Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

(from goodreads)
"Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. "


I was very impressed with Norwegian Wood. Murakami brings to life Toru Watanabe in such a way that I, as a reader, felt I could reach into the pages and touch him. He's flawed. Man is he flawed. An introvert to the very core, Toru spends a lot of time reading the Great American Novels while everyone else is reading Japanese Bestsellers. He goes about his business without a care that the people he associates with are only there because of proximity and not any real meaning.  Toru may be flawed, but the few people he comes to care about make him seem perfectly normal. Naoko is quiet and aloof, Reiko is to used to her protected life, Nagasawa is a perfect ass and Midori is a little to extroverted for the people she loves. 


All at once a Coming of Age story, a story of first loves and eternal losses Norwegian Wood is a perfect story for all ages, beautifully translated (at least in my edition) and will stay with you for weeks after you put it down for the last time

I Loved, I Lost, I made Spaghetti

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

Giulia Melucci

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti is 2 parts relationship memoir and 1 part cook book. Giulia gives her reader the rundown on her late blooming love life while associating all of her failures with men to her successes in her kitchen.

I got this for my birthday from a friend and was intrigued, as I had never heard of it. Within a few pages she had me sucked into her ever failing love life and my mouth watering with a recipe for amazing blueberry muffins. Giulia Melucci obviously writes from the heart. She is honest about her own downfalls as well as the men she has dated. These men make a colorful cast of characters from your typical commitmentphobe to two novelists with peter pan complexes, an alcoholic and a man twenty years her senior. 

The concept has been done before, but Melucci's love afair with food gives her story something special. Fellow foodies can relate to her love of fresh ingredients and finding the perfect new kitchen accessory. Her recipes are filled with as much heart as her search for love and leave your mouth watering.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti may not be for everyone, but for those who do enjoy it will find themselves laughing out loud and heading to the grocery story for pasta.

My Review
4/5