“1Q84” Book Review

Title: 1Q84

Author: Haruki Murakami

Date/year published: 2011

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction

Format: e-pub, borrowed through Libby App and read on Kindle

Why did I choose to read it: An award winning book, and on many “must read” lists, the synopsis caught my attention.

Synopsis:

Aomame, a young woman in 1984 Tokyo, decides to take a cab driver’s advice when they are stuck in traffic and walk away from the traffic jam. From that point on, her life seems “off” with various minute differences. Determining she is in an alternative reality, she labels this year 1Q84, q=question. But she isn’t the only one questioning things.; a ghost writer named Tengo’s ability to separate the story he’s writing from reality begins to slip. Tengo and Aomame’s worlds collide in a strange series of events that involve a cult, a wealthy dowager, and a private investigator.

Thoughts:

First, this was a very, very, long book (over 900 pages). It took me two months to trudge through it. I say “trudge” because it was slow, but somehow, I never thought to put it down and stop reading. Questioning how everything tied together kept me from adding it to my DNF (did not finish) list. However, I wonder if the slow pacing is Murakami’s style or part of his storytelling culture. I’d have to read more Japanese authors to find out.

Murakami is also one of those rare gifted magical realism authors who creatively includes magical and mystical bits in completely believable ways. There is no reason to question the existence of invisible people or any of the other mysterious happenings, they simply exist within the story’s framework. It’s easy to get lost in Tengo’s madness or Aomame’s mission.

Content warning – There are a few difficult passages dealing with adult/minor relationships, rape, murder, sexual assault, torture, suicide, and animal violence. Being a dystopian novel, however, some of this is to be expected. (When was the last time you read a fun and uplifting dystopian book?). It is not an easy book to read. Which is likely why it took me so long – I could only read so much in one sitting.

Would I re-read or recommend it?

Re-read? Probably not.

Recommend? It would depend on the person asking. Definitely not for everyone.