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Norwegian Wood

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Norwegian Wood

By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The haunting love story that turned Murakami into a literary superstar.

When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.

'Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around' Time Out

'Such is the exquisite, gossamer construction of Murakami's writing that everything he chooses to describe trembles with symbolic possibility' Guardian

'This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows' Independent on Sunday

© Haruki Murakami 1987 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 20th Century Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature

Critic Reviews

Norwegian Wood is Japan's The Catcher in the Rye
Everyone who reads Norwegian Wood runs out to buy copies for friends and lovers... Drawing on Fitzgerald, Capote, Chandler and the Japanese tradition, his books are at once disarmingly direct and slyly, charmingly evasive. They are playful and melancholy; full of wrong turns and red herrings, corridors that lead nowhere and - above all - girls who disappear
A masterly novel. . . . Norwegian Wood bears the unmistakable marks of Murakami's hand
This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows
Catches the absorption and giddy rush of adolescent love... It is also, for all the tragic momentum and the apparently kamikaze consciousness of many of its characters, often funny and quirkily observed. Quietly compulsive and finally moving
A heart-stoppingly moving story... Murakami is, without a doubt, one of the world's finest novelists
Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around
Norwegian Wood . . . not only points to but manifests the author's genius
An intimate and dark story... A beautifully introspective novel that made me feel all the emotions
Murakami must already rank among the world's greatest living novelists
All stars
Most relevant
I liked the slow detailed pace, the attention to every unexpected detail, the thrmscs story line etc

Thoroughly enjoyable all the time in every moment

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This book is written lovely and flowed beautifully, I finished it within the first 2 days. It covered a lot of topics without creating a sense of judgement or shame. I didn’t do a lot of research for this book, and didn’t expect the trigger warnings of mental health and suicide within the novel. Again, these were covered with a vail and approached with respect.
Narration performance was great, smooth voice which was easy to listen to and was able to deliver a range of individual character voices well (didn’t make the females high pitched and squeaky).

A beautiful insight

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The atmosphere of the whole book and the how is it written can be amazing. On the other hand the book can be a bit cringe and the ending is kinda confusing

Amazing but mid

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Adam Sims has a pretentious tone to his voice that I don’t think fits the experience of Norwegian Wood.
Toru Watanabe wasn’t likeable sounding like he had a stick wedged up his backside throughout each line when I think he was just meant to come across aloof, uncertain & young.

Adam Sims voice for Midori was almost sexist, the way he portrayed her made her sound vapid & annoying which didn’t match how she was written in the book. I felt that discredited Midori’s character and what she contributed to the story.

Norwegian Wood overall is stunningly written, translated with so much care beautifully but I wouldn’t recommend this audiobook, Adam Sims and the spin he’s put on it doesn’t do it justice.
I think the lack of ratings on this book reflects on the bad voice casting when it is such a famous and loved book.

Skip the Audiobook & read the book for this one. Trust me.

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Absolutely magical story even though full of sadness and captivating storytelling by the voice actor. Thank you very much.

Magical

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