1Q84 Book Review

Spoiler Alert!  Avert your eyes if you haven't read this book!

 



 

If this book had a soundtrack, besides the obvious Janacek Sinfonietta, it would totally be this spy-thrillerish song from Level E's theme song.

My feelings for Ushikawa is comparable to my feelings for the novel.

Poor Ushikawa, I wasn't sure how to feel about this oddly neutral character.  I guess I felt a sense of loss for whem Ushikawa separated from his perfect family, yet his creepy life as a professional stalker prevented me from feeling sympathy.  He died like a someone trying to kill a fish for dinner.  He was Nobakov's gun and died for Tengo and Aomame to get together.

Aomame and Tengo's relationship was awkward.  We only had the moment where Tengo and Aomame were holding hands for a moment at elementary school to imprint their romantic/sexual identity for the rest of their lives.   Only the moment of orgasm for Tengo to telepathically impregnate Aomame through Fuka-Eri.

The story had to many holes and ignored the development of important characters.  Did Professor Ebisuno find what he wanted?  Where did Fuka-Eri wander off too?  What about the guy fondling momma Tengo's boobs?

Murakami toyed with the standard conventions of storytelling to skew the reader's sense of logic.  I was certain Aomame was going to shoot herself in the face when she tried to find the manhole cover in the 1Q84 world.  Aomame's love for Tengo is the only fact the she knows exists in both 1Q and 1984.  She puts the gun away and my sense of what Murakami was trying to do made sense.

Given that Aomame and Tengo lived in an irrational world in 1984, 1Q84 wasn't too big of a stretch.  Murakami convinces the reader that Aomame's and Tengo's thoughts of loving each other makes sense to the reader.  Their ability to be together is like the certainty of a single moon in the sky.

One may criticize Murakami for leaving so many unanswered questions to the reader, yet Murakami succeeds in trying convey the irrationality of knowing what true love is.  You can't be too analytical in this novel or your reasoning will lead you nowhere.  Remember this is a love story.  It's only a paper moon.