Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - 1Q84

book 1 = a much slower character study and can see that people might stop reading at this point since the plot meanders for while. however, since i enjoy character driven stories i didn't mind.
book 2 = plot picks up but not as fast as i expected. start to uncover the background but still was left unsure of where the plot would go because it was still a little bit stagnent.
book 3 = plot picks up again but it didn't feel rushed and was actually still quite slow and i was approaching the end and was still like so what is gonna happen. it did feel a little repetitive between the perspectives though.
ending = i have so many questions but im not mad about it ?? i would have gladly read another couple hundred pages just to answer the questions. however, i still felt satisfied which is quite weird.

overall, i enjoy murakami's writing style and the what the fuckery that he brings is here (aND MORE)

Content Warnings

blueberryhotel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

the most unrealistic part of this book wasn’t the two moons in the sky, or the

weird cult that makes doppelgängers of young girls,

or the parallel universe thing. it was that

aomame is supposedly heterosexual

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neki's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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notsayingrevolutionbut's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

I think... this broke me?

Not in the same way that TSOA broke me, where I turned into a husk, but more like I think I saw the time-knife from The Good Place flash before my eyes

Anyway, this review will be unstarred because I don't know how to place such values on this book and I do not care to try. As for my thoughts: I have no thoughts. I present only a bulleted list of stream-of-consciousness reactions for posterity (includes mentions of canonical self-harm, rape, blood, and murder):

- the reading experience goes from good to GREAT if you listen to Janáček's Sinfonietta at the same time
- the content warnings needed for this book could form a robust companion novella
- if I hear about the size of someone's breasts one more time, I will eat my hat and yours too
- I would probably do anything for Tamaru
- (whispers softly) what the fuck is going on
- I, too, would like to corrupt my blood vessels by way of various literary intrigues
- found family assassin! style is the surest way to my heart
- have I mentioned Tamaru
- even though my brain is burning, I can appreciate how masterfully this is written
- looking at the moon? IN THIS ECONOMY???
- I haven't seen pacing this good since Nirvana in Fire, and that is the highest compliment I can possibly give
- singing a little Broadway ditty to myself in order to cope
- hELP

And now, on to quotes that present Liz thinks future Liz might enjoy:

"The moon had been observing the earth close-up longer than anyone. It must have witnessed all of the phenomena occurring-- and all of the acts carried out-- on this earth. But the moon remained silent; it told no stories. All it did was embrace the heavy past with cool, measured detachment." [p. 244]

"But decent motives don't always produce decent results. And the body is not the only target of rape. Violence does not always take visible form, and not all wounds gush blood." [p. 275]

"Tamaru is a man who keeps his word. He might kill you without hesitation if necessary, but even so, he would care for your rubber plant to the end." [p. 610]

"This is what it means to live on. When granted hope, a person uses it as fuel, as a guidepost to life. It is impossible to live without hope." [p. 705]

"'I'm like a rock wall,' Tamaru said. 'Plus, when it comes to being gay, I'm in the big leagues.'" [p. 742] [you and me both, Tamaru. You and me both]

"Hi, how are you? Check out the process of elimination." [p. 775]

"They were not very healthy-looking blood vessels-- blood vessels damaged by years of drinking, smoking, an unhealthy lifestyle, and various literary intrigues." [p. 878] [new life goal unlocked]

"To him, this was no longer a fictional world. This was the real world, where red blood spurts out when you slice open your skin with a knife. And in the sky in this world, there are two moons, side by side." [p. 880]

"That's fine. It's my gift to you. If it gets troublesome to have, just toss it into Tokyo Bay. The world will take one small step closer to disarmament." [p. 976] [quoth Tamaru my beloved]

"That familiar, yellow, solitary moon. The same moon that silently floated over fields of pampas grass, the moon that rose-- a gleaming, round saucer-- over the calm surface of lakes, that tranquilly beamed down on the rooftops of fast-asleep houses. The same moon that brought the high tide to shore, that softly shone on the fur of animals and enveloped and protected travelers at night. The moon that, as a crescent, shaved slivers from the soul-- or, as a new moon, silently bathed the earth in its own loneliness. That moon." [p. 1015]

And that's all, folks! I don't know what just happened in this book, I don't know if I will ever be the same again, and you should probably read it if you also wish to experience those feelings. I am going to lie down and not get up for the foreseeable future.

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sarah984's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This book really disappointed me. All of the characters sound fascinating in theory, and I liked the parallel universes idea, but the writing was just really bad. Important points are reiterated over and over like the reader might not be paying attention, and plot points are over-explained (there is a part in book 3 where the POV characters are constantly missing each other and the narration is constantly telling you exactly when they passed each other by even though it's obvious - it made me feel like Murakami thinks his readers are idiots).

All of the characters talk about taking control but just get pushed around by the narrative. Most of them hardly do anything at all.

The writing around underage girls is gross, especially a plot contrivance which allows a major character (who is a teacher!!) to have guilt-free sex with a teenage girl. All of the female characters are written very poorly and described by their breasts even when they are dead.

The romance that is basically the whole point of the book is ridiculous.

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