Norwegian Wood.

MURAKAMI, Haruki.

Item Number: 3022

Tokyo: Kodansha, 1987.

First Japanese editions and true firsts of the author’s most well-known work. Octavo, 2 volumes. Both volumes are fine in fine dust jackets with the rare wrap-around band present. Both volumes are signed by Haruki Murakami in Japanese. Rare, especially signed.

Norwegian Wood is a nostalgic story of loss and sexuality. The story's protagonist and narrator is Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a freshman university student living in Tokyo. Through Toru's reminiscences we see him develop relationships with two very different women — the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and the outgoing, lively Midori. The novel is set in Tokyo during the late 1960s, a time when Japanese students, like those of many other nations, were protesting against the established order. While it serves as the backdrop against which the events of the novel unfold, Murakami (through the eyes of Toru and Midori) portrays the student movement as largely weak-willed and hypocritical. Murakami adapted the first section of the novel from an earlier short story, "Firefly." The story was subsequently included in the collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.