Book Review: Norwegian Wood

    

    For the first time in a very long time, a book has touched me. As I just finished this book, my mind has been attached to the characters and their impression on me. When I first bought the book, I carried a very minimal expectation. I was hoping the novel would be straightforward and not as gripping as it turned out to be. But to my blissful surprise, the novel proved me wrong. 

    The story is simple, and not complicated to understand at all. The youths especially will develop a liking to the story and some of us can relate to it too. The tale is told by a teenager Watanabe, who has established a peculiar type of relationship with the people around him. Each of the people he associates with has its own story, each has its own philosophies, each has its own personality. 

    Yet, the narrator is never content. Melancholy is a serious thing. He has complicated relations with the ones he adores the most. At times it's difficult for him to choose, what he really wants. The narrator is all over the place. He seems to be drifting around absently without realizing the true essence of his movements. The dilemma is real here. And Mr. Murakami displays that confusion as if it were our own. It puts us at the edge of our seats, hunting to know what might happen next. 

    The tragedy is portrayed in a raw fashion. No detail is sugarcoated and used as a way to somehow glamorize the book. Its intricate turn of events surprises the reader at some point. I, myself have stared at the wall wondering how'd that happen? The story grips you in such a way. The writing/translation is smooth and easy to read. Heavy moments in the story are written with such simplicity that it makes the tale tenser. 

I've read a handful of books this year, but this one certainly tops the list. 

Do give it a read.    

Chapter 1

Part 10 

(End of chapter 1) 

Are you the center of the universe?

     

    Our mind plays tricks on us all the time. It convinces us that we are the centre of the universe. It tells us that every move of ours is being watched. It tells us that no matter what we do, we can never do enough. 

    It somehow brings us under the shadowy gaze of insignificant bystanders. Yes, insignificant is the right word for it. People know nothing about your journey. They have zero ideas about what goes inside of you. So, why let them affect you? 

    Be your own architect. F**K them. Let their opinion go to garbage. This is your life. You are the sole traveler on this path. Those bystanders you feel watched by are just passing through. They're not here to stay. 

    So, do what your core desires. Do what you want man! Don't you see the power of your will and desires? All the adventures are waiting to be discovered. All the designs are waiting to be made by you, the architect. Don't live for the bystanders. Live for yourself. 

    Players on the ground don't play for the audience. They play for themselves. 

    Be the player.

    Play for yourself. 

    Take the reward. 

    Good luck amigo! 

Chapter 1

Part 8 

    

     

Who says we can't reach to the stars

     

    

    What is it about the stars and it's peculiar existence? Its ecstatic beauty is often portrayed in the tales of forever happiness. Or maybe it is over fantasized by the romantic poets? Maybe stars are just another prey of romanticism. Who knows? After all, they are just a burning piece of the heavenly body. Is it precious? Ask the poets. Is it reachable? Ask the scientists. Both will give you different answers when asked upon about the stars. If you are hopeless and not romantic then to you, it may seem nothing more than just "something" that exists only for the sake of existing. It is just another part of your routine that does not interfere with your capitalism-inspired life. 

    But all in all, its existence depends on what soil your seed has been planted on. The stems of your brain and the roots of your heart will ultimately shape your opinion about the stars. This heavenly body is a terrific topic to make casual talks for scientists at lunch. But for kids, and poets they are a source of wonderment. 

    Dare I not miss to mention souls hunting for wanderlust. For they hike, miles to set up camp and gaze at the stars. Their body tired from the uphill is welcomed by the galaxies far above. They connect with the dark matters millions of miles away. Their aura speaks to the eyes 👁️ filled with wonderment down below. And who says humans have traveled to space since the dawn of science, they've been doing it before the letter "s" of science was written.

And you think we can't reach the stars? 

Ask the poets, they go there every day. 

Chapter 1 

Part 7 

Wu Wei: The art of floating

Wu Wei (Chinese) comprises of two words: Wu and Wei.

Wu: Non, not, negation

Wei: making, forcing

    The perfect translation of Wei according to Alan Watts is forcing. Hence, Wu Wei becomes “not forcing” Mr. Watts was a British writer and a speaker.  Many people confuse it with passivity. Many think it is not doing anything. It is the art of, in fact, inaction. Which, if to understand its true meaning, is untrue. Wu Wei is the art of not forcing. We, in life, are desperate at times. Wanting something so earnestly that we try to force the situation. Which, is the opposite of Wu Wei. It is in my opinion the science of acceptance. We are unhappy with our lives, many of us are. We don’t accept it in the way it is. We want something different, something new, something to the left and something to the right. We seldom say “my life is perfect,” We barely make an effort to float with our life.

