Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood was the book that made Murakami popular among non-Japanese audiences. But after reading it, I just don't understand why. Sure, the book has its moments of splendid Murakami wisdom. His typical themes of alienation and existentialism are there. However, the plot was incredibly disappointing. It is a very crude love story, no more, no less. To more morally conservative people, Norwegian Wood is very difficult to get through, to say the least.

I found myself missing Murakami's magical realism. Proponents of this work argue that this was a challenging book for Murakami to write, given that he usually doesn't write like this. I suppose he achieved his goal, mixing his usual themes with the genre of romance, but, to me, it detracted from what he does best. All in all, if I could go back and tell myself to skip Norwegian Wood, I would. Not recommended.