Music metaphor and erotic understanding in "Norwegian Wood"

"At the age of thirty-seven, I am sitting on a Boeing 747." I finished reading "Norwegian Wood" an hour ago "The Forest", I was secretly thinking about how I only remembered to read this masterpiece by Murakami at this age. I asked a few friends last week and they all said that they had read it earlier and it was very good. So I relaxed and read it together today. Although my wife comes from a literary family, she, like me, has heard about this book for many years, but she only read it last week.

He told me excitedly, "You must like it," because Murakami's expertise in music, especially jazz, his understanding of women, his modern thinking, and his strangeness in metaphors all attract me.

It took me five hours to read it in one go, and I was as fascinated as I was when I was reading Jin Yong’s novels during my high school vacation. After watching it, I couldn't restrain myself. It was smoother and smoother than "Dance Dance" at the beginning two days ago. I took a look at the comments on Douban, but none of them expressed their feelings, so I had to record it myself.

However, there is a post on Douban with an interesting title, "This book must be understood by people over thirty years old." My own feelings are the same. Youth life itself and looking back on youth life in middle age are two different things. On the contrary, I am glad that I read this book today instead of ten years ago. Especially in terms of understanding the two things, it would definitely have been an obstacle for me to read this book ten years ago.

1. Understanding metaphors through music:

It can be seen that the translator has never heard most of the music mentioned in the novel, so there are many inaccuracies in the translation. .

Many works of jazz masters, such as Bill, Evans, Miles, Davis, etc., as well as some rock classics. The title of the book itself comes from the works of the Beatles. If the reader does not have it, Having heard it beforehand, my understanding of this book seems to be reduced by 30%. Murakami mentions the names of music in the environment everywhere, which is definitely not unintentional.

The characters in the novel can be said to be metaphors of musical styles. Nagazawa’s debauchery is like Wagner, Hatsumi’s classical is like sacred religious music, Naoko’s classical and repressive are like Brahms, Midoriko’s The rock character brings out Watanabe's hesitant quality, which happens to be the middle tradition of Eastern people.

For example, it is mentioned in the novel that Naoko not only likes Bill and Evans recommended by Watanabe, but also loves Brahms’ symphonies, piano, and cello, which seems to indicate her own repression. nature.

Brahms has always been considered to be famous for his classical repression. The metaphor of music can also be mapped to the cultural level. The status of the two characters Naoko and Midoriko in Watanabe's heart hints at the Japanese nation's attitude towards its own classical and repressive tradition and the modern Western rock.

At the end of the novel, there is actually a connection between the fifty-one pieces played by Suzuko and the subsequent naturalistic behavior. The latter is the natural result of the previous foreshadowing, a metaphor for a happy funeral, it seems. It is to bid farewell to Japanese tradition with more vibrant Western music.

2. Understand emotions through eroticism:

Looking for erotic descriptions in classics was a secret hobby of my adolescence, but now I understand that my preference for erotica when I was young is part of understanding emotions. kind of obstacle. The erotic descriptions in this book are undoubtedly of the highest quality, and are not as beautiful as a masterpiece, but what is rare is the female emotions described behind the eroticism.

Men are not hesitant about sex, but they are hesitant about emotional commitment. Women are not hesitant about true feelings, but they are always worried about men's addiction to physical satisfaction. This contradiction emerges in the theme of Watanabe's confrontation with all women.

In the four-point and one-line relationship between men, sex, emotions, and women, if you want to have a natural and strong connection, it is natural for men to go through the stage of sexual confusion before they can understand feelings. Women You need to understand more about men's views on sex to understand men. In the novel, Hatsumi and Naoko appear to be more conservative.

Suzuko, Midoriko seems to be much more open-minded. Doesn’t Midoriko often say many interesting famous sentences in a large-scale and open language? The meaning of good erotic description is to help men and women understand the four-point and one-line relationship more deeply, so as to prevent most men and women from being bound by decadent social customs.

Extended information

The creative background of "Norwegian Wood"

In the 1960s, Japan had entered a highly developed capitalist society. The economy is developing rapidly, and people's spiritual crisis is also increasing day by day. The abundance of material life and the expansion of human desires have caused a serious imbalance in the spiritual world. Communication between people has decreased and the psychological distance has widened.

People living in cities are like rootless duckweeds, lonely, nihilistic, and lost, but unable to face strong social pressure. The prosperity of the city cannot conceal people's inner anxiety.

The song "Norwegian Wood" sung by the Beatles gave the author a great inspiration. It was a subtle, indescribable feeling. In 1987, Haruki Murakami wrote a youth romance novel titled "Norwegian Wood".

The influence of "Norwegian Wood"

Since "Norwegian Wood" was published in Japan in 1987, it has sold more than 15 million copies in Japan (statistics in 2011), with an average of One out of every 6-7 Japanese has this book, making it the most sold book in Japan. Statistics in China vary, but a common estimate is more than three million.

In his collection of essays "Reflections on the End of the Century", American Chinese scholar Professor Ou-Fan Lee listed "Norwegian Wood" as one of the ten literary translations that had the greatest impact on China in the 20th century.

Baidu Encyclopedia: Norwegian Forest