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A review by erickibler4
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
5.0
Okay, so there's this young woman, Aomame, who's caught in a traffic jam on the freeway. She's late for an important appointment. She exits the cab and descends an emergency stairway. Then there's Tengo, who teaches math at a cram school, but who has ambitions of becoming a writer. A publisher acquaintance admires his prose and engages him to rewrite a story by Fuka Eri, a barely literate seventeen year old girl who has nevertheless dictated (to another girl) a story which is a diamond in the rough. Add an elderly, rich woman who is an avenger of domestic violence, a shadowy religious organization, and a misshapen investigator, and you have the ingredients for a cloak and dagger caper, which this book is. But it also contains fantasy and science fiction elements. And metaphysical concerns.
I really enjoyed this book. On more than one occasion I found that it affected my dreams, which is always a sign that my mind has entered the world the author has created. The major problem with it, though, is that it could have used a rewrite to make it tighter. There are far too many recaps of characters' histories, situations, and relationships. Also, although the main characters get closure, there are a lot of unanswered questions and unfulfilled plot points revolving around minor characters. Of course, the latter ambiguities are the province of literary discussion and could make for a kickass round table at our book club. Some of these questions appear below.
Edit: Thinking back to how this book has lived on in my memory and imagination, I'm upgrading it from four to five stars.
SPOILER:
1. Is Nurse Kumi the reincarnation of Tengo's mother?
2. Who strangled the young policewoman? I'm pretty sure this wasn't a Sakigake hit.
3. Who was the man who strangled Tengo's mother? Was he the same man who strangled the policewoman? Was he Tengo's biological father?
4. Was the Fuka Eri we met the real deal? Or was she the dohta, or replica? Is it a characteristic of dohta that they have no uterus, and therefore can't become pregnant? So, rather than destroying the uterii of young girls by violent sex, is it possible that Leader, while paralyzed, was having sex with dohta, who never had uterii to begin with? What happens to Fuka Eri?
5. Who are the Little People? What's their game?
6. Maza and Dohta sound like Japanese pronunciations of Mother and Daughter. Are the maza and dohta always female?
7. Why did Tengo's father's spirit choose Aomame's apartment and harangue "Ms. Takai"?
I really enjoyed this book. On more than one occasion I found that it affected my dreams, which is always a sign that my mind has entered the world the author has created. The major problem with it, though, is that it could have used a rewrite to make it tighter. There are far too many recaps of characters' histories, situations, and relationships. Also, although the main characters get closure, there are a lot of unanswered questions and unfulfilled plot points revolving around minor characters. Of course, the latter ambiguities are the province of literary discussion and could make for a kickass round table at our book club. Some of these questions appear below.
Edit: Thinking back to how this book has lived on in my memory and imagination, I'm upgrading it from four to five stars.
SPOILER:
1. Is Nurse Kumi the reincarnation of Tengo's mother?
2. Who strangled the young policewoman? I'm pretty sure this wasn't a Sakigake hit.
3. Who was the man who strangled Tengo's mother? Was he the same man who strangled the policewoman? Was he Tengo's biological father?
4. Was the Fuka Eri we met the real deal? Or was she the dohta, or replica? Is it a characteristic of dohta that they have no uterus, and therefore can't become pregnant? So, rather than destroying the uterii of young girls by violent sex, is it possible that Leader, while paralyzed, was having sex with dohta, who never had uterii to begin with? What happens to Fuka Eri?
5. Who are the Little People? What's their game?
6. Maza and Dohta sound like Japanese pronunciations of Mother and Daughter. Are the maza and dohta always female?
7. Why did Tengo's father's spirit choose Aomame's apartment and harangue "Ms. Takai"?