1Q84

By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator, Philip Gabriel - translator

Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

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.

BONUS AUDIO: Audible interviews the translators of 1Q84, Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel.

©2011 Haruki Murakami (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This imaginative, lengthy novel satisfies as a mystery, fantasy, and humorous coming-of-age tale—all blended with the vagaries of love and loss in a dystopia mired in strange cults and mathematical/musical dreamscapes. One surmises that it's no accident that the book's enigmatic title relates to George Orwell's 1984." (AudioFile)

“Profound . . . A multilayered narrative of loyalty and loss . . . A fully articulated vision of a not-quite-nightmare world . . . A big sprawling novel [that] achieves what is perhaps the primary function of literature: to reimagine, to reframe, the world . . . At the center of [1Q84’s] reality . . . is the question of love, of how we find it and how we hold it, and the small fragile connections that sustain us, even (or especially) despite the odds . . . This is a major development in Murakami’s writing . . . A vision, and an act of the imagination.” (David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times)

“1Q84 is one of those books that disappear in your hands, pulling you into its mysteries with such speed and skill that you don’t even notice as the hours tick by and the mountain of pages quietly shrinks . . . I finished 1Q84 one fall evening, and when I set it down, baffled and in awe, I couldn’t help looking out the window to see if just the usual moon hung there or if a second orb had somehow joined it. It turned out that this magical novel did not actually alter reality. Even so, its enigmatic glow makes the world seem a little strange long after you turn the last page. Grade: A.” (Rob Brunner, Entertainment Weekly)

overbloated

I have read most of the Murakami novels. Overall I enjoyed this book but with some reservations. My two cents.

Pros:
1. Strong narrator performance.
2. Usual Murakami magic realism.

Cons:
1. Over-bloated. 1/3rd too long. The author had material only for two books. Third book-part is so boringly slow. Too much overlap between story lines when characters are basically stepping on each other toes and figuring out the same puzzle parts again and again.
2. Far-fetched love story axis (like in chic lit) made me roll my eyes many times while listening to the book. Some kind of not really believable Japanese version of Odysseus.

For Murakami first novel readers:
1. Be aware that novel is spiced up with some sex scenes. This should be nothing new for the person who read several Murakami novels.
2. Not the best Murakami novel as first read.

Lovely but missing resolutions....

What did you like best about 1Q84? What did you like least?

There are so many unanswered questions!!! Next to nothing was explained. I understand that the point overall is the enduring all encompassing love, but just have so many questions. What in the world were the little people? What was their purpose? What was the Voice? What in the F???? I was disappointed that nothing at all was explained about the world of 1Q84. The love between Tengo/Aomame was touching but I wanted a more in-depth trip into this strange world of 1Q84 and did not get it.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was rather good for all narrators. Despite the insanely long passages they kept me interested.

Was 1Q84 worth the listening time?

Only if you go in knowing THIS IS A LOVE STORY - not really heavy on sci-fi fun/action/fantasy.

Cant get it out of my Head

This book moves into your heart and mind and stays. It has been months since I've finished this book and I'm still thinking about the wonder of it all. The poetic fantasy realism of it (and I know that doesn't make sense but in the context of this book I feel it is a fit).
The only reason I didn't give the narrators 5 stars is because I think Murakami should please insist upon Japanese narrators. American accents detract a wee bit.
This author is quickly becoming a favorite.

Get on with it!

This is a book in need of an editor. It could easily be cut in half without losing a beat. I had a miserable time getting through it---the characters are bland, by design, as it is some sort of 1984 type saga. But really, once you get a handle on the personalities, nothing they do is unpredictable. I can't imagine taking this thing on in print.

There are interesting ideas. But to me, the book feels like it was written by a 17 year old with a good imagination but no real writing talent. Hey wait! That's the premise of the book "Air Head Chriswillbuythis". Well I did. I don't regret it but don't recommend it either.

Chris Reich

No Need to Write the Review, Dr. Oswego's Said It!