    Watts explained Wu Wei in a way that says, “It is the art of floating, not rowing,” When we row the boat we force it to the direction we desire. Whereas floating has contrasting meanings. It is trusting the direction of the boat and sailing along the water. Wu Wei is the latter one. It is acceptance. It is the art of not forcing. I wrote a quote on my study table that reads:

          

We cannot see the sunrise and the sunset at the same time

Don’t try to have it all

Embrace what you have. Hold what you get.

                                                                                          Anish Ghimire    

     

I want to end with a quote from William Shakespeare that says, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at its flood leads to fortune.

Wishing a good day to the few ones who read my blogs

Chapter 1

Part 6

     

Life is a first and last experience

So many things are first and last experiences. Like birth and death.

Birth happens once.

And so does death.

On paper, birth and death look familiar. Given the fact, both occur once.

But there is a huge, contrasting disparity between these two.

At birth, the birth giver smiles (in peace), but the one born cries in surprise (sadly)

At death, the birth giver cries (sadly), but the dead lays there lifeless (in peace)

So, how does this even work?

Both are similar and at contrast at the same time.

     Makes my head spin, when I think about this. Life, as it is, in a way given to us, which cannot be used further to any logical means. Beyond what we have and what we've been given, we cannot alter it any other fashion. It is a first and last experience, and yet it is not so fulfilling at times. But what can we say, it's just an experience. And we cannot guarantee whether any given experience will be up to our expectations. But is life a fulfilling experience? Or is it not?

     Do we meet death, and say to ourselves, 'Wow, what an experience' or do we simply lie in peace. Sometimes, I don't know what to make of it.

Are we simply to accept it?

The house, the people, music, clothes, politics, intimacy, money, and other materials.

Do these sustain our life? Or do we really need them?

Do we really need anything though?

What are the pieces of baggage to be held and left alone in this first and last experience?

Chapter 1

Part 4 

This day is your entire life

Some days the time moves abruptly. You wake up and realize that today has passed before you knew. But it's not the day that you miss. You miss the feelings, interactions, opportunities, and moments to rejoice, is what you miss. Our mind is foggy with thoughts and our day is run by that foggy brain. With that, we don’t really get to grasp the true essence of the day. What did you learn today? I don’t know I was in a fugue state. Yesterday was kind of like that for me. I watched six episodes of a TV series yesterday. And the only thing I felt was when a character was murdered, and I felt quite upset because she died. The death of a tv character was all I felt yesterday. I mean, that was the most significant thing I take notice of as of now.

            We think too much and feel too little. As Alan Watts said “A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. And he loses touch with reality.” Some days go by. But the next day, if we’re willing to, it gets better. But what about “Seize the day” type mentality. I couldn’t seize the day yesterday. Does that mean I have failed? Or what about “It’s just a bad day. It will get better tomorrow.” I mean what is the deal here? Am I supposed to seize the day or am I supposed to let the bad ones go? Should I seize the bad day too?

            I have pasted a note on my working table that says “This day is your entire life.” That means taking into account each day because we can only live today. We cannot live yesterday nor tomorrow. If so what about bad days? That one day according to my note, is my entire life. So is wasting a day, wasting a life? Is one bad day, one bad life? Because this day is all the life we can live. The present-day. I don’t know. Maybe I have too many thoughts.     

Chapter 1

Part 2 

Beyond you and me

   

 

    What is beyond us? What is beyond this globe? The home that we know, the only habitable place known to us, what is beyond that? This earth, with its natural and man-made components, what lies on the other side of it? Space? Vacuum? Other worldly objects? Dark matter?

     We view other worldly components as an alienation from our routine life. We consider outer space in the form of something that is unreachable or undiluted. Something that is in a form of poetry, wild fascination or like in the sci-fi movies. But is it really what we think it is? It is what we know or what we don’t know?  

     Let’s go on a ride of thoughts. It can be tricky. Let’s imagine there is no earth. Imagine there is no land, no water, and no components that we interact with on a daily basis. What will happen then? What will remain of the existence that we know of which we value so deeply? Let me answer that question myself. Nothing. Yes, nothing will remain. Because this earth, this home, and everything that it holds is all we’ve ever known. This is where we’ve done everything. Even the moon and mars project is planned and initiated here. History, science, literature, arts, wars, education, economics, etc, all of it exist here. And all of it was made here. If earth vanishes none of this will remain. None of me and none of you. We will be just as insignificant as nothingness.

    Our felicity, depression, experiences, family, sex, affection, anger, money, fame, power, all resides here. These weren’t born with us. Rather we gave birth into them. If Earth is no longer habitable, then so won’t these things. Yet, we chase, laugh, worry, get angry as if these sum up our existence forever. Our life and everything that it brings along holds a position only while we’re here. Beyond us, and beyond life, and beyond Earth, none of these things matter. So think about it? Isn’t our existence peculiar? Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to me. Neither does math. But math is integral part of teaching and learning. And so is yours and mine existence.