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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Suicide — depicted; a friend's death; another death later
Language
Some
Contemporary-style language; some strong words
Sexual Content
A lot
Explicit sexual content — in specific scenes
Substance Use
Some
Social drinking; 1960s student culture
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
Suicide — Kizuki's and another character's; both depicted; Mental illness — Naoko's breakdown and institutionalization; Explicit sexual content in specific scenes; Social drinking and 1960s student culture; Grief — Watanabe's sustained inability to process his loss; The ending — not consoling
What this book is about
Watanabe Toru is nineteen when his best friend Kizuki kills himself without explanation. At university in Tokyo, he forms a bond with Naoko — Kizuki's girlfriend — who is struggling with her own mental illness. He also falls for the vivacious Midori. Norwegian Wood is a love story, a grief novel, and a meditation on mental illness in 1960s Japan. Explicit in places; emotionally devastating throughout.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Suicide — depicted; multiple characters; central to the novel
Mental illness — Naoko's breakdown and institutionalization
Explicit sexual content in specific scenes
Grief — Watanabe's sustained inability to process his loss
The ending is not consoling
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