4 out of 5
- Kindle Edition
- 939 pages
- Publisher: Knopf (October 25, 2011)
- Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
Synopsis:
The year is 1984, but not for long. Aomame bolts from the cab, walks onto the elevated Tokyo expressway, descends an emergency ladder to the street below, and enters a strange new world. In parallel, a math teacher and aspiring novelist named Tengo gets an interesting offer to rewrite a mysterious 17-year-old's story for the final round of a young writer's literary prize. So begins Haruki Murakami'smagnum opus, an epic of staggering proportions that folds in a deliciously intriguing cast of characters and central motifs--the moon, Janáček's Sinfonietta, George Orwell's 1984--that acquire powerful resonance as Aomame and Tengo's paths take on a conjoined life of their own, dancing with a protracted elegance that requires nearly 1,000 pages to reach its crowning denouement. 1Q84 was a runaway bestseller in its native Japan, but more importantly, it's easily the grandest work of world literature since Roberto Bolaño's 2666 and represents a monstrous literary event.
My view:
I just finished this wonderful novel and will need a little time to absorb it's effect on me to give it a reasonable review, which is not going to be easy. Anyway here is a tidbit: I read 939 pages without any boredom setting in, and the ending was satisfactory to me even if I wanted to know more about many characters inhabiting this novel, for each where allowed to become full bodied throughout this novel, a great feat for such a long book and a compliment to Haruki Murakami as an author. Not an easy feat. The ending is satisfactory and happy yet each of us will have to come to this conclusion on our own...delicious is all I can say....is it happy????
The Author:
Legend has it that on a warm day in Spring 1974 while watching a baseball game Murakami-san had the inspiration to write his first novel, later called Hear the Wind sing.
It won him his first Literary award and is part of The Trilogy of the Rat together with Pinball 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase .
His career as an writer took off fast and a steady flow of Novels, Short Stories, Articles and Documentaries followed.
The fact that he spent a good part of his life outside Japan, mainly in the US and southern Europe, is maybe the key factor of his growing worldwide success.
The stories and settings are familiar to Westerners and yet there is a distinctive Japanese touch.
7 comments:
As usual, I, too feel that I need time to fully absorb this work. I wrote a review before I could forget what I wanted to say about Tengo and Aomame, but it in no way encompasses the myriad of layers which this book contains. I was satisfied with the ending, too, at least believing that they will be together no matter what world they inhabit. May it be so.
I've heard so much about this book that I feel it's already a classic. Murakami must be one of the best writers around. I remember when many years ago I read one of his books ("Norwegian Wood") and I was thrilled. I wonder if he is considered as good a writer in his native Japan or if his link with the West spoils him for Japanese people.
Hi Stefania,
I loved this book and recommend it highly.
He is a great hit in his country of Japan where his novels are loved. His books come out in Japan sometimes years before the West. He writes in Japanese, all his books are translated and very well.
Stopping to say Happy Thanksgiving, but I'm not certain you celebrate it? At any rate, my your weekend be blessed, and your year to come.
Thank-you Meredith, yes I do celebrate Thanksgiving. Hope your day is full of joy and thanks.
have these books although not yet read them, intend to try over the Xmas period
Hi Parrish,
I recommend 1Q84, I am reading Atlas shrugged along with other books, it is a great book. They made a movie, I watched Atlas shrugged part 1 and it is good, but the book is so much better.
Wishing you a nice week :)
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