There is this short clip that went viral a while back which led me to this book. The clip is from an interview of Vidya Balan in which she talks about how there was a period in her life where she wanted to get back to reading but couldn't really get in that 'Binge Reading Mode', that all of us bibliophiles are familiar with. Later in the interview she talks about how this particular book i.e. Norwegian Wood was recommended to her by Prajakta Kohli aka @mostlsane after Vidya told her about her recent trouble with jumping back on the reading horse and finding that 'Binge Reading Mode'. Vidya said that this book turned out to be that defining reading journey that got her back up on that reading horse. When I heard Vidya's experience with this book, I knew I had to read it because I could deeply resonate with her when she talked about her not being able to find that mode because I too had been unable to get in that binge reading mode for a while. Now that I have read this creation of Murakami, I can concur with Vidya and say that Norwegian Wood definitely did help me jump back on the saddle and continue my reading journey.
Norwegian Wood is based on the memories of our protagonist Toru Watanabe's college life in Tokyo from many moons ago. In this book, we dive into the reality of Death and how it isn't the opposite of life, but a part of it. In the book, we witness Toru as a young adult trying to cope with feelings and emotions that could boggle the mind of any grown adult. We see him cope with the loss of a friend, trying to come to terms with a very complicated love interest, understand the role that sex and love play in a man's life and realize that relationships and feelings are much more convoluted than we realize. In this book, we also touch a topic which is often times treated as a bit of a taboo i.e. Mental Health. We get to understand that how complex and unique every mind is and what an important role good mental health plays in a person's life. Reading this book, I realized how many of us take the peace at our homes and minds as granted, without realizing how blessed we are to be able to think straight, feel safe, be loved and be sane. Depression, feeling misunderstood, loneliness and sadness are all emotions that no sane human wants for themselves, these are feelings all human beings are served with by serendipity, some individuals more copiously than others. I take away from this book a deeper understanding of mental health and an understanding of the sensitivity and prevalence of such feelings. I take away from this book a new Lense to look through, before I make a judgement or assumption about an individual. I take away from this book an understanding of the prevalence of pain and sadness buried within individuals around us, behind masks and layers. I take away from this book a newfound sense of kindness and generosity towards others, knowing that everybody has a past and while some of us have been lucky in terms of what life presented us with, some haven't been so lucky.
I would like to thank Murakami and express my gratitude on behalf of all the readers who have read her creation and learned their own respective lessons and drawn their own conclusions over the years. I bet all of them would to thank him, I know I sure do.
I've heard of how good, this author Murakami's books are, but I haven't read any of them. I'm currently going through a book slump. And since this brought you back into reading, I'm definitely going to get the e-copy today.