One of favorite books is Norweigian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I bought my copy in Tokyo - in a two-book format that's very convenient for the Japanese who hate idle moments and read books whenever they're riding subway trains.Just like many of his works, the title of the book is named after a song (in this case, by the Beatles) and it is written in the first-person perspective by a young man, in this case a teeanger named Toru Watanabe.
It is essentially a coming-of-age novel but it is worlds apart from Holden Caulfield of Catcher in the Rye or other similar American novels; the rebelliousness and pessimism of youth is there but so are uniquely Japanese themes such as loneliness, coming to terms with loss (so common in the nation with the highest suicide rates in the world), and a sort of sexuality that may actually seem perverted to some but is narrated in a casual, non-erotic way in the novel.
The plot is not really exceptional. His best friend kills himself at a young age, leaving him and his best friend's girlfriend Naoko emotionally attached to each other. The experience drives Naoko crazy. Meanwhile, Toru meets another girl Midori with a character quite different from Naoko, and in the end they wind up together.
Yet it is the heartfelt, nostalgic tone and the wit that makes the novel a great read. It conjures up the most vivid descriptions of student life and creates unforgettable characters that will make you laugh and cry. Finally, the character is not presented in any other way but as who he is: a frail human being longing for someone to hold on to (just like the rest of us). In the end he holds on to the symbolic telephone line - connected to someone.
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