Wednesday 11 April 2012

Devouring Books: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

There was a certain point last year where it felt like everyone was reading 1Q84. At that time I was kind of scared of Murakami, and so I generally just ignored things and pretended that I wasn't missing out on some kind of massive book phenomenon. But I kind of was, or at least I was missing out on something that was like a phenomenon for me. After I read (and was enthralled by) Norwegian Wood in January, it was just a matter of deciding which Murakami to read next, to figure out if Norwegian Wood was just some kind of fluke, or if, basically, I'm in love with Murakami.

Guess what? I'm kind of in love with Murakami. Here's something that's weird, though. It's been a few days since I've read 1Q84, and I've finally allowed myself to read some reviews and things, and I've found myself nodding at quite a few criticisms of it, and even coming up with a few of my own. This isn't necessarily weird in itself (believe it or not, I have criticised books before in my life), but while I was reading 1Q84, to me it was flawless. I was so unbelievably enthralled by it, and every second I wasn't reading it, I wished I was. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but more or less? I just wanted to figure out what on earth was going on, and for the two main characters to get their shit together and find each other, even though I knew that event would most likely mean the end of the book.

I guess what I'm getting at here is the difference between actually being engaged with a book to the extent that it becomes the whole world for a little while, and then actually thinking about that book critically and taking the opinions and ideas of others into account. This isn't something that normally happens to me- I'm usually criticising as I go along, and I don't just mean being cruel about it, but just generally picking out certain features and thinking about whether I like them or not and all shit like that. With 1Q84 though? I was so caught up with the story, that I could barely remember my own name, let alone think about how it represented women, or just how cringeworthy some of the sex stuff was (now that I've thought about it? There should have maybe been a bit of cringing). About the only thoughts that came from my brain were 'mmmm, that sounds tasty' after Murakami described practically every meal every character made (and I literally want to eat them ALL) and any kind of criticism just wasn't there- it was like I forgot everything I knew, and all there was was me and 1Q84.

So, here's what I'm saying about this book (or rather, these books- for no discernible reason, the British publishers released books one and two together, and then released book three a week later- under the pretext that this is what happened in Japan, except that there was a year between those releases, and it doesn't really seem worth it for the sake of a week, other than to make people buy two separate books...). It's not perfect, and I can't pretend that it is, having now thought about it and identified quite a few flaws and things that I think could have been better in it. But. As a reading experience, it's probably one of the best I've ever had, and the thought of just how good reading it was far outweighs the slightly negative experience of realising it maybe wasn't completely perfect. Because the reading, for me? Completely perfect.

Did you notice how I literally told you nothing about the story? That was pretty much intentional- I knew basically nothing about the story when I started it, and that helped with its awesomeness since I literally had no idea what was going to happen next, and sometimes what was going on at all. In a good way! This was essentially a completely self-centred review (is there any other kind?!) because I have no idea if 1Q84 will blow your mind the way mine was. But I hope it does, or if not that you get to have this kind of experience some time, with some book. Because it was pretty bloody great.

17 comments:

  1. THIS is what I look for in a review! How does the book make you feel? What kind of a reading experience is it for you? Because, really, that's what we take away, what we remember, about a book/story/author, isn't it? I don't always think justifications are necessary. A book just is what it is.

    I'm like you when it comes to Murakami. I read and loved Norwegian Wood, but his other stuff just seems so intimidating . . . I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this one, though. It sounds like just the kind of reading experience I love.

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    1. Aww, yay! Glad I could give you the kind of review you love! I'm kind of nervous to even recommend this to anyone, just because I really did love it so much, and yet I can *now* admit that it does have flaws. But the experience itself really wasn't flawed!

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  2. Aww, I'm glad you had such a good experience! That is excellent. And I won't even make fun of Murakami, as a post-birthday present to you.

    Also food is delicious and I DO enjoy how much he talks about it.

