'1Q84' by Haruki Murakami is a contemporary novel that delves into an alternative reality with elements of magical realism. The book follows two main characters, Aomame and Tengo, who were in love during their school days and now find themselves in a mysterious and suspenseful situation as adults. The plot is intricate, combining elements of fantasy, mystery, romance, and suspense, all woven together with Murakami's signature writing style that is described as meticulous, detailed, and engaging. The narrative explores themes of fate, love, morality, and the blurred lines between reality and fiction, creating a world that is both captivating and thought-provoking.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for 1Q84 include themes of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child exploitation, graphic sexual content, and unsettling descriptions of violence.
Has Romance?
There is a strong romantic element between the characters Aomame and Tengo, each longing for a connection with one another throughout the narrative.
From The Publisher:
"Murakami is like a magician who explains what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers . . . But while anyone can tell a story that resembles a dream, it's the rare artist, like this one, who can make us feel that we are dreaming it ourselves." -The New York Times Book Review
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 Haruki Murakami's most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.
Ratings (107)
Incredible (17) | |
Loved It (43) | |
Liked It (25) | |
It Was OK (15) | |
Did Not Like (6) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (243):
Read It (111) | |
Currently Reading (4) | |
Want To Read (98) | |
Did Not Finish (4) | |
Not Interested (26) |
1 comment(s)
I felt underwhelmed and unsatisfied with this novel. I liked the overall concept and idea, but I feel as though, it wasn't executed well. I need to think this one over some more before I can give any more in-depth thoughts.
What can you read after
1Q84?
About the Author:
HARUKI MURAKAMI was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award in…
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