It seems to me that Murakami enjoys writing very liminal characters — characters that exist in between worlds. We saw this with Boku in A Wild Sheep Chase as he functioned between the normality of his job which began to unravel, and the highly surreal sheep chase that the novel is centered on. Even as Boku progresses in the chase, liminality still reveals itself in the Dolphin Hotel — existing at the edge of reality and surreality.
Similarly, in Norwegian Wood, Toru is attempting to find balance after Kizuki's death, yet he is caught in-between two worlds. Naoko emulates the past, while Midori is energetic and full of life. Living on the edge of life vs. death/ past vs. future/ Naoko vs. Midori, Toru exists in this state of uncertainty— accounting for his indecisive, almost isolating, mentality throughout the Novel.
From what I've seen so far, Murakami utilizes these types of characters and spaces a lot. I don't think Norwegian Wood is realistic for other reasons, but I do think Murakami's use of liminality perhaps comments on the natural ambiguity of life... and in that manner it is realistic. This is the most realistic theme I've explored in Murakami so far. Life so often happens in-between states. I know I've felt that way. But that limbo isn't healthy. Escaping or finding a way out of that setting is the only way you can resume living. When Toru makes the decision to be with Midori and calls her, he finally escaped his betweenness. I think that's why he was so disoriented: he was living in that uncertainty for too long which caused him to dissociate when he finally "woke up".
Max
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