Line #35 Literature/NorwegianWood


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nw.png]]
2	''Norwegian Wood'' (Japanese: ノルウェイの森, ''Noruwei no Mori'') is a 1987 ComingOfAge novel by the Japanese author Creator/HarukiMurakami. The publication of this book led Murakami to unwanted superstardom in Japan; so much so that he eventually left for the United States and Germany. Fans of his works often note that ''Norwegian Wood'' as a novel is far removed from his ordinary works. It is a fairly straightforward tale of adolescent romance and the protagonist, Toru Watanabe, is very much an {{Everyman}} as opposed to other protagonists in works such as ''Literature/KafkaOnTheShore'' or ''Literature/AfterDark''.
3
4	The plot follows a love triangle among Watanabe, his childhood love Naoko and a girl he meets at university, the outspoken and lively [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Midori]]. Each girl represents different things to Watanabe but he has a hard time choosing.
5
6	Some critics consider ''Norwegian Wood'' to be semi-autobiographical but the author has flat out denied this, describing ''Norwegian Wood'' as a "challenge" that he did to see if he could write a novel with none of the themes that have become his trademark in later works.
7
8	A [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] was made in 2010 by the Vietnamese director Anh Hung Tran. It was released in December 2010 in Japan, as well as festival showings and small releases in Canada and Italy. The cast features Creator/RinkoKikuchi, Creator/KenichiMatsuyama, Creator/ShigesatoItoi, Music/HaruomiHosono, and Music/YukihiroTakahashi. The score was composed by [[Music/{{Radiohead}} Jonny Greenwood]].
9
10	----
11	!!Tropes found in ''Norwegian Wood'' include:
12	* AdaptationDistillation: The film trims a great deal from the story, omitting large chunks of {{Backstory}} (especially Reiko's), giving many minor characters less prominence (such as Storm Trooper) and cutting out numerous events that don't significantly advance the core LoveTriangle plot (such as Watanabe and Nagasawa's numerous one-night stands, several of which are depicted in detail in the novel).
13	* AllThereInTheManual: Kizuki's visit to a hospitalized Naoko via motorcycle is actually elaborated upon in "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman".
14	* AuthorAppeal: Several references to Sixties jazz and pop, ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', ''The Magic Mountain'' and various obscure WesternLiterature works.
15	* BarefootSuicide: In the film, Kizuki appears to have taken just one of his shoes off when he dies. [[spoiler:Naoko is barefoot however.]]
16	* BettyAndVeronica: On face value, Midori is the more exotic, fun-loving Veronica and Naoko the old, childhood friend Betty, but Murakami plays with this throughout the novel and the reader's perspective can be expected to flip.
17	* BrokenBird: Naoko. Ever since Kizuki died, she's been emotionally fragile.
18	* TheCasanova: Nagasawa, who spends most weekends going out and getting women to sleep with him, even when he already has a girlfriend.
19	* ComingOfAge: The novel is a quiet study of this.
20	* ConsummateLiar: Reiko's piano student.
21	* CoolBigSis: Reiko Ishida, Naoko's confidant at the centre. [[TheOjou Hatsumi]] also, as a wish fulfillment for Watanabe.
22	** [[spoiler: Naoko's actual older sister was also one of these till she committed suicide and Naoko found her body.]]
23	* CradleOfLoneliness: Naoko, who is still struggle trying to live without Kizuki.
24	* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: Subverted. [[spoiler:Naoko]] kills herself, leaving Watanabe free to pursue [[spoiler:Midori]]. He calls her and tells her he wants to be with her, [[spoiler:but the story ultimately ends on a cliffhanger, leaving it ambiguous whether they ultimately got together or not.]]
25	* DrivenToSuicide: Sadly, [[spoiler: Naoko, Hatsumi, and Storm Trooper. Also Kizuki, whose death provides the catalyst for events in the novel. The reader never gets an inkling towards what caused his suicide, though. There's also Naoko's older sister whose suicide is also left unexplained. The novel seems to run on this trope.]]
26	** [[spoiler: It's hinted that Kizuki's suicide may have been related to his physical relationship with Naoko.]]
27	* TheDutifulDaughter: Despite the emotional scars inflicted on her by her parents, Midori still frequently visits her father in hospital and brings him lunches.
28	* EatingLunchAlone: How Midori first meets Watanabe. Unusually, he doesn't really mind being by himself that much.
29	* EpiphanicPrison: The Ami Hostel, a mental asylum in the woods where no one is forced (physically or otherwise) to leave. Residents are kept there more by a feeling that they can't handle the world outside due to their own psychological issues than anything else.
30	* TheEveryman: Watanabe.
31	* FamilyThemeNaming: Midori means "green" and her older sister is "Momoko", which means "peach girl".
32	* FetishizedAbuser: {{Subverted}}. Nagasawa is the BigManOnCampus and a lady-killer. He also has sociopathic tendencies and doesn't care one bit about his girlfriend (he's unfaithful, callous, and dismissive), only worrying about fulfilling his own hedonistic desires. His girlfriend, Hatsumi, knows about his affairs and seems to be perfectly fine with it, therefore making it seem that his abusive behavior is part of his sexual appeal. However, we later learn that Hatsumi's massive self-esteem issues are behind her acceptance. Later in the plot, [[spoiler: she commits suicide because of Nagasawa's abuse, among other things]].
