Point of View

Norwegian Wood is written in the first-person perspective, and punctuated with letters from Naoko, Reiko, and Midori. The story is one of the mind and of personal experience, and the first-person perspective gives it not only a biographical feel, but also an intimate, experiential perspective from inside Toru's mind. The reader experiences his isolation and his grief, as well as his surprise when he realizes how he is pushing away others and hurting them. The reader also experiences a sense of distance from Naoko, who remains a mystery, inaccessible within her own mind.

Other points of view are only seen from afar, in letters and in stories others tell. Reiko's story is an example, one person removed. Toru hears the story, but he cannot experience it. He only knows what Reiko communicates with him, and his impression of Reiko's student is even further removed. He only...