Norwegian Wood
discussion
I didn't understand the ending of this book, what happened exactly?
Only my thoughts:
When his friend kills himself the 'sickness', meaning depression and unability to cope with life, is passed on to Naoko. It hurts her on a fundamental level. She turns to the protagonist in hopes that he can save her, but in the end he fails.
When Naoko commits suicide the 'sickness' is passed on to him. He becomes unable to cope with life. He feels disconnected and confused and he is crying out for Midori to save him, because he can't do it on his own anymore.
This is a circle of action and reaction. A person can be hurt on such a fundamental level that no love in the world could save him/her. And a person in pain may accidentally hurt his/her loved ones in exactly that manner, without ever intending to.
So in the end the fear remains that the story will repeat itself.
When his friend kills himself the 'sickness', meaning depression and unability to cope with life, is passed on to Naoko. It hurts her on a fundamental level. She turns to the protagonist in hopes that he can save her, but in the end he fails.
When Naoko commits suicide the 'sickness' is passed on to him. He becomes unable to cope with life. He feels disconnected and confused and he is crying out for Midori to save him, because he can't do it on his own anymore.
This is a circle of action and reaction. A person can be hurt on such a fundamental level that no love in the world could save him/her. And a person in pain may accidentally hurt his/her loved ones in exactly that manner, without ever intending to.
So in the end the fear remains that the story will repeat itself.
It is pretty common for Japanese novels to leave out the resolution. I think it is kind of nice for a change of pace. I'm not sure we are supposed to know what happened. It is left to the reader's imagination.
I'd rather interpret it in a positive sense. Watanabe is shown to be someone who cannot open up about his problems - even his friend Nagasawa comments on how he is secretive when it comes to his personal life. And because the book is in Watanabe's voice, i got the feeling that he was always struggling to be detached from the many problems in his life.
However, in the end, he finally decides to 'open' up to all the tragedy in his life - and the feeling of 'dead centre' etc comes from finally allowing all the tragedies to affect him. he's finally letting go.
We're not told if he is pulled back from this darkness by Midori, who is at the other end of the telephone line - but I'd like to believe she did. Just the fact that Watanabe chose Midori over Naoko shows that he chose life over death, i think.
another reason why i thought it all ended well is because the story begins 10 years later, when he is in the plane and he hears "Norwegian Woods" playing. He loses control for an instance, but then recovers. I think it shows that though he is scarred by his past, he has also managed to move on.
just my thoughts, though.
It really cut me up not knowing for sure if he got with Midori in the end, but I think that's the point. It's open to interpretation.
I agree with Aliceofthemoon i think he is just letting go...though it is a bit different in the new movie of the same title...really worth the viewing. Beautifully filmed.
No, he is not inflicted with the same sickness. Remember at the beginning of the book he is reminiscing. The whole book is basically a flash back. This is a story about moving on, about making it past the grief, and the sorrow and living your life. He didn't let the sickness take him, instead he allowed himself to live for all those that didn't make it. He did I think, get with Midori. The ending is sort of Hemingway-esque, it just ends the story. Like a snapshot of a life. No happy ending, just another day that follows. I think it's more realistic that way.
The ending of this book is hiding in plain sight, it's in the first paragraph of the book, a lonely grown-up man outliving and reliving the tragic loss of his best friends.
I think it's all basically been summed up here already... But I like what others have said, it's helped me to a greater understanding:I think there is truth to what Aelethiel said about how for Naoko, she was "hurt on such a fundamental level that no love in the world could save her."
The same may have been for Watanabe but we know he survived because (as others have pointed out) he is alive and writing this story for us based on his memory years later (we aren't told whether or not he stays with Midori, so that is still up for interpretation), but also (if my memory serves me) he had a line somewhere where he was speaking to (the already dead) Kizuki saying unlike him, he is choosing life.
But the film leaves it a bit more obscure, by leaving out the fact that he was writing/telling this story years later. So if you hadn't read the book, you might leave the story with a different interpretation having only seen the movie.
I read this many years ago, so I don't remember many details, but thanks for the summaries/reminders. This book was important to me. I had read "Hard Boiled Wonderland" and thought it was just interesting. This one made me a fan. Since then, I've read just about everything Murakami has written. I especially loved "Wind up Bird Chronicle" and "Kafka at the Shore."
