Revisiting Norwegian Wood

I'm reading Norwegian Wood for the fifth time. I was reading another book before this, but I gave up on it. Not many authors have the capacity to enthrall as Murakami does. Whenever I read his books, I feel taken away to another place, and another time. It's the very essence of escapism. I feel emotions that aren't really there, and pain that aren't really there too.

It's bittersweet, kind of.

So far, I've read 10 of his books. It's very identifiable, the way he writes. He speaks write to your soul. He catches your attention, and doesn't let go. I aspire one day to write like him - him and no one else. I dream that one day, people will read what I write and be put in a reflective mood, and think about their position in the world, and all that stuff. Which is how I feel when I read Murakami.

I reread Norwegian Wood for inspiration. I read it to feel to be reminded of how it feels like to fall in love. The kind of love which is hopeless, and bottomless - the kind you don't think you can ever recover from. Young love. Love which hurts everyone, yet heals everyone, and nourishes all involved. Love which is something like heaven, and hell, and everything in between.

In Norwegian Wood, the protagonists falls in love. But the girls doesn't love him back. It's as simple as that. And he tries his best to get her to reciprocate his feelings but she never does. And on the side, there's this other girl who loves him. It'd be simple if he just dropped the first girl, and went with the second one, but love, like life, is never simple.

And he meets all sorts of characters who are damaged in their own way. It makes me feel normal. I'm not saying I'm not damaged. I am...very much so (at least, I like to think haha), but reading about these characters, I think that somehow, everything will work out.

I'm in school at the moment. I've set up a cozy work area in the School of Business. The school's empty, except for a few stray students having meetings on Saturdays. They give me a look, as if they can't fathom why I'm here, all by myself. I'm doing work, you see. More importantly, I just like carving out a space for myself, to do my own stuff. My own stuff includes settling emails, projects, and homework. But I'll also do some reading, and writing too.

It's nice to be alone sometimes.