Norwegian Wood: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Every Sunday Toru and Naoko meet up to walk the streets aimlessly. They often stop for food and coffee and talk—but neither of them ever says a thing about the past or Kizuki. Sometimes, Naoko cooks for Toru at her apartment—he is shocked by the sparse nature of the space, and soon begins to suspect that Naoko has no other friends or pastimes. Toru realizes that Naoko, like him, has come to Tokyo to escape.

As spring turns to summer and summer turns to fall, Toru and Naoko grow closer and closer, yet still never bring up their shared past. They only ever discuss trivialities or exchange funny stories about their lives at college. Naoko and Toru continue their walks even through the winter, and on each outing, as Naoko clutches Toru’s arm for warmth, he can’t help but think that she needs “the arm of someone else.” Sometimes, when Toru looks into Naoko’s eyes, he feels she is “trying to convey something” to him that she can’t put into words.

As Toru turns 19, he is uncertain of what he and Naoko are doing with each other, and what he himself is doing with his life more generally. The books and plays he reads for school mean nothing to him, and he can’t think of a profession he’d like to attempt. When Toru tries to talk to Naoko about his aimlessness, he struggles to express himself, and often cuts himself off.

The only book Toru finds any solace in is The Great Gatsby—an old favorite he’s reread several times. One day, while reading Gatsby in the dining hall, Toru is approached by Nagasawa, an older student who lives in his dormitory. Nagasawa is studying law at the prestigious Tokyo University, and though Toru is intimidated by him, they bond over their shared love of the book and become fast friends. Nagasawa comes from a prominent family and is on the fast track to a cushy life and a good job. Toru is shocked that Nagasawa wants to be his friend, but soon accepts that Nagasawa likes Toru precisely because of Toru’s own indifference to Nagasawa’s charm.

As Toru and Nagasawa become closer, Toru finds himself conflicted. Nagasawa is charming and fun, but also has a malicious streak and regularly brags about having slept with over 70 women. When Toru tells Nagasawa he’s only slept with one person, Nagasawa takes him out on the town to pick up girls, and soon the two are going out each weekend to get women drunk, bring them to hotels, and have sex with them. Toru doesn’t care about any of the girls he sleeps with, and even starts to feel revolted with himself after several weeks. When he asks Nagasawa if he feels the same way, Nagasawa admits he, too, is disgusted by his own behavior, but doesn’t really care to stop—even though he has a steady girlfriend, Hatsumi.

Toru gets a job at a record store around Christmastime. He and Naoko exchange gifts—neither of them returns to Kobe for winter break, and so they spend the days together cooking and hanging out at Naoko’s apartment. In January, Storm Trooper comes down with a terrible fever, but recovers almost spontaneously after Toru spends days nursing him back to health. In February, Toru gets into a fistfight with another dorm resident, and thereafter he feels awkward about spending too much time in the dorm. When the term ends in March, Toru’s grades are mediocre, but he doesn’t much care. He has been in Tokyo a full year.  

In April, Naoko turns 20. Toru’s own birthday is coming up in the fall, and he wishes that he and Naoko could spend eternity turning from 19 to 18 and 18 to 19—nevertheless, he decides to help Naoko celebrate by bringing a cake to her apartment. Naoko’s behavior is erratic and strange, and she talks rapidly and ceaselessly for hours. Toru grows increasingly uncomfortable, and, around eleven, tries to excuse himself. Naoko bursts into tears, crying so forcefully that her body shakes. Toru takes Naoko in his arms. 

As Naoko cries into his arms, Toru senses that Naoko wants to sleep with him and begins slowly undressing both of them. They kiss and touch each other, and soon Naoko begs Toru to put himself inside of her. As they begin having sex, however, Toru finds himself surprised—Naoko is a virgin. After they both orgasm, Toru asks Naoko why she and Kizuki never slept together in all their years as a couple. Naoko begins weeping again and cries herself to sleep.

In the morning, Toru tries to talk to Naoko, but she feigns sleep until he leaves her apartment. He writes a note before he goes asking her to call him. After a week, however, Toru still hasn’t heard from Naoko. Worried, he goes to her apartment to find that she has moved. Toru returns to his dorm and writes Naoko a letter expressing his desire to talk to her so that both of them can understand fully what happened between them. Toru admits that he probably shouldn’t have initiated sex with Naoko, but believed in the moment that it was all he could do.

Weeks pass as Toru waits in vain for an answer to his letter, which he sent to Naoko’s home in Kobe. Everything around Toru feels hollow and unreal, and even when a student uprising begins in May, he has trouble feeling anything. Campus closes due to the student strike and Toru takes a job at a trucking company. Other than the people he meets at work he sees and talks to hardly anyone but Storm Trooper. In June, he writes Naoko another letter, but sending it only makes him feel worse. He tries to go out with Nagasawa to pick up some girls, but even as he sleeps with multiple women each weekend, he finds himself unable to think of anyone but Naoko.

In July, Toru finally receives a letter from Naoko. In the short missive, she tells him that she has decided to take a year off from school. She begs Toru not to blame himself for her meltdown, saying she’s felt it coming on for a long time. She is planning to move to a sanatorium in the hills outside of Kyoto. She closes her letter by telling Toru that though she’s grateful for his friendship, she’s not prepared to see him anytime soon. She promises to write as soon as she is.

At the end of July, Storm Trooper, who is packing to go on a summer holiday, gives Toru a firefly trapped in a jar as a goodbye gift. After dark, Toru takes the firefly up to the roof and examines its weak glow. Worried that the firefly is on the verge of death, Toru twists the lid open and lets the insect out. It takes a long time to spread its wings in flight, but eventually, it buzzes away. Even after it goes, Toru feels its pale light lingering inside of him.