Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable but awkward
Review: Maybe it's the translation that was weak but having read Sputnik Sweetheart, Norwegian Wood seems immature. I've read that this book was written early in Murakami's career but published after his other works and he himself did not want this book widely distributed outside of Japan so maybe he felt the same way.Some of the dialogue felt so set up and sometimes downright silly. You could almost hear the author thinking, "now here is where I make him seem really deep" or "this will make her seem tragic." On the other hand, I really enjoyed the descriptions of dorm life and everyday activities. When the main charcater was alone, it all flowed nicely. Whenever dialogue was involved, it often seemed contrived. I hope I don't offend anyone with this mediocre rating especially amongst all the 5 star ratings. I do like Murakami's writing though and am looking forward to his Wind up Bird Chronicle.
Rating: 
Summary: The Beatles and Seven Star Cigarettes
Review: This was the third Haruki Murakami book I've read. The first two being A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance. This book is not quite as far out there as these two books, but it is still a very fun and smooth read. The book also can be pretty depressing because the main theme that seems to run through it is suicide, and believe me there is definately several suicides in this book. Toru Watanabe, the main character, seems to be a younger version of the unnamed protagonist in A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance, but instead of meeting The Sheep Man, an model, and a beautiful 13-year-old psychic he tends to run into attractive young ladies who fall in love with him. Good Stuff. Many folks I have seen complain that there is nothing Japanese about Murakami's writing. These people of course are not Japanese, and it makes one think what do they expect people swinging samurai swords and dressed in kimonos reading passages from the Genji monogatari? This book can also be a guide to repudiate several peoples misconceptions of modern japan.
Rating:
Summary: Will Leave You With a Loss For Words
Review: Upon picking up Murakami's Norwegian Wood, I wasn't sure if I would be crazy about it--I've read most of his other works and enjoyed them greatly. I knew that Norwegian Wood deviated from his typical formula, and even included a non-divorced, 20 year-old narrator instead of the typical 37 year-old, single man. So I wasn't sure what to expect. I was astounded by this book. Murakami does a superb job of capturing emotions and putting them into words. The character he introduces are beyond fleshed out, to the point where you feel as if you know them. The entire storyline is gripping, and will you leave you wishing the book wasn't only 300 pages. It's difficult to describe the beauty of this book without desiring to quote passages, or even ask the reader to finish the entire book before discussing it's strengths. I highly suggest this book to anyone who has ever loved and felt powerful emotion. You will find a buoy in the ocean of feeling and be amazed at how absorbed you will become in Murakami's story. Rating: 10/10
Rating:
Summary: Soothing...
Review: Murakami writes with a gently undulating pace that quiets the nerves and soothes the soul. His writing reminds me a little of Hemmingway in the way he can describe a simple act, like eating lunch, and make it poetry. The way his protagonists seem detached from the rest of the world is reminiscient of the existentialist types like Camus's Stranger. The difference is that underlying the detachment is an understated emotional warmth and gentleness. This is more true in Norwegian Wood than Hurakami's other novels. This one lacks the intense surreal quality of Wind Up Bird Chronicles or Sheep Chase and is a true love story. I read it in a few days and was totally absorbed.
Rating:
Summary: desperately seeking something...
Review: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami is one of a long list of books on disillusioned youths looking for some purpose in their rather directionless lives. I wish I can say this book is a Japanese equivalent to A Catcher in the Rye. The author tries, tries very hard. But in the end I was disappointed. The story is set in the late 1960s Tokyo. It tells the story of a lonesome, "can't quite fit in" young male college student and his relationship with friends and lovers, most of whom are equally disillusioned with life. His female companions are especially depressed, achingly so. ... and that's it! I wish I can say the story yields something particularly insightly or moves in a forward direction. Maybe it does for some. I found it to be a constant recycling of depressing conversation and, embarassingly, discussions of sexual relations to extruciating detail. Having said all this, I am still a fan of Murakami. His The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a masterpiece. I only wish Norwegian Wood was as daring and original. Bottom line: a heartfelt but ultimately tame and derivative look at the sadness and loneliness of youth.
