Chapter 1 Summary

Norwegian Wood is the story of Toru Watanabe, a young man who is damaged by the suicide of his high school friend, Kizuki. Toru falls in love with Kizuki's tortured girlfriend, Naoko, who is isolated in her own mind. When she goes into a mental hospital, he promises to wait for her. Meanwhile, though, he falls in love with Midori, an open and uninhibited girl who represents life. Toru is filled with guilt when Naoko kills herself, but ultimately he calls out to Midori.

As the novel begins, thirty-seven-year-old Toru is on a plane landing in Germany when the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood" comes on the speakers. The song affects him so much that a stewardess comes over to make sure he's okay. He sits on the plane and thinks of the past as people leave. Eighteen years before, Toru walked in a...