Résumé: Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me…
Adjectives used on the back cover include “evocative”, “sexy”, quietly compulsive” “heart-stoppingly moving” and mention the “exquisite, gossamer construction”. I can’t disagree with any of that, this book sure didn’t disappoint.
Published (way back!) in 1987 and set in the late 1960s in Japan, there’s probably nothing new I can say about this book here, other than that, in my view, it is a truly beautiful, thought-provoking read.
Like in many of Murakami’s books, the pace is pretty slow but still manages to sweep you along right from the start. The story is set in Tokyo but several times moves to a remote mountain retreat. As ever, Murakami’s descriptions are so evocative, you can almost feel the changes in temperature and light as we are taken between the two locations. The same is true in every scene – the sounds, smells and textures described all seem very real, almost palpable, although paradoxically, his stories still have that very vaporous, floating feel to them, as if everything could vanish in an instant.
The story revolves around Toru, on the cusp of adulthood, and his relationship with Naoko, the fragile girlfriend of his best friend who committed suicide at the age of 17, and Midori, a smart, free-spirited fellow student, who has experienced her own loss. It is a story of love and lust, life and death, where much is a haze for Toru, torn between the two girls and between the future and the past.
It’s an emotionally dark story, not only about negotiating the boundaries between childhood and adulthood, but also between life and death and, as time passes and memories fade, there is very much an ephemeral feel to Murakami’s world. Despite all this melancholy though, the book is often sassy, sexy and even has a few comic moments.
Although set in Japan, the book definitely has a universal feel, especially with so many Western references (The Beatles of course, but also Casablanca, The Great Gatsby, The Magic Mountain and so on). It’s a book that should appeal to anyone who has experienced the turmoil that is growing up and going out into the world on their own (so most folks, I guess, but the book does have its haters!).
There are many layers of introspection to which Murakami’s style lends itself well, and never does all this heart-searching get in the way of the book’s light, ethereal feel.
The ending is kind of crushing but expectant at the same time. You’ll close the book but the story will smolder on in your mind for a fair while afterwards.
Perhaps my new favourite book – for now, at least!
And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown
So I lit a fire, isn’t it good, Norwegian wood.
Books&Livres 