Memories and Mindscapes: An Intertextual Study of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood

Abstract

This study focuses on obligatory and optional intertextualities that are discernible in Haruki Murakami’s novel Norwegian Wood, intertextualities that take the form of direct references and allusions to classical and modern literary works, contemporary films and music. The present analysis aims to substantiate a number of important analogies between the novel’s theme, plot, setting and characters and those of The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby and The Magic Mountain. It also illustrates how intertextuality is achieved through adaptation, translation and dialogue, all the while exposing undertones of literary theories such as postmodernism, existentialism, psychoanalysis, and feminism that foster creative interaction between reader and narrative.