From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

1Q84 (1Q84, #1-3)

Haruki Murakami,

Jay Rubin (Translator)

Start date: November 1, 2011

Finish date: December 31, 2011

Discussion: 2011 Reads

Why we're reading this: Secondary pick for overachievers!
[close] Secondary pick for overachievers!

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2011 Reads

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What Members Thought

Nov 13, 2011 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, post-apocalypse-and-dystopia, sword-and-laser, read2011, location-japan, sff-audio

This is my favorite of the Murakami books I've read (and I've read about half). Where I sometimes feel distant from or frustrated with his characters, I loved Aomame and Tengo, as well as several of the characters in their periphery. I loved the alternate reality. I loved how music permeated everything, and I listened to the works mentioned during most of my reading of the book (it starts with Janacek and moves through Haydn 'cello sonatas before touching on the St. Matthew Passion and Horowitz' ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2011 Brian rated it really liked it

(4.5) Really good, quite heavy (literally)

I read this in hardcover and it was quite a load to carry around, let alone hold up with one hand on the train. But totally worth it. You'll just have to read it to appreciate how intricate and entertaining the read is. You should probably read it as an ebook, though you might not enjoy the quirky features of the paper version:
* okay, really high quality paper that was a pleasure to page-turn (no, really, it's noticeable!)
* "1Q84" shows up in the center ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2011 Dave rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Finished Book 1. Not quite engrossing and shares many similarities with other Murakami books. Main female character is an assassin with a fondness for bald men (!!). Will take a break and get back to it in 2012.

Done with Book 2. Story seemed tighter but gradually gave way as well. Female characters seemed to be build from manga archetypes. There are some some lovely moments, such as a mini-story about the town of cats, but so much fluff to wade through with typical Murakami characters that are Finished Book 1. Not quite engrossing and shares many similarities with other Murakami books. Main female character is an assassin with a fondness for bald men (!!). Will take a break and get back to it in 2012.

Done with Book 2. Story seemed tighter but gradually gave way as well. Female characters seemed to be build from manga archetypes. There are some some lovely moments, such as a mini-story about the town of cats, but so much fluff to wade through with typical Murakami characters that are just full of longing. The two main characters pine for each other after a brief encounter when they were 10. Highly self-conscious writing, such as when characters talk about how a gun is used after it's introduced because of dear Chekov. Worst of all, only tangentially related to Orwell's 1984.

Book 3 was even more disappointing. The book now adds another viewpoint; a suspicious character who we are constantly reminded looks ugly and it not accepted in Japanese society. Also, the plot slows to a crawl, as both characters seem content to hideout. Plot threads are left dangling, and the prime focus is the supposed relationship between the two main characters, who held each other's hand briefly when they were 10.

I really wanted to like this book. Anybody who devotes their time to read such a huge tome would. In fact, there were interesting components; a doomsday cult led by a charismatic leader, a mysterious alternate Japan, shady gangster types, a matriarch determined to take revenge for the cause of abused women but Murakami drifts off to focus on the thin love affair between the two leads. There are wonderful moments, such as the story about a town of cats, or Tengo's Sundays wandering with his father to collect television subscription money, and bits of wonderful description, but those are few and far between. Instead what we get is some fairy tale about little people, and characters that are two-dimensional and quite unconvincing. Naturally, this being Murakami, there are little snippets of information, often utterly unconnected to the main story, but placed just to hopefully keep the reader interested. (I imagine these segments being read by Stephen Fry on QI; it helps).

I wanted to know more about the cult and I thought they would play more of a part in Book 3, when the threads started to come together. But sadly, they stay apart, and the whole book just drifts off towards a cringe-inducing conclusion. Overall, a vast disappointment. ...more

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Jan 21, 2012 travelgirlut rated it did not like it

Shelves: unfinished

Blech. I'm 40% of the way through this book and just can't do it. It's boring, repetitive detail followed by a sex scene then back to those same repetitive details. The writing isn't good. The story is weak. The characters all blend together. I have better things to do with my time. ...more

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