Review: Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me! Yes, hello, friends and possibly even enemies, I am back from my impromptu hiatus, and back with a vengeance as fierce as the fiery rays of the Sun that I have wallowed in for the past two weeks in Corfu and various locations in Italy. I have been on holiday, and if anyone is curious, I did indeed get burnt. As expected of a British person on holiday. 

I, of course, read a substantial amount whilst on holiday, and now I shall review each of the 8 books that graced my life one by one, starting now, with my 'M' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. 

I originally came into possession of this novel from my local library's book sale after it having caught my eye. I had heard great things of Murakami, and this was one of his most famous novels, so I inevitably had high expectations. And I have to say, they were certainly lived up to, and I awarded it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Norwegian Wood is a sad book. That is effectively its whole thing: deep, deep sadness. The novel opens with sadness, and closes with sadness. And yet, the way that Murakami presents this tale of love, sex, and depression is magnificent. It's a marvel how he threaded humour into something which is, in its simplest form, tragic. You would expect that a book where you aren't sure if you can trust any of the characters' longevity to be a slog which brings you down and trails your emotions through the mud. And while, yes, the latter does happen in parts, the mood of the novel, through the fog of tragedy, is of hope for new love to blossom. All the characters have murky pasts and have been through bad times; overall the theme is one of reminiscence to these bad times, but also where the lights in the darkness are heralded in celebration. Murakami's writing is poignant, capable of evoking strong emotional responses from the reader. I will certainly look out for more Murakami in the future, and I recommend that you do too, for this is truly a fantastic read.

So that was Holiday Book 1! Tell me in the comments below if you have read this and agreed or disagreed with my thoughts, or simply if you enjoyed my review! I would be grateful for any responses! Like, comment and follow, and until next time, adios!