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A review by pris_asagiri
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
4.0
It's been a long time since I've picked up a book that grabbed my attention from the very beginning. But I could not put this book down. I felt compelled to turn the page and continue. I needed to know what was going to happen? Who were these people? What was the Air Chrysalis? Would Aomame and Tengo reunite? And as each book ended, I was strangely satisfied by what I had read and yet eager to begin the next chapter. A complex tale that weaves symbolism and mysticism and faith (more personal, less religious) into what essentially is an epic love story.
Parallel worlds. Strange Little People. Dohta. Massa. Two Moons. Some readers may argue this is typical Murakami magical realism with a sci-fi twist. But I argue that it's not. I certainly am no Murakami expert. I've only read a couple of his other works and none of his other novels. But the books I have read, and what I've read about him, have always made me feel that his work is essentially Japanese--in its style and content. But 1Q84, one could easily replace Toyko with London or New York or Bombay. While the story took place in Japan, the characters and the plot could have happened anywhere, to anyone. And this is where I think Murakami has crossed the line from being a "Japanese" writer to the proclaimed "world" writer. And I think he's a stronger writer for it. To be able to tell a universally identifiable story that still retains elements of who he is as an author is a talent that he is honing to a fine precision.
The only reason this is a 4 star and not a 5 star rating is that, for me, Book 2 felt at times bit too fixated. Perhaps I am getting prudish in my old age (although I don't think so), but I felt there was a redundancy in the amount of sexual descriptions in this second book. Overall, there was relevancy in what was described and the situations created. And I'm not saying it shouldn't have been in the book at all. Perhaps it was the translation (and not so much the translator's fault, but simply English itself couldn't capture what is readily understood in Japanese)? But it felt like too often certain descriptions and passages were being repeated word-for-word. And because of that, I found it distracting to the overall story. But this is such a minor complaint and doesn't take away from the book as whole in the least bit.
For my first Murakami novel, it was a fantastic experience.
Parallel worlds. Strange Little People. Dohta. Massa. Two Moons. Some readers may argue this is typical Murakami magical realism with a sci-fi twist. But I argue that it's not. I certainly am no Murakami expert. I've only read a couple of his other works and none of his other novels. But the books I have read, and what I've read about him, have always made me feel that his work is essentially Japanese--in its style and content. But 1Q84, one could easily replace Toyko with London or New York or Bombay. While the story took place in Japan, the characters and the plot could have happened anywhere, to anyone. And this is where I think Murakami has crossed the line from being a "Japanese" writer to the proclaimed "world" writer. And I think he's a stronger writer for it. To be able to tell a universally identifiable story that still retains elements of who he is as an author is a talent that he is honing to a fine precision.
The only reason this is a 4 star and not a 5 star rating is that, for me, Book 2 felt at times bit too fixated. Perhaps I am getting prudish in my old age (although I don't think so), but I felt there was a redundancy in the amount of sexual descriptions in this second book. Overall, there was relevancy in what was described and the situations created. And I'm not saying it shouldn't have been in the book at all. Perhaps it was the translation (and not so much the translator's fault, but simply English itself couldn't capture what is readily understood in Japanese)? But it felt like too often certain descriptions and passages were being repeated word-for-word. And because of that, I found it distracting to the overall story. But this is such a minor complaint and doesn't take away from the book as whole in the least bit.
For my first Murakami novel, it was a fantastic experience.