The French edition of the first book in the trilogyįrom the very first pages of this novel, there is a rather forced sense of mystery imposed on the reader when Aomame is in a taxi, listening to some classical music, and, later, sensing something wrong or “out-of-place” in her new environment.
I will set out my issues with this book under the” story”, “characters”, and “author’s writing” headings, before talking about the good aspects. More than that, unfortunately, 1Q84 is also quite gaudy, ill-judged, melodramatic and pretentious. It is filled with complete meaninglessness from almost the very first chapter until the last, and from its dialogues to its character’s (almost completely sexual) activities. In all frankness, it is a tedious book which drags its feet for chapters and chapters and chapters, wasting its reader’s time. In reality, the 1318-page mammoth that is 1Q84 delivers neither on its “wondrous, parallel-world” concept nor on its “star-crossed lovers” front. Pursued by dangerous forces, will Tengo and Aomame ever meet again? The only problem with all that is that my summary sounds like it could be something far more exciting than what this book eventually delivers. Soon, we read about the world where the so-called Little People have the upper hand and where there are two moons in the sky. His fateful encounter with beautiful Fuka-Eri, original author of Air Chrysalis, soon makes him question his reality, as well as makes him reconsider his relationship with his estranged father. Tengo inexplicably gets implicated in the same affair of “another world” when he agrees to re-write Air Chrysalis. In parallel to her story, we read the story of Tengo, a thirty year old man and Aomame’s alleged lost “love” whom she has not seen in twenty years. Aomame, a thirty year old woman, becomes entangled in one strange affair involving a manuscript titled Air Chrysalis, a charity that seeks to help battered women seek revenge, and a menacing and unrelenting religious cult called Sakigake. In 1Q84, the year is 1984 and the location is Tokyo, Japan.
1Q84 is presented as a whimsical romance epic with elements of magical realism, and, in its proportion, has been linked to such extremely ambitious works as Roberto Bolano’s 2666 and Don DeLillo’s Underworld. This is going to be a very honest review of Haruki Murakami’s twelfth novel.
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