George Orwell’s 1984 gets a powerful nod in Haruki Murakami‘s 1Q84, our Well Read column pick for November. The story unfolds in 1984 Tokyo, where the lives of two young Japanese converge in a strange parallel world.
Columnist Robert Weibezahl writes, “1Q84 unfolds as a science-fiction thriller, and despite the pointed Orwellian reference, it is closer in spirit to the work of Philip K. Dick. Fantastic elements seamlessly integrate with the mundane to create a world much like, if not quite like, our own. . . Pulp fiction, indeed, but on a grand scale—as ambitious, quirky and imaginative as only Murakami can be.”
The book trailer gives you a peek into Murakami’s world:
1Q84 was a runaway bestseller in Japan. It comes out in the United States today! Is it on your list?
If you remove everything else, at its heart, 1Q84 is a love story. But there’s rather a lot to the “everything else.” Haruki Murakami’s epic novel is the story of Aomame and Tengo, and the first two-thirds of the novel are told in chapters changing between the viewpoints of the two. In the last third, a new character and point of view are added to the mix. Similarly to those works, reading the novel felt like slowly sinking into a well of dreams, and being enveloped in a mood of curiosity and off hand beauty/absurdity.
In such a long and complicated book, there’s a lot more to discuss. For instance, Murakami follows the notion that time does not flow in a straight line. In 1Q84, time twists around, perception shifts, and the past can sneak up unannounced behind you. These are just a very few of the intriguing themes I found.