Norwegian Wood

By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator

Narrated by: Adam Sims

Brought to you by Penguin.

The haunting love story that turned Murakami into a literary superstar.

When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.

'Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around' Time Out

'Such is the exquisite, gossamer construction of Murakami's writing that everything he chooses to describe trembles with symbolic possibility' Guardian

'This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows' Independent on Sunday

© Haruki Murakami 1987 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critic reviews

Norwegian Wood is Japan's The Catcher in the Rye

Everyone who reads Norwegian Wood runs out to buy copies for friends and lovers... Drawing on Fitzgerald, Capote, Chandler and the Japanese tradition, his books are at once disarmingly direct and slyly, charmingly evasive. They are playful and melancholy; full of wrong turns and red herrings, corridors that lead nowhere and - above all - girls who disappear

A masterly novel. . . . Norwegian Wood bears the unmistakable marks of Murakami's hand

This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows

Catches the absorption and giddy rush of adolescent love... It is also, for all the tragic momentum and the apparently kamikaze consciousness of many of its characters, often funny and quirkily observed. Quietly compulsive and finally moving

A heart-stoppingly moving story... Murakami is, without a doubt, one of the world's finest novelists

Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around

Norwegian Wood . . . not only points to but manifests the author's genius

An intimate and dark story... A beautifully introspective novel that made me feel all the emotions

Murakami must already rank among the world's greatest living novelists

Dissapointing narration

This is my second Murakami on Audible. Did not enjoy the narration at all. It was monotone.

Weird performance

I find narrating Murakami with such a heavy American accent rather weird. What makes things even worse is the way female characters are voiced. Before this title, I actually thought I'm quite accustomed to listening to fiction, but this will just scratch Murakami Audible for me.

Nostalgia

Autobiographical and full of memories of growing up. The depth and ease of his narration are amazing.

What can I say?

I love Haruki Murakami. Love him. However, because of the narration I couldn’t make it through the book. The whining and sarcastic tone of the narrator made no sense to me. I stopped listening but because of my adoration of Murakami I tried to be tolerant and gave it a second chance. After about 15 minutes I just couldn’t do it. It was like nails against a chalkboard for me. I even feel awful just complaining about this and because of my own lack of tolerance couldn’t listen to the rest of a very compelling story. The story was butchered by the narrator and I’m not sure why he should have read this story with a sarcastic and di standup tone of voice. Anyway, if unlike me you are able to listen to the narrator, I would highly recommend this book. Murakami never disappoints. As for myself, I will continue reading the book myself.

Liked so much! I cried!

I liked the caracters and so beautiful idea of the book. It kept me reading all the time. I liked the voice of reader too. Decided to read all Murakami books.