Norwegian Wood (1st Reading Journal_ Ch.1-3)

             Though I only read the first three chapters of a book with eleven chapters, I already fell in love with its tone. The personal voice of the narrator is cynical, yet honest and descriptive. The narrator seems to tell the audience what actually happened and how he really felt at the time. This authentic tone helped me sympathize more easily with him in various situations. Moreover, he definitely has got some wit in his voice. His cynical and detached tone while describing funny situations such as the line “The fever stayed high for a full day, but on the morning of the second day he jumped out of bed and started exercising as if nothing had happened, and his temperature was absolutely normal” makes it even more humorous. Along the elaborate depictions, there are also parts that can be considered “cheesy.” Death exists, not as the opposite but as a part of life. Life is here, death is over there. I am here, not over there. Although the overall mood is quite gloomy and dark, the voice itself goes neither too sentimental nor dramatic; rather, it blends well within the text, and therefore generates positive effects.

             Throughout the story, the most interesting part was the relationship between the characters. Based on the information given until now, Kizuki and Nagasawa seem to be on the parallel line. They both have strong oratory skills -the ability to “inspire people in awe”- which force the narrator to wonder why they “chose” him, “a person with no distinctive qualities, to be [their] friend.” They are both authentic and caring to him, with their “attractive” girlfriends. Despite these similarities, the narrator clearly states that “[his] relationship with Nagasawa stood in stark contrast to [his] relationship with kizuki.” He feels attached to Kizuki’s sincerity because Kizuki shared his “talents” only with the narrator and Naoko. On the other hand, he admits that he “never once opened [his] heart to [Nagasawa]” because Nagasawa uses this “talents” to tempt girls. But I suspect that the clear difference in his perceptions towards them may have been distorted or exaggerated due to the abstract reminiscence of Kizuki. He may unconsciously want to remember Kizuki with his positive sides only. I am curious whether the parallel relationship between the two would be intensified throughout the story.

             Although Naoko seems to be the most important character here (the narrator’s vague yet strong memory of her pushes him to start the flashback in the first place), how she affects the narrator after all is still unclear. I get the complicated feelings involved in their relationship and the consequent atmosphere of the story, but it is hard to express it in a few words. In my point of view now, the narrator’s complex affection for Naoko is not truly towards Naoko as a person but towards “the girl who once was my best friend’s lifelong lover,” whom he cannot -or should not- express his feelings directly when considering Kizuki’s death and the convention of the society. As Georges Bataille argues in his book “Eroticism,” people in general feel more excited about something that they are restricted in doing so. Although not directly stated in the text, the invisible yet present restriction in dating a (dead) friend’s ex-girlfriend may have made him more obsessed with his feelings. I am looking forward to see what further influence Naoko and the narrator’s desire for her will have on him.

             Considering the individual characters and their relations, sex and death are likely to be the recurring themes of the story. The narrator openly discusses his sexual life and puts certain amount of emphasis on it. For a long time, sex has been a rather vulgar topic that is often discussed separately from pure love. It is possible to infer that Murakami wanted to show the inseparable nature of the two concepts. In a similar sense, people do not like to talk about “death,” primarily because they are afraid of it. The narrator, however, states that death is only part of his life. Death is related to his best friend Kizuki; sex is related to Naoko and other possible girls. I get the feeling that I should pay closer attention to these two concepts as the story progresses and try to find out how they are used here for what purpose.

             Overall, I loved the beginning setup of this book. I am so excited to read more, and yes I am being very serious. I want to see the big picture as soon as possible so that I can really discuss this book in depth. J