murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood
murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood
her, outside work, or sports. She had taken several courses: French, knitting, piano, ancient history. "Reiko is teaching me piano," she said. "She also teaches guitar. We all take turns as pupils or teachers. Somebody with fluent French teaches French, one person who used to be in social studies teaches history, another good at knitting teaches knitting: that's a pretty impressive school right there. Unfortunately, I don't have anything I can teach anyone." "Neither do I," I said. "I put a lot more energy into my studies here than I ever did in university. I work hard and enjoy it - a lot." "What do you do after supper?" "Talk with Reiko, read, listen to records, go to other people's flats and play games, stuff like that." "I do guitar practice and write my autobiography," said Reiko. "Autobiography?" "Just kidding," Reiko laughed. "We go to bed around ten. Pretty healthy lifestyle, wouldn't you say? We sleep like babies." I looked at my watch. It was a few minutes before nine. "I guess you'll be getting sleepy soon." "That's OK. We can stay up late today," said Naoko. "I haven't seen you in such a long time, I want to talk more. So talk." "When I was alone before, all of a sudden I started thinking about the old days," I said. "Do you remember when Kizuki and I came to visit you at the hospital? The one on the seashore. I think it was the first year of the sixth-form." "When I had the chest operation," Naoko said with a smile. "Sure, I remember. You and Kizuki came on a motorbike. You brought me a box of chocolates and they were all melted together. They were so hard to eat! I don't know, it seems like such a long time ago." "Yeah, really. I think you were writing a poem then, a long one." "All girls write poems at that age," Naoko tittered. "What reminded 152
you of that all of a sudden?" "I wonder. The smell of the sea wind, the oleanders: before I knew it, they just popped into my head. Did Kizuki come to see you at the hospital a lot?" "No way! We had a big fight about that afterwards. He came once, and then he came with you, and that was it for him. He was terrible. And that first time he couldn't sit still and he only stayed about ten minutes. He brought me some oranges and mumbled all this stuff I couldn't understand, and he peeled an orange for me and mumbled more stuff and he was out of there. He said he had a thing about hospitals." Naoko laughed. "He was always a kid about that kind of stuff. I mean, nobody likes hospitals, right? That's why people visit people in hospitals to make them feel better, and perk up their spirits and stuff. But Kizuki just didn't get it." "He wasn't so bad when the two of us came to see you, though. He was just his usual self." "Because you were there," said Naoko. "He was always like that around you. He struggled to keep his weaknesses hidden. I'm sure he was very fond of you. He made a point of letting you see only his best side. He wasn't like that with me. He'd let his guard down. He could be really moody. One minute he'd be chattering away, and the next he'd be depressed. It happened all the time. He was like that from the time he was little. He did keep trying to change himself, to improve himself, though." Naoko re-crossed her legs on the sofa. "He tried hard, but it didn't do any good, and that would make him really angry and sad. There was so much about him that was fine and beautiful, but he could never find the confidence he needed. "I've got to do that, I've got to change this,' he was always thinking, right up to the end. Poor Kizuki!" "Still," I said, "if it's true that he was always struggling to show me his 153
- Page 102 and 103: the events had undoubtedly happened
- Page 104 and 105: this time I am very, very calm. Cle
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- Page 112 and 113: PRIVATE NO TRESPASSING. A few clues
- Page 114 and 115: merely a nice person but whose nice
- Page 116 and 117: my question. "The first thing you o
- Page 118 and 119: "What should I do, then? Give me an
- Page 120 and 121: I nodded. "I think the three of us
- Page 122 and 123: we can ask a staff member to buy fo
- Page 124 and 125: "I'm sure I'll be fine." "So, that
- Page 126 and 127: With Naoko gone, I went to sleep on
- Page 128 and 129: weightlessness on the secretion of
- Page 130 and 131: "It's lovely, though," said Naoko.
- Page 132 and 133: never plays it unless I request it.
- Page 134 and 135: laughing. "How many girls has he sl
- Page 136 and 137: "I couldn't get wet," she said in a
- Page 138 and 139: Reiko sat alone on the carpet, play
- Page 140 and 141: She picked up the basketball again,
- Page 142 and 143: it in hot water, taking a few days
- Page 144 and 145: I said I liked him and thought he w
- Page 146 and 147: all this talk about me. You came he
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- Page 150 and 151: draw people - or draw me, at least
- Page 154 and 155: est side, I'd say he succeeded. His
- Page 156 and 157: anana; if we got lonely, we'd go to
- Page 158 and 159: the window. She had drawn her knees
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- Page 176 and 177: something inside me had died. I jus
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- Page 180 and 181: "Fine," said Reiko. "But if we keep
- Page 182 and 183: most. Then I'd have her play the pi
- Page 184 and 185: to go on with her story. "Well, any
- Page 186 and 187: and saying "There there,' and she's
- Page 188 and 189: There was nothing I could say, and
- Page 190 and 191: ever experienced before, never once
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- Page 196 and 197: night before, Naoko was the usual N
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you of that all of a sudden?"<br />
"I wonder. The smell of the sea wind, the oleanders: before I knew it,<br />
they just popped into my head. Did Kizuki come to see you at the<br />
hospital a lot?"<br />
"No way! We had a big fight about that afterwards. He came once,<br />
and then he came with you, and that was it for him. He was terrible.<br />
And that first time he couldn't sit still and he only stayed about ten<br />
minutes. He brought me some oranges and mumbled all this stuff I<br />
couldn't understand, and he peeled an orange for me and mumbled<br />
more stuff and he was out of there. He said he had a thing about<br />
hospitals."<br />
Naoko laughed. "He was always a kid about that kind of stuff. I mean,<br />
nobody likes hospitals, right? That's why people visit people in<br />
hospitals to make them feel better, and perk up their spirits and stuff.<br />
But Kizuki just didn't get it."<br />
"He wasn't so bad when the two of us came to see you, though. He<br />
was just his usual self."<br />
"Because you were there," said Naoko. "He was always like that<br />
around you. He struggled to keep his weaknesses hidden. I'm sure he<br />
was very fond of you. He made a point of letting you see only his best<br />
side. He wasn't like that with me. He'd let his guard down. He could<br />
be really moody. One minute he'd be chattering away, and the next<br />
he'd be depressed. It happened all the time. He was like that from the<br />
time he was little. He did keep trying to change himself, to improve<br />
himself, though."<br />
Naoko re-crossed her legs on the sofa.<br />
"He tried hard, but it didn't do any good, and that would make him<br />
really angry and sad. There was so much about him that was fine and<br />
beautiful, but he could never find the confidence he needed. "I've got<br />
to do that, I've got to change this,' he was always thinking, right up to<br />
the end. Poor Kizuki!"<br />
"Still," I said, "if it's true that he was always struggling to show me his<br />
153
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