About Murakami, his work is often enigmatic, and able to be multiply interpreted. The authors to whom he pays homage (e.g., Kafka), are often similarly indefinite.
Most of Murakami's work can be described as whimsical in tone. The one text that doesn't fit this description is "Norwegian Wood:" All in all, a much more serious work than his usual.
I will say I was never of the opinion that Watanabe and Midori had ended up together. I thought they were better as friends, than as a couple.
I like the interpretation of Alice of the Moon, but it does not work a 100% for me.
And I agree that it would be bad for Midori and Watanabe to end up together. She would be the care-taker again and I think she deserved someone to take care of her for a change.
And I agree that it would be bad for Midori and Watanabe to end up together. She would be the care-taker again and I think she deserved someone to take care of her for a change.
I hope he didn't get with Midori, I didn't really like her
Deadbeatgrandpajoe wrote: "I hope he didn't get with Midori, I didn't really like her"Really? I liked Midori.
me too, Midori was like a firecracker in this so gloomy book, makes it bearable
Yeah, I loved Midori and her random quirkiness!I loved how she symbolized life and sex (LOL!) and resilience in the face of sickness and death - remember her eat in the hospital? :)
She's a total contrast to poor, damaged Naoko, the picture of tragedy and impotency, though she tries so hard to get out of it, poor thing.
I think Watanabe and Midori had a chance at happiness together. :)
I really intended to write my thoughts about the ending as soon as I opened this discussion page, but I read the comments here first and... Damn onion-cutting ninjas! *sniff* This book has a very special place in my heart, so just reading your comments or thoughts about the book is enough for me to be transported back to the world of Toru *sniffs* *calms herself* *sniffs again*
Okay. Back to business.
I agree with Slice of the Moon as I generally try to find the possible happy endings in books. If you will remember, at the start of the story, Toru and Naoko are talking about a "well." I think this is the foreshadowing of what will happen to Toru after the death of his friend. All throughout the novel, I believed he is nearing closer and closer to the well (triggered mostly by Naoko's decision to isolate herself). So that by the end of the novel, he has fallen unknowingly into it (metaphorically speaking)
"All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere." - I think he is talking about the (metaphoric) souls that got lost in it as well. But the fact that he called Midori meant that yeah, he chose life over death (Naoko-Midori: Death-Life). He laid his vulnerability on the line by asking Midori to save him. This is perhaps the only time that Toru really opened up himself to her; perhaps the only time when he realized that he isn't superman, and he needed saving after all :)
Sorry for the long comment! I just get really chatty about anything involving Murakami :))
PS. I love Midori with all the otaku-ness in me. Super hate Naoko!!!
Okay. Back to business.
I agree with Slice of the Moon as I generally try to find the possible happy endings in books. If you will remember, at the start of the story, Toru and Naoko are talking about a "well." I think this is the foreshadowing of what will happen to Toru after the death of his friend. All throughout the novel, I believed he is nearing closer and closer to the well (triggered mostly by Naoko's decision to isolate herself). So that by the end of the novel, he has fallen unknowingly into it (metaphorically speaking)
"All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere." - I think he is talking about the (metaphoric) souls that got lost in it as well. But the fact that he called Midori meant that yeah, he chose life over death (Naoko-Midori: Death-Life). He laid his vulnerability on the line by asking Midori to save him. This is perhaps the only time that Toru really opened up himself to her; perhaps the only time when he realized that he isn't superman, and he needed saving after all :)
Sorry for the long comment! I just get really chatty about anything involving Murakami :))
PS. I love Midori with all the otaku-ness in me. Super hate Naoko!!!
It's open ended.Mine is that Midori will be around.
I ended this book yesterday and couldn´t quite figure out the end, as well. The 1st impression was that he was "sick" that he was also spiraling in to the death circle around him - after all, he was pretty much surrounded by people who one day were perfectly at their normal pace and then on the next one just kill themselves, with no notice, no apparent justification; it was Naoko, her sister, her boyfriend and later on Hatsumi, Nagasawa´s girlfriend.Now, coming to think of it, at the begining of the book he was arriving at Germany - maybe even to visit Nagasawa, that was working in Bonn.
