Norwegian Wood

I was tempted to buy the latest paperback edition of Norwegian Wood despite having already read it and even owned a copy. This edition has the two Japanese leads from the movie adaption of the novel fronting the cover. It's taken from a scene where the characters Naoka and Watanabe stood in the midst of the vast wintry mountains and held each other.

I am usually not enamoured of book covers featuring movie stills. But I took an immediate liking to this one when I first saw it in the stores. Somehow, the soulful looks of the two actors struck a chord with me: they convey a melancholy appeal that is at once both fragile and captivating - very much capturing the emotional appeal of the characters in the famous Murakami novel.

Two weeks ago, I was extended a free movie pass to catch the preview of Norwegian Wood with two other friends. Of course, no screen adaptation is ever going to do justice to Murakami's work, whose beauty lies in the poetry of his words (albeit translated). I enjoyed reading Norwegian Wood not because it has an amazing plot, but because I found resonance with the wistful melancholy thoughts and the acute sense of loss and emotional searching that the characters drift through.

I knew the movie was never going to make the same level of connection, but it would be unfair to hold it to the same standard in the first place. As with any movie adaptations, it's the literary work that precedes the film. Nonetheless, I thought it was an admirable effort by Director Tran Anh Hung to try and capture the essence of the novel and its emotional depth. The cinematography was lovely, as was the setting of the period when student protests were prevalent. I enjoyed the stunning mountainous landscapes, and the details of the places and costumes which were ever so briefly touched on to evoke a subtle appeal. Unfortunately though, the music and pacing proved rather sombre and heavy, and that cast a depressing shadow over the movie. For this reason, I told my friends that this movie would be better appreciated if you had first read the book.

Meanwhile, I shall ponder about buying the book: perhaps not now but in the future when I feel it's time for a second reading.