Norwegian Wood

Planted 9/5/25 | Last tended 9/5/25

I had avoided reading this book for so long but in the end i'm not sure why. At the top here i'll add that it has major references to mental health, suicide, and sexual content so it's not for everyone and I can't make a blanket recommendation that everyone read it.

I also found it difficult to decide whether I 'like' it. It's one of those books where the subject matter is so important or relevant that it doesn't matter whether I like or not don't like it. It certainly struck a chord with me.

Toru Watanabe is a college student who seems to have barely any opinion on anything outside of books. The story tells you less about him I feel and more about the people that he has relationships with in his life. That alone is interesting and if you care about deep character exposition then I can recommend this book to you.

One particular moment that stuck out to me was when Midori Kobayashi mentioned how she upskilled her cooking abilities. I appreciated the practicality of that approach as a way of adapting to uncertain or unsupported environments.

Having thought about this book later I note that all the characters have experienced some kind of trauma that drives their current state of being. It's a confronting book to read and unfortunately it's hard to check your baggage in at a coin locker while you're reading it so I wouldn't call it escapism. It's realistic social and personal commentary. I think I do like it after all.