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A review by bemiller74
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
I’ve liked most everything I’ve read by Murakami so I’m ultimately not surprised that I like this though I know the reputation is mixed. What I find rude though is reaching the end of this massive novel only to have to accept that the first one thousand one hundred paperback bound pages were about the main characters coming to terms with the early stages of growing old(er) even though these characters are straight up younger than me. Sucks man.
Every character is a knot of mysteries that will never be resolved, threats of suspense and promised violence hang over the story which are (almost) never fulfilled. And when the promise of violence is fulfilled in a single act it is not andrenline fueled or entertaining or character-defining, it is matter of fact and very gruesome however bloodless it may be, it is business. I can see how such a long book with so many dangling threads could be unsatisfying, but well, that’s life and someday you’ll change jobs or move or something maybe better or much worse will happen and you’ll leave all your threads dangling and a hole of some size for some time in the lives of the people who knew you for however long they knew you. And the unanswered threads that are left dangling that carry you through much of the length of the book are themselves classic form Murakami for the folks who have come to love it - magical, violent, horny, depressing, and depressing-horny.
I am glad I took a bit of a break before continuing on to Book 3 after reading the first two at a decent pace, the third book drastically slows the action for the main characters and essentially closes each of them in a room alone to reflect for a not insignificant period. Fruitful pages I think ultimately but if I’d continued straight on after reading the first two volumes that might have really worn me down quickly.
Every character is a knot of mysteries that will never be resolved, threats of suspense and promised violence hang over the story which are (almost) never fulfilled. And when the promise of violence is fulfilled in a single act it is not andrenline fueled or entertaining or character-defining, it is matter of fact and very gruesome however bloodless it may be, it is business. I can see how such a long book with so many dangling threads could be unsatisfying, but well, that’s life and someday you’ll change jobs or move or something maybe better or much worse will happen and you’ll leave all your threads dangling and a hole of some size for some time in the lives of the people who knew you for however long they knew you. And the unanswered threads that are left dangling that carry you through much of the length of the book are themselves classic form Murakami for the folks who have come to love it - magical, violent, horny, depressing, and depressing-horny.
I am glad I took a bit of a break before continuing on to Book 3 after reading the first two at a decent pace, the third book drastically slows the action for the main characters and essentially closes each of them in a room alone to reflect for a not insignificant period. Fruitful pages I think ultimately but if I’d continued straight on after reading the first two volumes that might have really worn me down quickly.