33	* {{Foil}}: Nagasawa to Watanabe, despite the former's claims to the contrary.
34	* FramingDevice: The novel opens with Watanabe hearing the titular song on a plane to Germany and being reminded of the events of the plot, writing them down as a kind of therapeutic exercise. The film omits this, even though it's clear that Watanabe is narrating the events with the benefit of hindsight.
35	* HereditarySuicide: Naoko's older sister hanged herself as a teenager. [[spoiler:Naoko ultimately goes the same way.]]
36	* HeroicBSOD: Watanabe after [[spoiler:Naoko's suicide]].
37	* HopeSpot: Towards the end of the novel, Toru receives a letter from Reiko informing him that Naoko is progressing much faster than anyone had expected, which closes the chapter. The first line of the next chapter is the WhamLine listed below.
38	%%* ImAManICantHelpIt:
39	* {{Jerkass}}: Nagasaswa. Intelligent, charming and outwardly a perfect gentleman, but completely indifferent to the feelings of others.
40	* LipstickLesbian: [[spoiler:Reiko's piano student.]]
41	* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Naoko explains that Watanabe was this to her and Kizuki when they were in highschool. Later, she clings to Reiko as a clutch when she's staying in the Ami Hostel.
42	* TheLoinsSleepTonight: The DistaffCounterpart to this trope. [[spoiler:Naoko is incapable of getting properly aroused in sexual situations, and as a consequence is unable to have sex with Kizuki, even though she wants to. This contributes to his eventual suicide. Naoko fears that she will never be able to become physically aroused, which, in turn, is a major reason she eventually kills herself as well.]]
43	%%* LoveHurts:
44	* LoveTriangle: Watanabe, Naoko and Midori.
45	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Midori is this but unusually for the trope Watanabe doesn't realise this until near the end of the novel. It's played with insofar as she's a more rounded character than one would expect for this trope, and has just as many neuroses as anyone else in the novel.
46	* MayDecemberRomance: Toward the end of the novel, Reiko visits Watanabe and sleeps with him after [[spoiler:Naoko's death]]. It's an essentially platonic act however, and there's no suggestion that they pursue a relationship afterwards.
47	* MillionairePlayboy: Nagasawa who befriends Toru at their dorm. He also doubles as TheHedonist.
48	* NoEnding: [[spoiler:After Naoko's death, Watanabe calls Midori asking whether she'll forgive him and whether they can try again for a relationship. She gives a cryptic response of "Where are you?" and the novel ends with Watanabe trying to answer the question in his inner monologue]]
49	* PluckyGirl: Midori takes an adventurous and deterministic approach to life. Growing up in harsh environments, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
50	* [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary University Student]]: Watanabe.
51	* RomanAClef: Explicitly denied by WordOfGod.
52	* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Several minor characters in the novel are treated with derision for wearing the university uniform even though it isn't obligatory. Storm Trooper gets his nickname this way as the other students assume he's a fascist (in truth, he just doesn't want to have to worry about clothes).
53	* TheSixties: The setting.
54	* TheSociopath: [[spoiler:Reiko's piano student. She lies constantly, even about things that don't matter, has a magnetic personality (to the point of successfully seducing a heterosexual woman), is sexually aggressive, and has absolutely no empathy. Reiko even describes her face as seeming painted on, with nothing behind her eyes whatsoever.]]
55	** Watanabe hints that Nagasawa may have tendencies akin to this also.
56	* StartsWithASuicide: Not the book itself, but Naoko and Watanabe's story definitely kicks off with Kizuki's suicide.
57	* StepfordSmiler: Hatsumi, Nagasawa's long-suffering girlfriend. [[spoiler:She pretends not to mind that Nagasawa is sleeping around, but two years after Nagasawa graduates and goes abroad, leaving her behind, she marries another man. Two years after the marriage however, she kills herself. Naoko also became this after Kizuki died.]]
58	* TeensAreMonsters: [[spoiler:The girl who destroyed Reiko Ishida's life. A pathological liar, she tries to seduce Reiko during a piano training session and when the former rebuffs her she lies to her mother that Reiko assaulted her. This is before declaring to Reiko that she had known Reiko was a lesbian as soon as she saw her and implies that the whole thing had been a trap. The lie spreads throughout the neighbourhood and drives Reiko to leave her husband and daughter and go to Ami Hostel in the first place.]]
59	* TitledAfterTheSong: After Music/TheBeatles song; it's one of Naoko's favorites. Watanabe hearing a version of it on an international flight triggers memories of Naoko and kicks off the novel.
60	* UsefulNotes/TokyoUniversity: Most of the novel is set during Watanabe's time as a student in Tokyo.
61	* UptightLovesWild: An aversion. [[spoiler:Midori's former boyfriend dislikes her approach to life and disapproves of the most minor things. This is even Lampshaded by Watanabe in his inner monologue, wondering why a guy like that would want a girlfriend like Midori.]]
62	* WackyFratboyHijinx: There's a bit of this here and there. Nagasawa achieved his reputation as BigManOnCampus after resolving a dispute between two groups of students which almost resulted in physical violence. How did he resolve the dispute? One of the student groups insisted he eat three whole slugs.
63	* WhamLine: [[spoiler: "Reiko wrote me several letters after Naoko's death."]]
64	* WoundedGazelleGambit: Reiko's piano student tells everyone Reiko molested her, when actually, the opposite is true.

Context Literature / NorwegianWood