1Q84 (Vintage International)
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "A tremendous accomplishment. It does every last blessed thing a masterpiece is supposed to--and a few things we never even knew to expect."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Brilliant . . . an irresistibly engaging literary fantasy."--The Washington Post The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 --"Q is for 'question mark.' A world that bears a question." Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As Aomame's and Tengo's narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector. A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's--1Q84 is a striking feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.
"Brilliant . . . an irresistibly engaging literary fantasy."--The Washington Post The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 --"Q is for 'question mark.' A world that bears a question." Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As Aomame's and Tengo's narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector. A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's--1Q84 is a striking feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.
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Community Reviews
If you know Murakami, you know this gets weird. I couldn't put it down and I make it a point to read it once a year it seems. Fantastic stuff.
âIf you canât understand it without an explanation, you canât understand it with an explanation.â â Tengoâs Father
I feel like that was Murakamiâs justification for his whole story, haha!
Okay I agree this book doesnât really âmake senseâ or have a clear meaning, but Iâm just going to rate it on how much I enjoyed it. And I enjoyed it a lot.
I find that whenever I read Murakami, I have to take my time and savor it. Unlike some others, I didnât find that the book was ever boring or slow. It didnât feel like a âlong book.â I kept wanting to read ahead, and not just to find out what happens, but just to experience whatâs happening.
I think some people who disliked this book because it didnât explain enough are probably just experiencing cultural differences. I remember someone saying once that while American films are usually about a character going for a goal, encountering obstacles, and then achieving their goal, Japanese films often have a less clear cut plot. Think of My Neighbor Totoro for example. Nothing really happens, much is left unexplained, yet so many like that film. Why? I donât know, but I do too.
This review is really more for my future self than for others. If you want to know if you would like the book, just try reading it.
I feel like that was Murakamiâs justification for his whole story, haha!
Okay I agree this book doesnât really âmake senseâ or have a clear meaning, but Iâm just going to rate it on how much I enjoyed it. And I enjoyed it a lot.
I find that whenever I read Murakami, I have to take my time and savor it. Unlike some others, I didnât find that the book was ever boring or slow. It didnât feel like a âlong book.â I kept wanting to read ahead, and not just to find out what happens, but just to experience whatâs happening.
I think some people who disliked this book because it didnât explain enough are probably just experiencing cultural differences. I remember someone saying once that while American films are usually about a character going for a goal, encountering obstacles, and then achieving their goal, Japanese films often have a less clear cut plot. Think of My Neighbor Totoro for example. Nothing really happens, much is left unexplained, yet so many like that film. Why? I donât know, but I do too.
This review is really more for my future self than for others. If you want to know if you would like the book, just try reading it.
Long! But totally worth it, really makes you rethink the term “slow burn”. Emotional and deep, take your time reading it.
The way this book is written has a lot to do with why I rated it high. I really enjoyed the alternating chapters and the way in which the story unfolds. I can honestly say it maintained my interest despite it being quite lengthy.
The book is so long, it may seem daunting at first. However, it was such a captivating read, I could not put it down. One story told through different perspectives, including a cosmic imbalance, that unleashes a fantastic chain of events.
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