Wood?

The plot: It's the late 1960's. College student Toru falls in love with the girlfriend of his (dead) best friend. She eventually becomes ill (though not physically ill) and has to leave to live under special circumstances, far away from him. While she's gone, he meets Midori, a college student who obviously is interested in him. But he's holding out for his girlfriend Naoko. Never knowing if she will recover from her ailment and be able to rejoin him in society, he goes to classes, sells phonograph records at night, and spends some time with Midori. He visits Naoko a few times, gets to know her wacky roommate/friend/mentor Reiki, and eventually he has to decide between a life with Naoko (without Naoko?) or with Midori. Throw in a bizarre Geography-major roommate nicknamed "Storm Trooper," a scene where Midori (badly) sings folk songs to our Toru while they watch a neighborhood fire from the balcony above her parents' bookshop, and assorted other hilarious/bizarre characters and passages, and you've got vintage Haruki Murakami.

My favorite scene is one in which Midori takes Toru to visit her ill father in the hospital. He's so ill he can barely eat or speak, but Toru convinces Midori to enjoy a respite, and take a walk by herself out to a park in town. Toru is left alone with this bedridden stranger, in a situation that would seem forced, harsh, and impossible to enjoy, yet they make some very odd and touching inroads with each other. It's very unusual, and perfect in just the way that so many of Murakami's scenes seem to be.

The novel isn't as complex as Haruki's other work, and it's missing some of the magical realist / sci-fi / unexplainable elements that were so prevalent in Dance Dance Dance, Wild Sheep Chase, and Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. However, this novel is just as enjoyable, and just as worthwhile. This novel has a sustained emotional depth that other works by Murakami only achieve in passages.

If you're a fan of modern literature at all, do yourself a favor. Read Norwegian Wood, and read Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

ken32

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A haunting tale of love..., October 29, 1999

By	Alejandro Ayala "cafeayala" (Arlington Hts., IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norwegian Wood (Hardcover)

Murakami fans new and old rejoice and give your wallet and heart a break!! Norwegian Wood will be published for the US in the year 2000. This is confirmed in interviews and by the office of Murakami. The month is unkown but wait a little longer for this wonderful, wonderful tale brought to you by a genius. If you don't own this book when it comes out you better have a good excuse on judgement day!!

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars GET THE ALFRED BIRNBAUM TRANSLATION, August 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Norwegian Wood (Paperback)

It's not "Norwegian Wood" the story itself that I give 1 star to- it's the Jay Rubin translation. Over a decade ago I bought the Alfred Birnbaum translation, and I find Birnbaum to be a far superior translator to Rubin. Rubin's translation of certain sensual phrases from the Japanese turn into stale duds of sentences compared to Birnbaum's more heartfelt ones. Moreover, Rubin deletes words, sentences and paragraphs as he feels fit- Birnbaum does not make as vast edits as Rubin does. In this version of NW, Rubin writes that Murakami has approved this as the official translation. I'm sorry to say that although Murakami is my favorite author in the whole world, I have heard him lecture and his spoken English is remarkably terrible- he may know how to translate written English to Japanese really well, but he could use to learn about translating from his native language to English. I've rattled on long enough- but let it be said, Birnbaum's translation is far superior- and if you do not live in Japan, then go to your local Japanese bookstore in America like Kinokuniya or Asahiya and get it- leave this disgrace of a translation on the shelf.