Book Review: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Tengo is a Mathematics teacher and a writer who is asked to re write a book, which is a crime. And if it comes out, his life will be over. Through writing this book he is sucked into another world. Then there is Aomame, who is a yoga instructor at a club, whose side occupation is very different. They both were class mates in elementary school and had a deep connection. They left school but never stopped loving each other. Aomame is sucked into another world on the way to one of her jobs. Now the question is, will Aomame and Tengo get to meet each other in the real world ? Which one is the real world ? And how are both the worlds different from each other ? 

Published: 2011
Author: Haruki Murakami
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, 

Goodreads: 1Q84

Amazon: 1Q84



When I started the book, I really liked it. It was very slow but I still stuck with it and read every single word. I loved the way Haruki Murakami writes. All the imagery and the similes used were excellent. I even liked the story and was really looking forward as to how the story will progress.  And that is where things got bad. As a writer, I learnt a lot from this book. But as a reader, I was hugely disappointed.

Firstly, why the hell did Murakami need 920 pages to write a story that could be written in 100 pages ? And do not even get me started on the repetition. I can understand an author describing something in detail. But I refuse to understand Murakami writing the exact same thing over and over and over again.This book literally tried my patience and at one point I gave up on reading it. I believe this is the longest it has taken for me to read a book, which has been about 40 days. Let me do a victory dance and come back to this review.

 I did not understand the story. I failed to understand what a Dohta or a Maza is. What is an Air Chrysalis ?  The world 1Q84 did not make sense at all. It just did not appeal to me. I failed to find a connection. At one point I felt like I was reading horror. And the little people. They are very creepy. There is no background of their existence which makes you wonder about what you are reading.

You know that feeling when you want to shake someone and literally force something down someone throat, that is what I wanted to with the author. I wanted to shove some sense into him. So Murakami writes in the book that things that are introduced for the first time to the people, should be described in detail. He wrote about it yet he did not do that. He did not explain anything about the Little People. Who were they ? Where did they come from ? He did not explain the connection they have between the two worlds or their motives. Why did they do what they did ? Why do they want to hurt Aomame ? Things were done in the book without the explanation behind it. It was such a loop holed story.

The love story between Tengo and Aomame was appealing for the first 400 pages but then it turned into something really disgusting and unreal. Maybe I just did not understand the book. But nevertheless, I did not like it despite trying my best. If you are dragging on a story, at least do the courtesy of making it worth wile.

All the history of Sakigake was very interesting but again, it was left hanging in the end. He told the history but forgot the present. What did they do in the present ? This story could have been a master piece but it was boring as hell. And on top of boring, it did not make sense.

I do not mind slow books if the story is good or if the ending is awesome. And I kept hoping that something like this would happen but nope. All the side characters are just left hanging. The only reason I finished it was because I wanted to know the ending and how everything falls into place, which it never does.

 This book has given me a headache. It is safe to say that I will not be picking up a Murakami book again.

...SAP...