Yeah, occasionally I was right-but who am I to keep score?ġQ84 is a mystery and also a little bit of a fairy tale. There were moments when I was so sure of an answer, only for Murakami to pull the carpet out from beneath my feet a hundred or two hundred pages later. I kept developing-then discarding-various theories as to what was going on. Watching their stories converge, seeing the foreshadowing that Murakami uses, is one of the most delightful things about this book. It could be that, unlike the somewhat unequal relationship between Kafka on the Shore’s two main characters, Aomame and Tengo are a much more evenly-matched duo. It might be that the mystery in this novel develops at a much less sedate pace than its impressive length suggests. It might be owing to the more overtly science-fictional premise, this idea that Aomame might just have slipped into a parallel world. I liked 1Q84 better than Kafka on the Shore almost immediately. Since I planned to give it to Vivike when I saw her on Monday, I had an intense few days of reading to do. Of course, when I went to buy 1Q84 last Thursday, I didn’t quite realize it was 925 pages. And I prefer to give people books that I have already read, so that my recommendation is all that more genuine. So for this Christmas as I considered which book to inflict upon Viv, Murakami’s latest was a natural choice. I also found it confusing and daunting and knew that, in Haruki Murakami, I had found yet another author whose works I will continue to digest long after I devour them with all the tenacity my love of reading requires. Two years ago my friend Vivike gave me Kafka on the Shore for Christmas, assuring me that I would like it-and she was right.

1q84 review