The fact that made him different was that he finally cracked open and let Midori in, to help him as he was in a very dark circle. If you ask me, i think that they will remain as friends, but it´s open to interpretation.
It's an open ending, I guess. But I think that's the beauty of this book. I used to think that Watanabe committed suicide, cause the end was quite spooky :"countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere", which, I don't know with all of you but, it brings me to the conclusion that Watanabe died. But then I recalled again, there was a scene of him on the plane, listened to the Norwegian Wood tunes, Watanabe recalled himself in Santa Fe, watching the sunset, so Watanabe must still alive. What I believe until right now is, the story stopped when he called Midori, maybe from Germany, but he still trapped in the trance of the past with Naoko,that haunting him all over.
But since it's an open ending story, I would like to say, you guys have a lot of nice interpretations.
The story will be so different with one exact ending, so it might be better with this kind of ending. That's how it should end. :)
I have to say the Japanese writing is not what I'm used too. The open ending definitely left me a bit confused and frustrated, hoping that the cycle would not keep continuing and I'm glad it didn't because the beginning revealed that he had survived for the most part. I feel the shame was that he couldn't open himself up. His relationships weren't past skin deep and that's not how it should be. The beauty of love and knowing people is opening up and that was one thing he couldn't do.
I'm not sure if I am a fan of the novel. A lot of things bothered me especially Midori. I didn't care for her, I'm not sure if it was her bluntness, openness and forward sexuality but I found her annoying.
Where Midori was strong and opinionated it agitated me that she was quiet, too quiet and too anxious, she had no strength and no voice. She was too weak.
Overall parts of the book I liked and others not so much. I look forward to reading more of Murakami. :)
i do believe Toru is very much alive. he was just reminiscing about those memories that occured during his teenage years. he said it himself that he will live for Kizuki and Naoko. about Midori, he knew deep inside that he loved her but figured he could never be happy again. he couldn't bring himself to forget about what had happened because he had promised Naoko to always remember.
I am not sure why there is confusion about whether or not Watanabe and Midori ended up together.As far I can tell in the end he telephones her and says among other things "all i want in this world is you". She in turn takes time to take this all in and asks him where he is. Surely from this we can safely infer that this was a happy ending. i thought Midori was quirky but okay, although i can understand why others felt strongly about her.
I believe that the very second Toru decides to call Midori and declare his intention to live life, and do it with her, the world around him simply changes so dramatically to his eyes that he gets lost in it.I personally understand little about the "dead center", considering it is made pretty obvious that he has chosen life well aware of his decision. I see this ending as a bit contradictory in itself, with Toru living at the same time in the world of the living and in that of the dead.
From a devil's advocate point of view, I think this bitterweet ending was created mainly not to give the book a too obvious happy conclusion. In itself, it holds little meaning, considering it eventually leaves nothing more to the reader about the characters since it unveils nothing, but a full happy ending would have definitely been out of the book's key.
For Naoko, Toru couldn't save her, her spirit was damaged beyond repair, but there was hope for Toru, which, perhaps, is Murakami's attempt to prove that maybe if the spirit WANTS to it can choose to allow love to help bring it out of despair to be reborn in a sense.That's why I think in the end Toru isn't sure where he is, it's as though he has just woken from a dream. Experiencing new life for the first time.
i dunno where these commentators are getting all these extra readings from. obviously he ends up with midori. i think that's 70-80% implied. possibly he doesn't, but HM seems to be pretty pro-relationship, pro-happiness, rather than a true tragedician. after some thought, I guess I've liberalized towards the "he's caught a sickness" but I definitely still disagree "he's dead"
Jessica wrote: "I just didn't really get what went on right at the end, this was my first Murakami so maybe I'm just not used to his oddness. This is the part that stumped me:"Gripping the receiver, I raised my ..."
Perhaps you should have read a "lighter" Murakami.I think that part deals with the nothingness he suddenly feels after the events had been unfolded.
Toru choose life and through Midori he made it to Chapter 1 where he reminisce about his dead friends.
