Norwegian woods

i just finished Norwegian woods, the ending, in fact the whole story has a mask of tragedy cast over it. i liked the story though, despite my strong objections to taking one's own life.

i like the fact that the author chose death to start and end the story. it gives the reader a sense of completion, and shows great planning by the author. the characters are very vivid, each with personalities unique but not far-fetched. we often see such "weird" people.

i also like the idea of individualism and non-conformance to society and peer pressure. To question morals and be truthful to ones self. a great book to set one thinking, and also to question right from wrong. i also like the part when he wrote about the asylum, where both doctors and patients cannot be distinguished. it shows that many people in our modern world suffers from mental illness, and yet many of us do not know. We are all 'sick' in our own ways. the author depicted sex in new light unlike traditional novels, this is very common in contemporary Asian literature. His description of sex not only as how it truly is and removing all hypocrisy but it uses sex as a source of comfort, a type of medicine, a habit, a part of life, a gesture of love. something in which many people are unable to accept. We have accepted the sex taboo in our lives as norm that we hide our true nature and act as who we are not.

To advocate that the only thing is that we have to be true to oneself. as i read the novel, i took pity to many of the characters in the story. as though perhaps i many face same problems as them. It is hard to be different, although many of them are worst than me.

death is not a opposite of life, but part of life. This a lesson learnt from this book.