"Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami

This is, hands down, one of the most beautiful love stories ever written, in the history of humanity, rivaling Romeo  and Juliet.  The fantastic elements from other Murakami books are almost completely absent.  Murakami said he wanted to write an "ordinary" story.  It propelled him to a superstar in his native Japan upon publication and much to his surprise.  A movie was made in 2010 with Kiko Daniel as Midori but a 39-year old actress was cast as Naoko? That makes no sense, though I haven't seen the movie yet.  And I don't think I want to see it by myself.  It would be too much to bear.  The book ends sadly and happily, as most Murakami's books, but it is a tear-jerker, make no mistake.
The book depicts several years in the life of Toru Watanabe, an 18 year old student in Tokyo, who becomes almost 21 by the end of the book.  The story contrasts the beautiful but so fragile, physically and emotionally, Naoko, and the vivacious, honest, down-to-earth and full of life Midori, the other love interest of Toru.  Watanabe is a witness of the student protests in 1969 in Tokyo, as the book happens '69-'71.  Toru is torn between Naoko, who is in mental assylum and the former girlfriend of his best friend Kizuke who killed himself at age 17, and Midori, his fellow student from drama class, who has been forced to grow up ahead of her years because of family disasters.
The emotional life of Toru is depicted with such honesty, emotion and depth, one cannot help but feel it deeply and identify with the character who seem to take a very philosophical view to all the terrible things he has to go through and all the decisions life forces him to make.  Toru Watanabe is very alike a young Toru Okada from the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.  Toru's college friend is Kasagawa, who is very smart and learned, studying diplomacy, but has very little scruples left.  Kasagawa brings Toru around Tokyo to hunt girls for one night stands, and Toru is initially excited but after 7-8 times, he gives up, feeling the loneliness only growing.  he breaks all connections with Kasagawa when, several years after the book events, he is completely unemotional towards the suicide of his college girlfriend, who went through so much for him, and whom Toru was secretly liking.
An amazing, honest, human, real book, about real people and real emotions. No pretense, no attitude, no high-brow, just emotions and people, the way they really are.