This week, I finally finished reading the book, “1Q84”, on the Ipad for IBooks.
Here’s the plot: The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.
As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.
A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.
I’ve never read, Haruki’s books before. After reading this one, it makes me want to read more of his work if his earlier work are English translated. This guy is a famous writer from Japan, but most of his books are published in the USA in English versions, I believe. The reason I wanted to read this book ’cause the book was creating a lot of buzz on the internet lately, so I got interested in reading it. The story sounded interesting, and when I look at the cover of this book, that’s another reason that would make you want to buy it. The cover of this novel looks pretty cool doesn’t it?
This book took me forever to read but I read the whole thing. It’s almost a thousand pages long, but on the Ipad it’s over: 2,000 pages.
I’ll tell you right now that this story was very addicting. I couldn’t put it down ever since I started it. The book was pretty masterful storytelling. While it is mostly a fantasy story, it has pretty much a little bit of everything in it for everyone. It’s also a romance novel but some of it can get pretty graphic and violent. It can get also get pretty sexual too.
I really loved the story between, Tengo & Aomame. How they kept them apart for most of the book, keeping their story a mystery. The chapters of the book switches back and forth from Tengo to Aomame. The characters seem pretty realistic and they are enjoyable throughout the story. Even the villains in the story can be enjoyable too (yes, there are badguys).
I think “1Q84”, could make a good movie if they did it, right, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Hollywood is planning one soon. While the book is pretty long, it is fast pacing and easy to read. Another reason, that made me want to read it is that I have a big interest in Chinese culture. This is a good book, if you’re looking for something different and unique to read.
Kev
K'Brocking 