I know the ending is free to interpretation, but that is mine honestly, and not only because it is the ending I would like. The interview with Murakami helped confirm it:MURAKAMI------
"I think most readers would say the same. Most would choose Midori. And the protagonist, of course, chooses her in the end. But some part of him is always in the other world and he cannot abandon it. It’s a part of him, an essential part. All human beings have a sickness in their minds. That space is a part of them."
To be honest, I think Watanabe didn't ended up with Midori, the way it ends sounds like he loved Midori but couldn't be with her because he was miserable after Naoko's death but didn't wanted to make her feel miserable. Which is sad, because I really liked Midori
Tim wrote: "No, he is not inflicted with the same sickness. Remember at the beginning of the book he is reminiscing."It is interesting because we have no information on what his life was like between when all of this happened and when he wrote down his reminiscences. It seems as though the ending of the book was a game changer for him, but we are left to guess in what way his life changed. I think it's beautiful.
I just finished the book and have a different interpretation to offer. I am pretty convinced this is a somewhat convoluted interpretation but I wanted to see what other readers have to think about this.After reading the book, I immediately went to have a listen of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood, having never heard it before. With the large number of allusions made to the song, it appears to me that the book could be interpreted in the manner it parallels the song.
Unless I'm mistaken, the song was about a boy who was invited into the room of a girl and misled into believing that sex was on offer when the girl really wanted to talk. When the possibility of that went down the drain after a talk that lasted till 2am, the boy ended up spending the rest of the night sleeping in the bathtub. On waking and finding that the girl had left without even bothering to wake him up, he decided to light a fire and burn the girl's Norwegian Wood (the furniture she had been proud of).
In a similar but different way, Toru was after something from Naoko. He was looking to obtain Naoko's love and Naoko used the knowledge to get what she wanted from Toru - a chance for emotional closure and companionship. There are suggestions that she believed that she could only obtain these from Toru as they were part of the trio and only Toru would be able to understand what she had gone through and how she felt. Through his reminiscing in Chapter 1, we also find out that Toru came to the realisation, albeit eventually, that Naoko did not love him (perhaps only not enough to live for him and face the hardships of the real world). So Toru goes to Ami Hostel with the hope of healing Naoko and winning her love, and gets used by Naoko in the process, with the consequence that he forsakes his growing passion for Midori for entire stretches of time.
It seems to be no coincidence that Ami Hostel is located in a secluded part of the countryside and hidden in the woods (apparently, the woods in Norwegian Woods originally referred to forests in Japanese). And it was introduced to Toru, and he comes to be convinced of it as well, as being better that the outside world in some ways. Just as the girl in the original song showed her room and asked "isn't it good, Norwegian Wood?"
When Naoko eventually did leave by committing suicide, Toru was devastated and hit rock bottom. He spent one month roaming around before he finally "woke up" Of course, he doesn't truly wake up until he meets Reiko and talks things through with her.
The parallels seem feasible to me until this point where I feel I might be stretching it a little...
Toru obviously doesn't light a fire and burn up the woods as an act of revenge. However, he ended his associations with Ami Hostel when Reiko left. We are told he had sex with Reiko four times, ending a long period of time without sex for him as a result of his love for Naoko. The act of sexual intercourse itself might be seen as an act of defiance and revenge but why Reiko? It might be that Reiko, who had spent 8 years in Ami Hostel, was symbolically a representation of not just the place, but of all the emotional drama that had occurred there. Just as Naoko says of sex on the night before her suicide, that '[she] never wanted to be violated like that again - by anybody', Toru was defiling the memories of the occurrences in the woods through the sexual acts.
If this interpretation is followed, it then follows that the entire episode between Toru and Naoku is finally over from unfulfilled promises and manipulations to revenge. While it has come to a conclusion, Toru is not necessarily free from the effects of the incident - it will probably colour his view and his attitude just as Kizuki's death weighed over his life. Nonetheless, Toru had closed a chapter of his life since Kizuki's death that caused him to close himself off, and he was reborn without a disabling baggage. He finally calls Midori from the phone booth and tells her, "I have to talk to you. I have a million things to talk to you about. A million things we have to talk about. All I want in this world is you. I want to see you and talk. I want the two of us to begin everything from the beginning." Toru had overcome an invisible barrier between Midori and him that had caused him to be closed off about his history with Naoku and to be stuck in terms of his relationship with Midori (perhaps this is shown by Toru's limits to his sexual acts with Midori, never progressing beyond what he had already done with Naoku). We get the sense that there is a chance that this time, there can finally be progress.
