murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood
murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood
dust covered his desk and radio. His plastic cup and toothbrush, tea tin, insecticide spray and so on stood in a neat row on his shelf. I kept the room clean in his absence. I had picked up the habit of neatness over the past year and a half, and without him there to take care of the room, I had no choice but to do it. I swept the floor each day, wiped the window every third day, and aired my mattress once a week, waiting for him to come back and tell me what a great job I had done. But he never came back. I returned from lectures one day to find all his stuff gone and his name tag removed from the door. I went to the dorm Head's room and asked what had happened. "He's withdrawn from the dormitory," he said. "You'll be alone in the room for the time being." I couldn't get him to tell me why Storm Trooper had disappeared. This was a man whose greatest joy in life was to control everything and keep others in the dark. Storm Trooper's iceberg poster stayed on the wall for a time, but I eventually took it down and replaced it with Jim Morrison and Miles Davis. This made the room seem a little more like my own. I used some of the money I had saved from work to buy a small stereo. At night I would drink alone and listen to music. I thought about Storm Trooper every now and then, but I enjoyed living alone. At 11.30 a.m. one Monday, after a lecture on Euripides in History of Drama, I took a ten-minute walk to a little restaurant and had an omelette and salad for lunch. The place was on a quiet backstreet and was slightly more expensive than the student dining hall, but you could relax there, and they knew how to make a good omelette. "They" were a married couple who rarely spoke to each other, plus one part-time waitress. As I sat there eating by the window, a group of four students came in, two men and two women, all rather neatly dressed. They took the table near the door, spent some time looking 60
over the menu and discussing their options, until one of them reported their choices to the waitress. Before long I noticed that one of the girls kept glancing in my direction. She had extremely short hair and wore dark sunglasses and a white cotton mini-dress. I had no idea who she was, so I went on with my lunch, but she soon slipped out of her seat and came over to where I was sitting. With one hand on the edge of my table, she said, "You're Watanabe, aren't you?" I raised my head and looked at her more closely. Still I could not recall ever having seen her. She was the kind of girl you notice, so if I had met her before I should have been able to recognize her immediately, and there weren't that many people in my university who knew me by name. "Mind if I sit down?" she asked. "Or are you expecting somebody?" Still uncertain, I shook my head. "No, nobody's coming. Please." With a wooden clunk, she dragged a chair out and sat down opposite, staring straight at me through her sunglasses, then glancing at my plate. "Looks good," she said. "It is good. Mushroom omelette and green pea salad." "Damn," she said. "Oh, well, I'll get it next time. I've already ordered something else." "What are you having?" "Macaroni and cheese." "Their macaroni and cheese isn't bad, either," I said. "By the way, do I know you? I don't recall. .." "Euripides," she said. "Electra. "No god hearkens to the voice of lost Electra.' You know - the class just ended." I stared hard at her. She took off her sunglasses. At last I remembered her - a first-year I had seen in History of Drama. A striking change in hairstyle had prevented me recognizing her. "Oh," I said, touching a point a few inches below my shoulder, "your hair was down to here before the summer holidays." "You're right," 61
- Page 10 and 11: "I just know," she said, increasing
- Page 12 and 13: along the path. "I'm sorry," she sa
- Page 14 and 15: Once upon a time, many years ago -
- Page 16 and 17: national anthem, too, of course. Yo
- Page 18 and 19: for ashtrays held mounds of cigaret
- Page 20 and 21: anything about the others myself, I
- Page 22 and 23: "But that's impossible," he said ma
- Page 24 and 25: Almost a year had gone by since I h
- Page 26 and 27: eally wouldn't be any bother to you
- Page 28 and 29: occupying that central position. Tr
- Page 30 and 31: wiper. Kizuki had left no suicide n
- Page 32 and 33: Naoko called me the following Satur
- Page 34 and 35: somebody in the dorm had taken down
- Page 36 and 37: answers they wanted. And so I went
- Page 38 and 39: hesitation. "Not exactly fashionabl
- Page 40 and 41: he said. "Swallowed 'em whole." "Wh
- Page 42 and 43: and while she was putting on her st
- Page 44 and 45: That winter I found a part-time job
- Page 46 and 47: arrived at Naoko's room the cake wa
- Page 48 and 49: trying to go on, but had come up ag
- Page 50 and 51: I picked up my clothes and dressed.
