If you can love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there’s salvation in life. Even if you can’t get together with that person.”
― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
Magical, Brilliant, Surreal and Absolutely Bonkers. These are the first things that come to mind when describing this book. For me no matter what people think because i really couldn’t give a shit, Haruki Murakami is one of the greatest writers on this planet. Every book of his i have read thus far has left me lost after finishing them and wanting more. Considering i only started reading his books in 2017 i have been hooked on his style of writing. The way he describes things in such detail is just marvellous and a joy to read. Anyway i am babbling on but this book was no different.
This novel is a Trilogy and takes place in a fictionalised Tokyo in 1984. The story takes place over three volumes,the first volume set between April and June, the second between July and September, and the third between October and December. In terms of the main characters we follow the magnificent journey of Tengo and Aomame. Tengo is a maths teacher and also a budding author hoping to make his mark in the literally world, but at what cost? Tengo gets into a bit of pickle when he is asked by the editor a publishing company who Tengo writes for to ghost rewrite a book by the mysterious Fuka Eri. This leads to many strange and complicated matters further on in the novel. Moreover we also have the character of Aomame,a martial-arts instructor and physical therapist. However, she secretly works for an elderly lady simply known as “The Dowager” who after a family tragedy shelters women who have been through domestic abuse. All i can say is Aomame makes sure that the men who have caused these women harm never do it again. In addition to this both characters are having to deal with opposition in this alternative world of 1Q84 as cracks in their world have transported them into a parallel 1984 which Aomame calls 1Q84. The opposition they must deal with are known as “The Little People” taking inspiration from George Orwell’s “Big Brother“. The “Little People” are a malicious force who cause havoc both in the main world of the novel and the parallel universe of “1Q84”. Thus, through a common past and future both characters must unite not only to be together but to take down “The Little People”.
The novel is basically your usual boy meets girl, fall in love, lose contact and try to find each other years later. But its done in such an amazing way that i was sad as i got nearer to the end. The thing i loved about this book was how every character is connected through each other, like a spiders web. Furthermore, Murakami writes and describes things in such a calm way that its like listening to the soft keys of a piano being played for example “He put the sliced celery and mushrooms into the frying pan. Turning the gas flame up to high and lightly jogging the pan, he carefully stirred the contents with a bamboo spatula, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper. When the vegetables were just beginning to cook, he tossed the drained shrimp into the pan. After adding another dose of salt and pepper to the whole thing, he poured in a small glass of sake. Then a dash of soy sauce and finally a scattering of Chinese parsley. […] He took a fresh beer from the refrigerator, sat at the kitchen table, and, still lost in thought, proceeded to eat the steaming food”. See what i mean not only did this make me hungry but his way of describing is just wow.
So to conclude i loved this book very much, every character was interesting and i always wanted to know more about them as the story went on. Although it is a really long book the way Murkami writes made me want to soldier on, he makes you feel like you’re apart of the journey in all the books he has written.
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