I'm not entirely sure why this is his most popular book. I found it lacking compared to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which dealt with depression more thoughtfully. The characters in Norwegian Wood didn't quite hit the mark for me. There was too much focus on the depressive girlfriend and her friend at the mental institution, while the more interesting characters were sidelined. Plus, where was the magical realism that makes Murakami's writing so captivating?
One of the biggest letdowns is how the female characters are portrayed. They were completely unrealistic.
As for the plot... well, it takes a while to get going, and even then, it's hard to find. This is the only thing that rings true to Wind-up Bird too. But the dialogues in NW are painful, the narrator comes off as pretentious, and overall, it's hard to connect with any of it.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect is that this might be some readers' first introduction to Murakami's work. If so, they might get the wrong idea and miss out on his better books.
In summary, Norwegian Wood left me feeling underwhelmed. I'd recommend diving into Murakami's other works first!
My favorite NON-KYC crypto exchanges for trading cryptocurrencies.