Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 and my first post

The first blog post calls for introduction so readers know at least something about its author. My name is Urška, I’m 24 and I’m currently finishing my studies at the department for Comparative Literature and Literary Theory in Ljubljana. Reading has always been my passion and it was soon joined by writing. In the meantime I got to try my hand at journalism for a small newspaper which was a very enjoyable learning experience and I hope to do more in this field in the future. 

My all-time favorite author is Virginia Woolf and she is something of a role-model for my own writing. I also enjoy reading fantasy and I’ve been an active member of the Slovenian Tolkien Society Gil-galad for the past three years. Enough about me, let’s move on to books.

One of the last books I’ve read was Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. I’ve been a fan of his work ever since I read Norwegian Wood and I was happy to get my hands on his latest book, which I read in English translation.

The book is further divided into three books set in Tokyo during a fictionalized year 1984, all together almost 928 pages, but don’t let it discourage you. Initially there are two storylines told in Murakami’s typical first-person narrative by Aomame, a thirty year old woman working as an assassin for a mysterious organization. I really liked this advice from her taxi driver in the beginning of the story:  “It's just that you're about to do something out of the ordinary. And after you do something like that, the everyday look of things might seem to change a little. Things may look different to you than they did before. But don't let appearances fool you. There's always only one reality.”

The other storyline is told by Tengo, who is an unpublished novelist and works as a math tutor at a prep school. At first, their stories are completely separate, but as the story unfolds readers can sense their deep sense of longing and lifelong search for each other. As this quote beautifully illustrates: “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.” In the third part of the novel a third point of view character is added – Ushikawa, a private investigator hired to investigate Tengo and later Aomame. At times it can get a bit difficult to follow all the characters.

The magical part of the story arrives in the form of Air Chrysalis - a novel Tengo re-wrote for Fuka-Eri, a dyslexic 17-year old girl.  At first glance it’s just a work of fantasy describing a young girl’s life in a fictional commune where she meets mystical people she calls the Little people performing different acts of magic. However strange things begin happening in real life as well, revealing that it’s not a work of fantasy but more of a warning to the outside world. Although it’s not even the same world anymore, but a parallel world, which Aomame names 1Q84 and desperately wants to return back to her old world, but needs to find its exit first.

Murakami keeps to his trademark style by referencing many composers and musicians of the past such as Bach, Vivaldi and Leoš Janáček as well as more contemporary artists: Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and the Rolling Stones. He also shows his mastery in creating his own version of magical realism

(magic elements are a natural part of an otherwise realistic environment), which strongly resonates throughout the book, getting more obvious as the story progresses. I don’t want to give too much of the story away and I recommend you to read it and see for yourself.

 I give it 4 out of  5 stars.