Take on the Monolith: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

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.

-Amazon

I cannot tell you how excited I am for the release of Haruki Murakami's latest masterpiece, 1Q84 on October 25th!  There was a kind of mysterious allure around this novel that first intrigued me enough to learn more about it. There were so many awesome reviews about it from those who got the chance to read this in Japan, that expectancy soon grew here in America. Really, I wanted to read a novel that would pose a challenge to finish by the end of the year. I'm sure that 1Q84 cannot be the challenge that War and Peace would pose, but it's up there with a whopping 944 pages of pure Murakami lyricism. It's one of those novels that the bibliophile in me, can't wait to hold, and stare at the cover for a while before I read. Hardcovers will do that to a person!

Haruki Murakami is known for mythologizing his native Japan, creating worlds where hidden beautiful magic can rise from the cracks at anytime, blending realities, and opening characters up to dual realms. He's one of my writing inspirations because the music of his words cannot be denied. His writing is simplistic and yet sensational, which suits his extraordinary themes that are often tinged with bleak hopefulness. I have an appreciation for Japanese writers, because from my observations, they have a penchant for turning the ordinary world into something extraordinary with beauty and color. I desire to imbue my own writing with this wonderful talent. After reading Sputnik, Sweetheart, I vowed to read all of his work, and so I jumped at the chance to be a part of the release of 1Q84. 

It's interesting that he uses George Orwell's 1984 as inspiration. I'm a HUGE fan of dystopian literature. However, knowing Murakami, he promises to make this an unpredictable ride that makes you think, that frightens you a little bit, and that makes you want to forge through with Tengo and Aomame. (Of course, I'm always the softy for a romance!). I'm looking forward to reading late into the night with an incredulous expression on my face, shaking my head.

Are any of you looking forward to 1Q84? What are your favorite Murakami works?