Read with me: “1Q84: Book 1″

I’m reading Haruki Murakami’s newly released (for North Americans) 1Q84 right now and really enjoying it. This might seem like a foregone conclusion because, after all, Murakami has long been one of my favourite authors but, bias aside, the book is looking extremely special thus far. 1Q84‘s NA release is a big ol’ 900ish page hardback but it was originally released in serial format. Because of this, and because I want to talk a little about it now, I’ve decided to do three miniature write-ups for each of the books that makes up the whole.

Obviously there will be some discussion of plot points up to the end of 1Q84: Book 1 so, if you’d rather not encounter them, don’t continue reading. Otherwise, take the long, long scroll down to the Read More button.

Murakami’s body of work is distinctive for its thematic concerns and stylistic choices and 1Q84, in many ways, reads like a culmination of his past efforts. It is a story of religious fanaticism, the act of writing, coming to terms with Japan’s militaristic past as a child of the post-years and, of course, the ability for reality to quietly merge with surreal events as a matter of course. These elements come together naturally to form the backbone of a piece that (up to this point) seems most concerned with discussing gender inequality, something that is primarily illustrated through a character who assassinates abusive men (don’t worry: it’s similarily dramatic but thankfully not as heavy-handed as Larsson’s Men Who Hate Women/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

1Q84 is also written in the strange blend of highly readable/highly clumsy prose that may put many new readers of Murakami’s English translations off — but which I’ve actually come to find kind of endearing. This may change in Book 3 (Books 1 and 2 are both translated by Jay Rubin while 3 is handled by Philip Gabriel) but fair warning to those who can’t handle some rocky dialogue and narration. The main draw to Murakami, for me at least, has always been his plot development and the genius of his ability to handle the introduction of surrealism in his stories — absurdities finally turning into revelations by a book’s end.

1Q84‘s first book definitely demonstrates this strength, thanks to it being, perhaps, the most well-paced of any of his books. Each chapter alternates between the viewpoints of his protagonists, Aomame and Tengo, while gradually interweaving the threads of their narratives. In many of Murakami’s books his characters have acted as a kind of tabula rasa for Japanese women and men of his age (he was born in 1949, coming of age during Japan’s university uprisings) but 1Q84 pleasantly bucks this trend, resulting in more complex characters and a level of mystery that envelops both plot and cast (as opposed to the grounded, first-person narrators of, say, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Hard-Boiled Wonderland). It’s all handled beautifully, urging the story forward through the promise of future explanations of vague organizations like the Sakigake cult and puzzling characters like 17-year-old writer Fuka-Eri.

I’m extremely impressed so far and excited to see what’s coming next.

— Reid