Norwegian Wood - What did I just read?

Norwegian Wood may be a book about death, but it is so much more than that. It may be the book I read the fastest, I am still shocked about all that happened. After blurring our minds, Haruki Murakami walks us through the journey of Toru Watanabe, a drama major in a university of Tokyo. The narrative is quite easy going despite the heavy context. Toru encounters some tough decisions along the way, however, he meets other friends that offer advice.

Toru  when 17 suffers from the loss of his best and only friend Kizuki. I can not even imagine putting myself in his shoes, I would have probably been broken. Not only that but he also chose to self isolate in another city. It is an option to forget everything, nonetheless, no one would be able to give the necessary mental and personal support.

There is another take on this situation. Heading towards the storyline, you will meet Naoko, the Storm Trooper, Nagasawa, Midori and Reiko, whose opinions can make you reflect. Going through my notes after finishing reading the book, I could not help but notice that I like one of them in particular. Naoko, the girlfriend of the dead Kizuki, reencounters Toru and is equally suffering. Besides Toru, she is also offered help by Reiko, a music teacher. From this interaction among the three characters, We can learn a lot.

The loss of a friend, a lover can severely damage and leave scars on ourselves. This may even lead to unresolved issues arising and blowing up everything around. From one of Naoko’s letters to Toru, I would like to highlight the passage talking about acceptance and more specifically self acceptance, the first step to get better.

“we are in here not to correct the deformation but to accustom ourselves to it: that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities. Just as each person has certain idiosyncracies in the way he or she walks, people have idio-syncracies in the way they think and feel and see things, and though you might want to correct them, it doesn't happen overnight, and if you try to force the issue in one case, something else might go funny. [...] because we know that we are "deformed." That's what distinguishes us from the outside world: most people go about their lives there unconscious of their deformities” - Chapter 5

Being more open towards your feelings and sharing them with others may also help and that is one of Reiko’s wise advices:

‘“You are a good person, though. I can tell that much from looking at you.” [...]
"What happens when people open their hearts?" [...]
"They get better," she said.’ - Chapter 6

Which leads to the final piece of advice from Reiko. In some cases, trying to fix the problem whenever you have no power over it will wear out and stress you. Therefore, you should let the natural flow guide you.

“Things will go where they're supposed to go if you just let them take their natural course. Despite your best efforts, people are going to be hurt when it's time for them to be hurt. Life is like that. [...] You try too hard to make life fit your way of doing things. [...] you have to open up a little more and let yourself go with life's natural flow.” - Chapter 10

I did not want to give too many spoilers about the story, so as not to worsen your experience. I just want to say - be yourself, do not suffer alone, express your emotions and finally that there are things that are not in your control, just let them free, things will take their natural course.

Gracias