review on Murakami's Norwegian Wood

"Exactly. And when I do it, I want the man to apologize to me. 'Now I see, Midori. What a fool I've been! I should have known that you would lose your desire for strawberry shortbread. I have all the intelligence and sensitivity of a piece of donkey shit. To make it up to you, I'll go out and buy you something else. What would you like? Chocolate mousse? Cheesecake?'...to me, that's what love is." 
― Midori

well well well, i just finished Norwegian Wood, Murakami's most famous book to this date. the Japanese version was published in 1987, then Alfred Birnbaum's English translation was available for japan only in 1989. the version I have, was translated by Jay Rubin in 2000 for international distribution.  (there is a journal article that compare the two translation, which i found very interesting click here for more)

what can i say about Norwegian Wood? it surely has left a deep impression in me after reading it, but holy moly, the second I finished the book, I was like.. wtf???? Toru sleep with Reiko???  Sure they both are hurt and in a severe pain after losing Naoko, but how the heck they ended up in bed??? altho I kinda get a little sense they need to comfort each other, only them can understand each other, but not by sex.. please.. it ruined the ending for me... ughh Norwegian Wood is my fourth book by Murakami, and  I still have plenty others :(((  I start to see more and more repetition in his books, and kinda hesitate to go on reading. 

anyway, as usual,  I will try to review this book from two perspective, the reading experience (what it left with me) and the plot.

Experience: 

okay, what it left with me huh?  I read it somewhere that it is a story about death and life.. Naoko is holding onto the death and Midori onto life... Toru is fighting this invisible pain, he himself need to choose between death and life. I think what made it 'beautiful' is the main character's struggle. he is just an ordinary man, trying to survive. everyone has it own battle.. and Murakami do such a good job in bringing those struggle implicitly into his work.. Nagasawa is struggle to find 'the meaning of life' i guess. he cannot trust any one.. and for him, life is just a game, and the last thing he allowed himself is losing it. Hatsumi is a poor love-sick girl. It's sad that no one can save her. Midori, she has to be strong and all determine bcs she can only rely on herself... maybe the lack of fatherly love has made her a bitch. huh? that's not an excuse tho.. 

overall I like the book. it was a good experience.. even better if Murakami could reduce the sex scene. haha

Plot: 

I think Norwegian Wood is better written compare to After Dark, the story have much more detail and and the flow change is much more smoother. It's so murakami, to have things ended up in bed lol. and his detail description of the intercourse is much more disturbing in this one. like, when Naoko is dead, what Toru remember instead within many memories they shares is, how Naoko gave him blow job :/ oh boy... and Midori constant dirty joke is too much, doesn't she have other things to think of? or she just uncontrollably horny around Toru? :/  but after all I have no problem with Murakami incorporate sex into his writing.. I know sex is essential in human relationship. I understand why Nagasawa and Toru sleep around, I can understand why Toru, Naoko, and  Midori has this awkward sexual relationship but these are too much... the vivid description make it almost a softporn.

the only plot hole that bother me is where the heck Strom Trooper has gone?? is he dead? people on the internet assume that he found out Toru make fun of him and simple move away to other school. I hope so. 

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