And if I'm allowed to squeeze this last analysis out, the last puzzling scene gives us another clue...
"Where was I now? I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again I called out for Midori from the dead centre of this place that was no place."
In a way, it seems like Toru had been living an extended dream and that he had finally opened his eyes to the world around him. He had no idea where he was. He was in a senseless world and that he was surrounded by people with irrational thoughts and motivations. Toru knew that he was an outsider and with all the chaos of the normal world around him he could not understand, he only knew that he wanted - needed - Midori to survive.
^this analysis seems pretty much what most people seem to agree with, with the one exception that it would seem to be about 80/20 agreement that norwegian wood is a form of marijuana; the nuance may have been lost in the original japanese, where the beatles' song is called merely "the forest of norway" or "norwegian forest"
Wilfred wrote: "I just finished the book and have a different interpretation to offer. I am pretty convinced this is a somewhat convoluted interpretation but I wanted to see what other readers have to think about ..."I'd call this a "sympathetic reading."
maybe you should try some mushrooms! it's a kind of a trip. if you know how, you could enjoy, try reading heaven & hell & doors of perception by aldous huxleyAldous HuxleyDoors of Perception and Heaven and Hell
I agree with Wilfred's interpretation of the ending. it seemed to me that he'd awoken from a dream/nightmare and was looking around as if it was a whole new world. I thought it was a brilliant ending to a very engaging book.
"He ends up scarred for life and slowly ends up like Reiko, a person with a gradually deteriorating state of mind, as paralled by the lovemaking of the two at the end which symbolizes unity and interconnectedness. My theory is that he continues to live on as a transient, more scarred than ever, living a soulless and purposeless life. He dies, spiritually." (http://goo.gl/4EGSl5).
Well I read the last part twice or thrice to come to a conclusion and it is…. Toru was actually in Ueno Station which somehow is linked with Midori so I thought that in the end may be the connection of the Ueno station at last brought them together… because ending does matter in a story whether sad or happy so I concluded it this way!
Vash wrote: "Well I read the last part twice or thrice to come to a conclusion and it is…. Toru was actually in Ueno Station which somehow is linked with Midori so I thought that in the end may be the connectio..."I also was curious about what Murakami was saying with Toru ending up at Ueno station. I feel like it ended on a positive note in terms of Toru opening up to Midori. However, I didn't get the feeling that things lasted between the two. I've been trying to distinguish the other intentional connections from the banalities (in case those might hint more at a resolution) but even if I notice something it's hard to necessarily define why the connection is there. For example, Storm Trooper's obsession with maps versus the perpetual wandering of Toru (be it literally with Naoko or more metaphorically between Toru and Life and Death or, Midori and Naoko respectively). Many people in this thread are implicitly citing Toru's lack of direction or purpose which makes sense in regard to Toru as the protagonist of a college novel. However as a result of that constant indecision, even though Toru seems to choose Midori it never feels as sincere as his choice to never forget Naoko. Finished the last sentences with a feeling of spiritual unrest haha, very gloomy.
I think that the entire phone conversation at the end never happened -- it's just something that he daydreams about over and over. That's not the only possible explanation, but it seems likely to me in light of how the book opens, with him alone, reminiscing over "...times gone for ever, friends who had died or disappeared, feelings I would never know again."
Andrew wrote: "Vash wrote: "Well I read the last part twice or thrice to come to a conclusion and it is…. Toru was actually in Ueno Station which somehow is linked with Midori so I thought that in the end may be ...""spiritual unrest" yeah I can understand that I am feeling the same thing. Its been 3 day since i finished that novel but I am still not out of it! I think no matter what Toru's first love will always be Naoko
Toru go back to Midori, right?
