Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 but spent most of his youth in Kobe. “Norwegian Wood” was first published in Japan in 1987, and first translated into English in 2000.

Toru Watanabe tells the story, looking back on his days as university student living in Tokyo. His circle of friends was very small, and he appears to have always been a fairly solitary type. Originally from Kobe, Toru only had one real friend at school – Kizuki, who committed suicide at seventeen. He went on to university in Tokyo, where he largely appeared to keep to himself. There, he did – briefly – have a roommate at his dormitary – though the pair had very little in common. (Toru’s roommate is known only as “Storm Trooper” in the book, a nickname gained through his obsession with sanitation). Nagasawa, a diplomacy student at the university, was more an acquaintance than a real friend. He was very intelligent, and came from an influential family – he took Toru under his wing after the pair discovered a common love of “The Great Gatsby”. (No-one else in the dorm had any interest had any interest in the classics). Nevertheless, they did little together other than drink and chase women.

Toru’s two key relationships, however, were both with women. One was Naoko – a Beatles fan and the very delicate one-time girlfriend of Kizuki.The pair meet up again in Tokyo, roughly a year after Kizuki’s death and start spending more and more time together. Eventually, Toru falls for Naoko and, on the evening of Naoko’s twentieth birthday, things get intimate. Unfortunately, the evening proves a little difficult for Naoko to deal with and she takes off – booking herself into a sanitorium in an attempt to deal with her difficulties. The pair keep in touch write to each other, though, and Toru is keen to see her again.

In Naoko’s absence, however, the arrival of Midori Kobayashi complicates things. Like Toru, she studies drama at the university – but she’s very different sort of person to Naoko. Lively and outgoing, she combines her studies with helping her father in his bookshop. Gradually, she and Toru spend more and more times together – and it leaves Toru a little unsure which direction to travel in.

A little frustratingly, the book left me with a couple of questions about some of the characters. Despite only being a minor character, I couldn’t help wondering what happened to Storm Trooper…Similarly, I found myself feeling concerned for Reika, Naoko’s closest friend at the sanitorium – and hoping that things worked out for her. Most of all, there’s no indication of how Toru’s life progressed, between the book’s final page and the flight to Germany that sparked his memories. However, it’s an excellent book overall, and well worth reading.