Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

Whilst discussing this book with a friend, who had already read it, I was told it was a very depressing book and apparently suicides had increased in Japan after the release of this book. I was almost half way through when I got to know this, but that in no way deterred me in stopping mid way. I am kind of a sucker for sad books. Humour in books has in very rare occasion appealed to me. Anyway I feel I am very low in the order of evolution of humour in human beings. 

I had bought this book when I was visiting family in February and picked it up only in May after my attempts at reading Mammaries of  Welfare State failed. I had picked it about 5 times already and the maximum I had read was a 100 pages. Not to say it wasn't a good book but I had not gotten my act together of showing patience with a book. 

And after these failed attempts, when I picked up Norwegian Wood it appeared like a breeze. I was turning pages after pages wanting to know the life of Toru Watanabe (the protagonist) and his story of love and loss. The story starts of him being on a flight to Germany, where they are playing the Beatles number 'Norwegian Wood' on the flight which makes him sick in the stomach and reminds him of his past. There in starts his story of his childhood friendship with his best friend Kizuki and his love for Kizuki's girl friend Naoko. Very soon you get to know that Kizuki commits suicide for mysterious reasons and Naoko is left emotionally fragile at her loss. Toru and Naoko stay in touch discussing Kizuki, trying to recover from their mutual loss. But while Toru somehow gets around to it, Naoko is plunged into a abyss and has nervous breakdowns. Toru moves on to a private university where he meets Midori (his classmate), a girl full of life and spirit, very different from Naoko, who even though has suffered loss in her life, has chosen a different way of dealing with it. She is like a breath of fresh air for Toru, who finds himself getting attracted to her and missing her when she is not around. It then becomes something of a time travel, with Toru visiting his love of past, Naoko in Tokyo and his present, Midori. 

There are quiet a few suicides in the book because in Japan apparently suicides are a respectable way to die. And this does make this book sad, as you realise that love could fail you no matter how faithful you are, no matter how ready you are for it. 

I had read Murakami's Kafka on the shore before, but in my opinion it does not come anywhere near to Norwegian Wood. It's a wonderful book, which I think I will re-read it some day in my life again.