1Q84 is the latest book that I've read to date. I bought it with my free student voucher last year and only finishes it last week. It's really thick at 928 pages. That's why I took so long to finish reading it, on and off for a year.
I have never read Haruki Murakami's work before. I heard he's like a celebrity writer or something in Japan. While browsing for a book to spend my 200 ringgit voucher on, I read a few pages of 1Q84 and found it to be quite interesting. So I bought it for RM98.00.
The book tells a story of two persons, Aomame and Tengo which begin when Aomame climb down an emergency escape staircase next to a highway. Little that she now, the staircase led to a parallel world where there's two moon on the sky.
Now for the review. Murakami write very long and intricate details on every main character in the book. Sometimes he would write an entire chapter just telling about how Aomame enter a hotel and make her way to the 10th floor. If they make a movie out of this book, it's gonna be a short one because they script writer will have to condense everything in the book.
I find the book interesting for the first 500 pages. Then it started to drag too long, especially how Aomame and Tengo only get to meet in the final chapter of the book. I can't imagine how the Little People ought to look like but in my head I usually picture the seven dwarves in Snow White. That is also why I find the air chrysalis concept to be rather preposterous. Yeah I know this is a work of fiction but I feel Murakami failed to create a more cool or interesting concept.
Overall, I think 1Q84 is a decent effort by Haruki Murakami He spent four years finishing it. The introduction was interesting, the arch was okay but the ending was a bit anti-climax. I expected a grand finishing, something spectacular like maybe Ushikawa was Tengo's father or something. Instead they main characters made cross over leisurely to the real word and they lived happily ever after. Cliche.
This might just be my last paperback. Reading on my tablet is so much better. It's lighter and I can read anywhere, anytime including in the dark. Hello technology, so long tree-killers.
Verdict: ★★★
