Ratings330
Average rating3.9
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
Reviews with the most likes.
Contains spoilers
Haruki Murakami'yi seviyorsanız, "Norveç Ormanı"na bayılacaksınız. Yok, daha önce okumadıysanız, bir koşu kitapçıya gidip alın. Murakami'nin en popüler kitaplarından biri ve adam yine yapmış yapacağını.
Şöyle anlatayım, kitapta Toru Watanabe var. Bu eleman Tokyo'da okuyan normal bir üniversite öğrencisi. Fakat bir anda hayatı altüst oluyor. En yakın arkadaşı intihar ediyor, sonra hayatına bir sürü garip karakter giriyor. Midori var mesela, canlı mı canlı bir kız. Bir de Naoko var, ölen arkadaşının eski sevgilisi, epeyce kırılgan biri.
Şimdi bu kitap Murakami'nin tipik işlerinden. Tuhaf olaylar, içe dönük karakterler, biraz hüzün, biraz da gizem. 1960'ların Japonyası'nda, Beatles şarkılarıyla geçen, tam gençlik dönemiyle ilgili acayip bir hikaye. Yani aşk var, kayıp var, kendini bulmaya çalışma var.
Murakami'nin tarzını zaten biliyorsunuzdur. Yazdığı şeyler tam gerçek değil, ama hayal de değil. Biraz tuhaf bir hava var hep. Rüya gibi yani. Bu kitapta da bu havayı bol bol hissediyorsunuz. Bir ara acaba Toru aklını mı kaçırıyor diyorsunuz.
Bazıları "Norveç Ormanı"nı Murakami'nin en iyi kitabı değil diyor. Ama bana kalırsa, bu kitapla tanışmak Murakami'nin dünyasını anlamak için mükemmel bir başlangıç. Okuyunca ne demek istediğimi anlayacaksınız. Ha bir de, bazı sahneler biraz açık, ona göre yani ;)
Having read (and loved) Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and currently reading (and loving) 1Q84, both by Murakami, I was excited going into this almost completely blind. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed as Murakami's charming writing felt like it had disappeared and all I was given was a story about the main character's miserable life feat. women he had sex with in the most boring and dullest way possible.
If I want to read a japanese author's book about a man's misery, all the women and shitty people he met in his life told in first person ever again, I'd rather reread No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. At least that book evoked some kind of emotion in me.
I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by James Yaegashi, and I recommend it. I chose it because I don't like hearing names getting butchered, but his performance was very pleasant overall. If it weren't for him I might have not finished this book at all.
Not poorly written, just too slow for my tastes. I found the first 75% or so to be pretty difficult to get through because of the pacing, and I didn't really get the ending. This just wasn't really my cup of tea.
If I had to summarize in three words, it'd be: raw, heartfelt, and relatable. It touches on so many important topics including loss and loneliness. Such a beautiful book and I'm glad I finally read it.
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