What does Norwegian Wood mean?

Norwegian Wood mainly tells the story of Roku Watanabe's first lover, Naoko, who was originally the girlfriend of his high school classmate Kizuki, but later Kizuki committed suicide and Naoko lived alone. A year later, Watanabe and Naoko met by chance and started dating. At this time, Naoko had become quiet and shy, with a hint of gloom in her eyes from time to time.

The two had sex on the night of Naoko's 20th birthday. Unexpectedly, Naoko disappeared the next day. A few months later, Naoko wrote to say that she was admitted to a mental sanatorium far away in the mountains. When Watanabe went to visit, he found that Naoko began to have the plumpness and beauty of a mature woman. He also met Reiko who was in the same dormitory as Naoko. Before leaving, Watanabe said that he would always wait for Naoko.

Later, Watanabe met Midori at a small restaurant, because Midori asked him to borrow the class notes of "History of Drama II", and they gradually became familiar with him. When Midori's father died, Watanabe began dating Midori, a junior. Midori is the complete opposite of the introverted Naoko, appearing very pure and lively.

During this period, Watanabe felt very depressed and hesitant. On the one hand, I can't forget Naoko's lingering illness and tenderness, on the other hand, I can't resist Midoriko's bold confession and charming vitality. Soon the bad news came that Naoko had committed suicide, and Watanabe walked around in despair. Finally, with the encouragement of Naoko's roommate Reiko, she began to explore her future life. Extended information

Naoko and her first lover Kizuki in "Norwegian Wood" ended their lives by suicide because they had been in an environment that was almost isolated from the outside world. As they age, growth, they are even less able to communicate with the complicated outside world. When she found herself unable to integrate into real life, Kizuki chose to commit suicide without any warning.

Naoko has been struggling desperately after Kizuki’s death, wanting to get out of the shadow of Kizuki’s death, and wanting to open her mind to a richer world; the book contains a description of the beautiful natural scenery of the sanatorium where Naoko is located The long description, in this poetic and dreamlike artistic conception, brilliantly highlights and exaggerates the other world that Naoko longs for in her heart, a strange spiritual world that is opposed to reality.

In a sense, it can be said that this world is just a dream for Naoko. Although Naoko struggles in this dream, the opposition and entanglement between the real world and the dream world make Naoko feel pain and confusion deep in her heart. The soul struggles even harder, and finally can only escape this pain by ending its own life.

Even the lively Midoriko felt abandoned and lonely in both family and school environments, and she complained more than once. The protagonist Watanabe always walks alone on the journey of life with a huge loneliness in his heart. The writer deliberately depicts the euphemistic and lingering spiritual love between Watanabe and Naoko in a desolate and tragic style.

Naoko used her simple and passionate love and her tragic life of sacrificing herself for love to describe the conflict between ideals and reality and the purgatory-like spiritual journey of a generation. ?

When Watanabe and Naoko were walking aimlessly on the street together, among the bustling crowd of strangers, the pain of growing up faintly emerged, and the surging traffic and noisy city sounds carried by the city around them. The atmosphere, the completely unfamiliar people around create an open and crowded environment, the anxious and empty inner world of urbanites, and the confused and fragile state of existence are best explained behind the author's effortless narration.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Norwegian Forest