Siti Nur wrote: "Toru go back to Midori, right?"Siti Nur wrote: "Toru go back to Midori, right?"
Yes he did.
Toru Watanabe doesn't go to Midori, and that was the last conversation they had. The book ends with the standard Murakami ending, which leaves in thinking and deciding what could've been the end. Everytime you read and finish that book, you would come with different conclusions.
Reading the comments helped me figure out my interpretation. I believe it could go both ways: with or without Midori. In both scenarios Toru chooses life, a life in which death exists. Like his life is not going towards death, but rather goes in paralell to it, like walking next to a river. It's always by him and it's this notion that overwhelms him when his talking to Midori in the end. Maybe they got together and Midori, being strong in the face of death and used to it, managed to balance out Toru's darkness. Or maybe his darkness took the best of him and he chose life on his own terms, by himself with death as his constant companion.
I cant believe Toru - who has been through so much - could be happy with a girl like Midori who is massively concerned with her haircut - while he is dealing with friends who are suicidal.... she is so shallow, so self-focused ...I cant seem him staying with her at all
Chris wrote: "It really cut me up not knowing for sure if he got with Midori in the end, but I think that's the point. It's open to interpretation."In my honest opinion it's not. In the first two pages of the book Watanabe is thinking about his past and all the things he wont feel and live again(not talking only about Kizuki and Naoko). Part of the past is Midori too so Toru and Midori didn't manage to be together. Furthermore, I believe that the last paragraph is just a desperate dream or thinking*. He regrets for not making Midori part of his life. He maybe never totally recovered from Naoko's death...
*"I called out for Midori from the dead centre of this place that was no place." In a dream you can remember the actions but the place is always vague.
"And when I awoke I was alone
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?"
I've just finished the book and I am amazed and troubled...very impressive. I was there with all my feelings.
Midori represents life, but maybe too strong to be feeded by a man with Toru's past behind. (And that life that Toru sees is not Midori, because she already shown that she can't love unconditionally, when she was upset. This wasn't the condition that Toru needed. I remember the parts when she says what she would like from a lover - to stand all her moodiness, a kind of love and hate behavior...maybe too much, too real or too common). No, in my opinion Toru remained with regrets only. Not with Midori or with anybody else, just with the knowledge that death is a part of the life and the life goes on in between death like a blind way into a maze. You can choose illusion and dream and never get out, or you can choose to live and find the miracle of life.
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?"
I've just finished the book and I am amazed and troubled...very impressive. I was there with all my feelings.
Midori represents life, but maybe too strong to be feeded by a man with Toru's past behind. (And that life that Toru sees is not Midori, because she already shown that she can't love unconditionally, when she was upset. This wasn't the condition that Toru needed. I remember the parts when she says what she would like from a lover - to stand all her moodiness, a kind of love and hate behavior...maybe too much, too real or too common). No, in my opinion Toru remained with regrets only. Not with Midori or with anybody else, just with the knowledge that death is a part of the life and the life goes on in between death like a blind way into a maze. You can choose illusion and dream and never get out, or you can choose to live and find the miracle of life.
I totally agree with your interpretation. If Watanabe had been doomed to carry on the sickness until he too sought his own death, then the book would not open 10 years later. He mentions that he is going to write as a form of getting emotions out. This is a healing action. I believe that Midori takes him in and the healing begins...as does kinky sex I am sure. It think "this place that was no place" refers to a new open place within himself that he has no way of defining just yet. A Slice of the Moon wrote: "I'd rather interpret it in a positive sense. Watanabe is shown to be someone who cannot open up about his problems - even his friend Nagasawa comments on how he is secretive when it comes to his ..."
the title of the song is "Norwegian Wood(The Bird has Flown)"...with this being said, I believe Murakami constructed a parallel in which Watanabe is the bird that has flown
I like Midori. her appearence somehow make the story more dynamic. perhaps because she has an opposite character with Naoko.
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Norwegian Wood (other topics)
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Doors of Perception/Heaven and Hell (other topics)Norwegian Wood (other topics)
"Gripping the receiver, I raised my heads and turned to see what lay beyond the phone box. Where was I now? I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again I called out for Midori from the dead centre of this place that was no place."
Any thoughts?