Reviews

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

ethanzo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars. Slight spoiler warning. I would love to never hear or read the words "pubic hair" ever again. So much of this book references genitals, sex, penetration, and bodily fluids that I felt it almost took away from what was a whimsical, mysterious, and beautifully written book. Maybe I'm just a prude, but why do so many of the interactions, observations, and scenes in this book have to revolve around these things? That all being said, I did feel that the book was enjoyable enough, and I felt that the narrative was strong and intriguing. I both loved and hated that the mystery of the book was unsolved in a sense. I was a bit mystified by the ending, and I'm not entirely sure I even understood it after letting it soak in, but I think I'd say I enjoyed it. The plot itself, I have no notes on, I was entranced by the characters and the magic of it all, and I loved seeing how the characters responded to discovering themselves in an alternate reality. There were definitely some... debatable subjects touched on in the book, so definitely go into it if you're sensitive, looking up a trigger warning. I found one scene in particular revolving around a minor a bit disgusting, but the book then clarifies it somewhat, though I still did not enjoy that. Did this need to be 948 pages long? No, most of those pages were long descriptions, random metaphors, and existentialism on the part of the characters. Am I glad I read this book? Yes, I think I may even be a different person after having read it, it had a poetry about it that really resonated with me at times, and really made me appreciate the art form of written and translated literature. The narration was also splendid, and I think each narrator gave an appropriate voice to their character. Overall, I had a decent time with this book, and would suggest picking it up if the synopsis or blurbs regarding it intrigue you.

stefhite's review

4.0

I'm not a big fan of Japanese fiction, but this book got great reviews. It took some time to make sense of the story, but then became very compelling and was completely worth reading.

hanahe's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

3.5

miki514's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

danaebralidze's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kellygoesgeocaching's review

2.0

A strange novel which travelled incredibly slowly, with excruciating detail at points, and then ended so abruptly I was left annoyed, frustrated and irritated. I was enjoying the pace change by that stage and hoping for a proper ending, tying up all the loose ends and rounding out the story but no. I just feel flat about it.

matchaclump77's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tregina's review against another edition

2.0

Oof. I feel like I just finished a marathon. And like distance running, sometimes I was in the zone and just flying along, and sometimes I had to dig deep and push through on determination alone.

Several years ago, a friend of mine produced an abridged version of The Mousetrap for an adjudicated festival, and in conversation with the adjudicator afterwards said that some parts were easy to condense because all she had to do was to remove the constant references to the weather. The adjudicator then gently said that removing redundant bits was good, but in this case the repetition of the weather was the point and essential to the atmosphere of the play. I'm reminded of that now because there are certain elements of repetition in 1Q84 that were important, like Janáček's Sinfonietta and the moon, but so very many more redundancies that served no narrative purpose at all. Repetition needs to have a point.

There was just no reason for this book to be as long as it was. (I know it was originally published in three volumes, but my belief stands.) It was not improved by its length. We did not get to know the characters any better. It did not intensify the atmosphere or complicate the narrative. And every time there was anything sexual on the page I was just begging for it to be over. Underneath it all the book explored the nature of our connections to other people, but it didn't ultimately seem to have anything to say about it. I was never invested in Aomame and Tengo reuniting (though it was a relief when they did, because finally).

There were of course things I liked, such as just about everything to do with Ushikawa, and there were several passages that I felt were particularly interesting or moving. But they were outnumbered by my frustration with the book. Maybe I've rated it too highly and will come back and revise that later. Maybe I just felt the need, at this point, to justify having spent so much time on it. [Note: I did come back after sitting on it for a few days and bumped it down a tick.]

Maybe it was all just too postmodern for my taste.

srjennings's review

The mystery was intriguing, but it was slow and there was a lot of excessiv   sexual stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

machete0s's review

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

An interesting read, I'm not very familiar with Japanese mystical realism but it made a few logic leaps I was skeptical of. Requires a suspension of disbelief without ever having a thorough reveal of its mysteries. And nearly every scene with a woman character involves at least one sentence about her breasts.