Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami -- A book reiew

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the third "Japanese" or "set in Japan" novel that I've read. And, each one of them have had suicide as one of the running themes in them. I wonder if this is the only issue that modern day Japan is dealing with. And then, I went to Wikipedia, and found out that it is indeed a major concern, although it has reduced since 2013. The beginning of the novel was a difficult read as Murakami takes a really long time in setting up Naoko's problems and what ails her. It is hard to connect with while her's is the main story. But, the mood of story starts looking up once Nagasawa and Midori come in. This definitely is a story you should not pick when you're already depressed, coz it takes a really long time for the central character to come to terms with life and show strength. But strength it does evoke towards the end, the fact that sometimes it is best to keep going and live your daily life and keep up the routine even when thoughts bog you down, even when things are crumbling around you is a lesson best learnt. The fact that when you're able to do that is when you accept your adult life with all its trials and tribulations and learn to live with it and finally grow up. This is also a coming of age story in that respect. In the end, this story evokes a beauty even in sadness and that is why I can imagine why it became this popular.

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