So Norwegian Wood kind of reminds me of Paper Towns. A little bit. Except the protagonist is more of a recluse. The difference here is Norwegian Wood is a lot more deeply rooted in reality, and things don't just conveniently fall into place (not that I'm discrediting Paper Towns; I liked it, but some parts of the book are a little too unrealistic). However, some of the similarities are rather notable: the ho-hum protagonist, the intangible love interest, and the plodding pace of the book.
Norwegian Wood, from a plot-only perspective, is pretty nondescript. It's about a boy going through college when his life is suddenly interrupted by a girl he knew from his high school years. They're connected through a tragedy. Suddenly, the girl disappears, and he must continue his life as usual, wondering why she left and what she's doing now. Along the way, he meets another girl, but then I stopped reading.
Again, the plot's pretty normal. But what I really love about the book is the writing. There's some really fantastic writing in here. I love the style of it, I love the imagery in it, and I love that nothing's left out, but nothing's added either. Norwegian Wood strike a pretty good balance between progressing the plot and showing off the writer's skill.
Before I leave, I'd like to applaud the unsung hero of Norwegian Wood, Jay Rubin, the translator. I mean, my God, talk about first class translating. All the little nuances in the writing could have easily been lost by a less-skilled translator. A+, Jay Rubin. A+.
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