"Sometimes I feel like the caretaker of a museum - a huge, empty museum where no one ever comes, and I'm watching over it for no one but myself."

The most peculiar thing about a Murakami novel is that you cannot find why you liked it. Norwegian Wood is slightly different, because it leaves you with an immense void in your heart which you don’t know how to fill.

The story revolves around the life of a teenager emerging into his 20s named Toru Watanabe. His university life, past friends, current dorm life etc. are the simple elements that started the novel. One day, Watanabe meets Naoko, his high school best friend's girlfriend who died from suicide. Naoko and Watanabe get together, they hang out, share their memories. After a while, Watanabe realizes Naoko is suffering from something he cannot comprehend. And one day, suddenly, she disappears. Right after then, another girl named Midori enters his life. The story continues, Watanabe unfolds himself to you, shares how he feels, and slowly makes you indulge in himself.

The writing style of Murakami is fresh and fluid here as always. Watanabe’s style of storytelling here is very mundane, but it never bores you because it carries a certain bliss which I cannot explain. This book won’t make you cry, but it would leave you with such an emptiness that you would want to come back to this again and again.

Design & Review by

Eftekher Anower Nahin

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