- Page 52 and 53: at the end I added: Waiting for you
- Page 54 and 55: etter. As you say, this is probably
- Page 56 and 57: Maybe this firefly was on the verge
- Page 58 and 59: During the summer holidays the univ
- Page 62 and 63: she said. "I had a perm this summer
- Page 64 and 65: omantic company? New women in far-o
- Page 66 and 67: lecture. When it was over I went to
- Page 68 and 69: Watanabe, I have this feeling like,
- Page 70 and 71: problems far more urgent and releva
- Page 72 and 73: ain." "Shouldn't you go home and ge
- Page 74 and 75: expensive school trips. For instanc
- Page 76 and 77: esting on her lap. "That was the pr
- Page 78 and 79: you." "I'd like that," I said. Mido
- Page 80 and 81: the shutter and stepped a few paces
- Page 82 and 83: "Thanks," I said. It suddenly dawne
- Page 84 and 85: I nodded, swallowing a mouthful of
- Page 86 and 87: "You're very clear about what you l
- Page 88 and 89: "I'd go and have a look around at l
- Page 90 and 91: unning away." "Even if this place b
- Page 92 and 93: "It's true. Don't you think I'm ter
- Page 94 and 95: different from other people's. I'm
- Page 96 and 97: call," I said. 'As long as lunch is
- Page 98 and 99: At 11.30 Nagasawa was ready to give
- Page 100 and 101: "So find a vending machine and a ni
- Page 102 and 103: the events had undoubtedly happened
- Page 104 and 105: this time I am very, very calm. Cle
- Page 106 and 107: We eat freshly picked fruits and ve
- Page 108 and 109: to the Ami Hostel. A woman receptio
over the menu and discussing their options, until one of them reported<br />
their choices to the waitress.<br />
Before long I noticed that one of the girls kept glancing in my<br />
direction. She had extremely short hair and wore dark sunglasses and<br />
a white cotton mini-dress. I had no idea who she was, so I went on<br />
with my lunch, but she soon slipped out of her seat and came over to<br />
where I was sitting. With one hand on the edge of my table, she said,<br />
"You're Watanabe, aren't you?"<br />
I raised my head and looked at her more closely. Still I could not<br />
recall ever having seen her. She was the kind of girl you notice, so if I<br />
had met her before I should have been able to recognize her<br />
immediately, and there weren't that many people in my university who<br />
knew me by name.<br />
"Mind if I sit down?" she asked. "Or are you expecting somebody?"<br />
Still uncertain, I shook my head. "No, nobody's coming. Please."<br />
With a <strong>wood</strong>en clunk, she dragged a chair out and sat down opposite,<br />
staring straight at me through her sunglasses, then<br />
glancing at my plate.<br />
"Looks good," she said.<br />
"It is good. Mushroom omelette and green pea salad." "Damn," she<br />
said. "Oh, well, I'll get it next time. I've<br />
already ordered something else."<br />
"What are you having?" "Macaroni and cheese."<br />
"Their macaroni and cheese isn't bad, either," I said. "By the way, do I<br />
know you? I don't recall. .."<br />
"Euripides," she said. "Electra. "No god hearkens to the voice of lost<br />
Electra.' You know - the class just ended."<br />
I stared hard at her. She took off her sunglasses. At last I remembered<br />
her - a first-year I had seen in History of Drama. A striking change in<br />
hairstyle had prevented me recognizing her.<br />
"Oh," I said, touching a point a few inches below my shoulder, "your<br />
hair was down to here before the summer holidays." "You're right,"<br />
61
Change language