The tone and style of the novel Norwegian Wood is pretty slow, flat and
simple. However, through the words, I can feel a great power seems to resonate
with me. This is a story about love,
friendship, and moreover, sex. It
relates accurately the life and mentality of the youth. Every characters in the
story has their own personalities, while Watanabe being dull and emotionless, Naoko
being shy and conservative, Nagasawa being outgoing and talkative, Midori being
optimistic and sunny. They represent different people that we can possibly meet
in our life.
Growing up, they have to face different
choices. Watanabe has to choose between Naoko and Midori. Naoko was terribly
ill and she chose to suicide. Midori chose Watanabe over her boyfriend. Hatsumi
chose suicide as well. Nagasawa chose studying abroad over Hatsumi. I think
these characters are lonely and confused. They don’t really know what love and
what their inner thoughts are. They don’t belong to anyone else. They had to
find their own values and directions through this. When some of the characters chose to end
their lives, I feel a little pitiful and sympathetic for them.
The story reveals and reflects the
perplexity of sex, love, friendship, self-valuable of the teenagers in the
society at that time. Through the eyes of Watanabe, we see the youth of Japan
in late 1960s with their puberty and frustration. It’s a story about growth.
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