I was going to write my review and then read Dr. Lake Oswego, of Oregon's review, and thought that's it, that is what I have to say. I want to make two distinguishing points from his comments though. I read 1Q84 about three weeks ago, and unlike Dr. Oswego, I have been thinking of it a lot. Like all Murakami tales the heroine/hero is on a journey to find who they are and what they are to be in society; that is the Japanese society of the last 20 years of the twentieth century. (Remember, statistically it has been shown that the people of Japan are amongst the unhappiest of peoples in modern day societies.) Murakami never fails to give one guidance on what is the true value in life; with a little smack across the face to let us know we have happiness if we only accept our lives and stop putting the “heebie jeebies” into our thoughts. Oh yes, and I gave the read a higher rating than Dr. Oswego. P.S. Thanks Dr. Oswego for making this a shorter write up than I had anticipated.

Good book

I have admit I'm not all the way through this book. I am enjoying it quite a lot. The book takes place in a world that is slightly different from our own. Just enough to add some interest. However, I do not really enjoy Ms. Hiroto's voice especially her rendition of an older lady's voice. It just sounds really fake. A word of warning if you are planning to listen to this book with children present or at work. I would pass on the book. There is a lot of sex between uncommitted people and some lesbian scenes as well.

The voice of post-bubble Japan

Murakami's novels go to the heart of the dysfunction that led to Fukushima: government control of the media, repression of the past, hidden violence and a near total lack of accountability. Murakami's writings make it clear that 3/11 was no accident. His characters are looking for answers without any map to rely on. The female narrator who reads Aomame's part is amateurish. I've taken to skipping her side and reading the book instead. The male narrator who reads Tengo's half is quite good.

Murakami's weakest project so far

I've read all of Murakami's stories. This is the only one I've listened to on audio, but I feel like I can say that this story is his weakest. It just doesn't seem to have a good sense of direction and the offbeat story that he normally delivers so well- that draws you in, never takes flight in this one. Of course there's discussion of sex and so on, as his books tend to have, but this one went a bit further and felt a bit more contrived, almost gratuitous.

The narration was ok.

What a mess.

Read all the reviews--they are all right.

This book cannot decide its genre. It starts out moralistic vigilante assassin, then switches to standard novel of an aspiring loser of a fiction writer, then a fantasy with "little people" and two moons, then cult religion with sexual abuses going on, and then alternate universe/reality. Then in only about 30 hours (not yet half way, folks) they start to come together.

This book is too long. I keep sighing thinking only 28 hours to go. I want to know what happens, but it is taking me weeks to get through this. And I never think, "Oh, let's get back to the book! I can't wait to see what happens!" Full of stupid lines like, "...a sigh heavy with suggestion and possibility." Could someone please act that out so I can know what it means. How do you sigh like that anyway? Maybe it would help me get through the next 25 hours.

This book is tedious. The first event is an assassination by Aomame. Her name is related to Edamame, but means green peas. It is a very strange name; can you imagine yelling across the playground, "Green Peas! Hey, Green Peas! Oh, yeah, we were talking about the assassination. Okay, that only took 2 hours. Then she spends another couple excruciating hours agonizing over the assassination itself. She has to get it right. She can't make a mistake. If she makes a mistake..., just hold the needle right there. blah, blah, blah. Took all the tension and action out of what should have been exciting. And the whole book is this way. Repetitious. It repeats a lot. Tons.

This book has little Japanese flavor, and it really should. It was more than 35 hours in before anyone drank green tea; before that it was tea with lemon, sugar, and milk, thick coffee, iced tea. (And once at the crazy dowager's house, Aomame pours herself some water, but drank iced tea. I thought for sure she would solve the time warp by killing the old bag.) Sure they can drink those, but the Japanese drink more green tea than anything. There is a little bowing, a few nods to impeccable business suits, but you would never know this was Tokyo except for the names of the streets.

This book has weird, blunt sex, which may be more Japanese than anything else in the story. Lots of concern over the shape of the guy's head, the one with the eyes and nose. That might not be a problem for most people, but some will find it off-putting. It needs an R rating.

You may enjoy the wrap-up of the story, if you can stand the trip to get there. But, hey, you get a badge for it!

fantasy and eroticism

1Q84 is an interesting mix of fantasy and eroticism that kept my attention throughout all 6 audio files. I am not sure if there was any big theme to the work, however it is an enjoyable read.