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    1. YAY! That makes me happy :). He genuinely talks about every meal every character has, practically, and they all sound SO GOOD. I just want Japanese food all the time now!

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  3. You sly thing, you! I had no idea you were tackling another Murakami post-Norwegian Wood readalong. So glad you've found another author to obsess about. I bought this when it first went on sale in the US (sidenote: I like your cover better than ours), but I've yet to crack it. But I've been thinking of taking along After the Quake on my summer vacation this year to see if maybe third time Murakami will be the charm.

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    1. I was! It was very exciting! Although it is a giant and daunting looking book, it still reads really well, and I would say less depressed people than Norwegian Wood=very good stuff! I can't comment on After the Quake obvs, but I say give Murakami ALL THE CHANCES!! (ps what other Murakami book have you read? And was it no good?)

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  4. Your review has made me more likely to pick this up. This book still intimidates me BUT I might check it out. After I try some more Murakami first

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    1. It is HUGE. But after Norwegian Wood I was all like I WANT ALL OF MURAKAMI, GIMME! so this was perfect! I've got Kafka on the Shore to read, so I'll let you know if that should be your next one hehe :)

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  5. If you liked 1Q84 then you'll probably really like the rest of his major novels. A Wild Sheep Chase, Kafka on the Shore, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle are likely to tickle your Murakami bone.Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - knowing how you feel about fantasy, this one might not do it for you like the other ones. But then again it might totally work for you. I'm so happy that you've fallen in literary love with Murakami. He's one of the most interesting writers out there.

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    1. Ooooh, goody! And, well, maybe Murakami might write fantasy better than King (BLASPHEMY!) but really, he might. I'm planning on giving allll the Murakami a try anyway, so I'll see how I feel about it, when I get to it :)

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  6. Wow awesome reivew, Laura! You have managed to make me want to pick this book up without even saying a thing about the plot. Of the reviews I have read that do go into the plot and other specifics I haven't been as intrigued.

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    1. Well good, that was my intention! But I really do think that not knowing anything about the plot makes it extra mysterious and like intriguing and just awesome!

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  7. I remember falling completely in love with him after listening to the Kafka on the Shore audiobook a few years ago. It was the perfect way to get lost in his airy density. From there I felt compelled to inhale all his other works in the space of a couple of months, by a combination of digital and analogue means. I knew it was the worst thing I could do to charge through them with barely a pause, as I scarcely left a moment for reflection, but the very reading of him was so enjoyable, breathtaking, mystifying and compelling, I had no choice. One of these days I'll get to 1Q84 and a more considered re-read of him. You've certainly reminded me he's worth it.

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    1. Am I seeing some kind of King/Murakami correlation here? I think so! Some kind of study needs to be done into this, I'm fairly sure.

      ANYWAY- Yeah. Murakami is my favourite of the moment, and it's so hard to not read all of his books RIGHT NOW, but I'm trying to spread it out and basically not do what you did! Also I only actually own Kafka on the Shore that I haven't read at the moment, and my local libraries aren't really into stocking his books, which is good cause it means that I kind of can't rush!

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  8. Funnily enough, we were stood in Waterstones debating whether to buy 1Q84 this morning.

    I do want to read it, but I'm put off by a)the HUGE size of it and b) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE STORY IS!!! :)

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    1. a) It's so so so so awesome that the size totes doesn't even matter!

      b) Well, there's this boy and this girl and they love each other and they're trying to find each other in this crazy world of craziness that's crazy. Basically.

      Have you read any other Murakami? Cause I don't know if this would be the best one to start with, only because it's pretty massive and daunting. I started with Norwegian Wood, and that worked out pretty well for me!

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  9. I was so disappointed by this book, after having been a Murakami fan for years, but I am glad that other people are enjoying it. The story of 1Q84 is great and I really debated over how much to reveal in my review, but unlike you, while I was reading I couldn't help but notice the cringey moments. Lots of them.

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