Rating: 
Summary: Ham-fisted juggling act that works
Review: Like a crow flitting from one power line to another, Murakami moves the story from one situation to another in sudden movements, oftentimes leaving me with a feeling of disorientation. Likewise, many times the description of the setting seems forced and contrived, at least at the outset of the story.
In the end, the story and the writing satisfy. While not quite as hard-hitting and insightful as South of the Border, the story that Norwegian Wood tells is a familiar tale of overlapping loyalties and the dichotomy of purest love and realistic, dirty, wart-covered love.
Like the beautiful morning fog, youth and dreams give way to a maturity that is warmer and more exciting than the cool stillness of the morning.
Rating:
Summary: A New Style of Romance Novel
Review: Norwegian Wood is a wonderfully complicated romantic story. In it the reader is shown the inner-most thoughts of the characters. This novel presents us with and helps us to better understant the different types of love a person can possess for another as well as showing how we deal with the loss of a loved one. This is not your average "fairy-tale" romance novel, but an honest and sincere representation of the love a young man feels for those around him and what he does to cope with these feelings.
Rating:
Summary: not as good as it should be
Review: This book never seems to reach its potential. On the one hand, there's an engaging plot, a likable protagonist that you wouldn't mind being friends with, an entertaining and egotistical friend (Nagasawa) that you can't get enough of and familiar feelings of growing up, longing and sadness that we can all relate to. But, on the other hand, there is oversimplified, almost dumbed-down, language ("I think you're very cute.") and characters like Reiko and Naoko that you just want to shake and say: "Get a grip." I get the impression that something is lost in the translation - that the words are much more beautiful in Japanese. All of the scenes at the asylum are borderline bizarre. Wouldn't Watanabe, who is not at all familiar with life inside the home, find the strict rules strange and react with more hesitation and annoyance (having all your private conversation in front of a stranger)? I couldn't determine whether Murakami was praising asylums for the ways they "cure people" and help them to get in touch with their emotions or criticizing them for creating intense dependency and fear in the patients. Overall, Norwegian Wood is a good, quick read that is never boring, but never breathtaking either.
Rating:
Summary: I would've loved it if not for the end
Review: I have never read anything by Haruki Murakami but I was interested in reading more modern Asian literature and I kept passing by this book in the bookstore, so I decided to pick it up one day. The writing (or to be precise the translated writing) was exquiste because the setting and the characters came to life through the frank and yet poetic choice of words. The characters themselves were frighteningly realistic. They're completely flawed and they are even aware of their flaws. This made the romance between Watanabe and Naoko so beautifully tragic. Wantanabe would be a completely hollow man after Naoko's death if he didn't have Midori in his life because she gives him vitality through her spirit. I know that it would have to take Wantanabe a long time to get over the death and the very end does imply that he will move on with Midori but what made me mad was that he slept with Reiko before going back to Midori. He had made this big deal to Midori about having sex with her while Naoko was still in the mental hospital and Midori handled it the best way that she can. She is waiting for him to return back to her and they can move on with their lives in a more intimate way. Now I understand that Reiko serves as a reminder of Naoko. She was even wearing Naoko's clothes on that day but I don't think that having sex with Reiko brought any more closure to Naoko's death than if he had slept with Midori instead because having sex with either of them would not be the same as having sex with Naoko to him. However, if Watanabe had slept with Midori after he dealt with his feelings about Naoko's death, their connection would be stronger and the romance would be more compelling and thus made the implication of the two of them together moving on more real.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: I am not very good at reviewing fiction but Norwegian wood was a beatiful touching story focussing on the interplay between few complex characters. The story takes place in Tokyo in 68 and following. It starts with the interaction between Watanabe (the main character) and his relation with Nakao (the girlfriend of his best friend who commited suicide). The translator note at the end of the book states that this work is more like a traditional novel, as opposed to "cool, fragmented, American-flavored narratives" that characterise his previous work. Not having yet read any other work from Murakami, I could not comment on that.
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