Challenge: 50 Books discussion
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1Q84
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Group Read-March 2014-1Q84
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I'm working out a schedule, but roughly my plan is to break the novel up into two weeks per book, ending in mid-April.Book One: March 1-14
Book Two: March 15-28
Book Three: March29-April 11
I am generally posting via iphone, so, please, bear with me as I figure out the nuances of running a group read.
*Remember to hide your spoilers.*
*Please be courteous in language and intention as you post.*
Thank you.
I'm really glad this novel was chosen. I bought a copy last year. I've wanted to read it but was intimidated by the size so it's just been sitting on my bookshelf. Now I have a excuse to attempt it.
Lol! I did exactly the same thing!! The daunting size is the reason we'll take 6 weeks. :)
Mod
I did The same! Took on a plane And was overwhelmed by its size. Pulling it. out And dusting it off.
The Q is for "question mark."March has just begun and true to form has come into my town like a lion. Or, perhaps, an ice sculpture of a lion. I am procrastinating on taking a shovel to my driveway, so I thought I'd toss out a discussion question. Since I've only just begun to read, I thought we'd start with something general.
Murakami often writes about alternate realities. Often just at the edge of our own, beyond the mirror, the tv screen, the depth of the forest... These realities await the curious, the sensitive, the observant, the driven. They are tantalizingly close. So close, and so delicately rendered that the reader can almost feel the shiver of them waiting to be discovered. When your imagination is on Murakami-time, what everyday events or objects give you a little shiver of the possibilities?
For me, it's the moment before I turn on the light in a completely darkened room. I know what I'm going to see, but before I can actually confirm the mental picture, there's the shivery "potential" of something else. Anyone else care to confess???
I read this book a few months ago and although I liked his concepts it was just too long winded and repetitious to me that it left me breathing a sigh of relief when I was eventually done. But I know so many people loved it so it may be my ADD getting in the way here. I'd love to see what others have to say about this book.
I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first book. I'm kind of sick of Aomame talking about her body. Especially her "uneven" breasts. That being said I'm enjoying it. There are a lot of odd characters.
That's one of the things I love about Murakami. His characters are fascinating. :)
I've finished book 1. I get the feeling I know how Aomame and Tengo may be connected. I'll wait to see if I'm correct before I post more.I'm really creaped out by the "little people". I don't know what they are, but they don't sound good. I'm also curious to learn more about the Sakigake commune and what's really going on there.
I already finished 1Q84 last year, and my first Murakami's novel ever ( I know I am sooooo late). Since then, I started to obsess with Murakami's. I read his very first written novella, and now I'am already on his 7th novel. Well, looking how I'm obsessed with Murakami's because 1Q84, I guess I can review that this the smartest fiction book I ever read. The character and plot are odd (read : beyond make sense), but somehow still real and possible. I love the mix feeling linger on me after I read 1Q84. Up until now, I still remeber the plot and it is a very good sign for me because sometime I have short term memory loss on so-so books.
Mod
This is my favorite murakami's novel of all. I already read after dark, norway no mori, dansu dansu dansu, hard boiled wonderland and the end of the world, south of the sun bla bla bla... I forgot the name tough it's good, well no, it's great, sputnik sweetheart, etc. And you know what? 1Q84 is the only one so far that had a happy ending. His novels usually end up with the man being left out or dead or any other depressed ending. Hahh... I wish it would continue this way, but by preview of tsukuru tazaki that I've read, I think 1Q84 would be the only one that had happy ending.
Novellina-I had my Murakami obsession a couple of years ago. Like you I read as many novels as I could, one after another. Now I'm pacing myself. I don't wNt to run out!
Carol-
Don't despair! It took me a little while to get into The Wind-up Bird Chronicles.but once I did, I was hooked. If 1Q84 doesn't work for you, try Norwegian Wood. It's much shorter and less fantastical. I do agree that it's hard to connect with these characters so far. I'm only a few chapters in, though, so I'm hoping I will connect more as their stories progress.
I-
I don't think of Murakami endings as depressing. Some are ambivalent, some a bit sad, some happy for some characters but not all. And those that have a sadder ending than I'd hoped for, give me so much to think about that I'm still happy I read them.
Lately, I have been doing a lot of my reading electronically and through audio versions. I'm reading 1Q84 in actual, physical book form and it's such a luxury!
Just finished reading the scene where Aomame picks up the businessman. Her thoughts made me laugh. I've got a love-hate relationship with the switch in voice between Tengo and Aomame at every chapter. I just get into the rhythm of one character when the chapter ends. Sure hope it pays off in the end.
I finished the book last night. I really wanted to know what was going to happen so I just plowed through. I didn't mindthe switching points of view. Though there were times when I preferred Tengo's storyline and wanted to hear more from him and other times when I preferred Aomame's. I never really connected with either character. But I was interested to learn what would happen to them. It was this interest that kept me reading.
I am 100% sure I've been pronouncing Aomame wrong in my head the entire book.
Carol wrote: "I'm really struggling with 1Q84, I'm having to force myself to read one chapter everyday. This is my first Murakami novel and so far I don't think I'll be reading another. I just find it very I'm n..."I felt the same way when reading the first book. However, the story gets more interesting once you get into book two.
Like I said above I never really connected with the characters either. Maybe its because a lot of the characters struggle to express emotion, even in their internal dialogue. However, that did not stop me from enjoying the novel. The story is what kept me reading, not the characters.
I love that Aomame means green peas and people would forget and call her Edamame. A Funny little touch.
Carol wrote: "I'm really struggling with 1Q84, I'm having to force myself to read one chapter everyday. This is my first Murakami novel and so far I don't think I'll be reading another. I just find it very I'm n..."You aren't the only one. I read it last year and despite the awesome reviews I was just glad to be done by the end. The character development was odd, I liked certain aspects of them but couldn't connect on an emotional level.
Mod
I just finished the Book 1 portion and I'm on the fence. I like the characters and I want to find out what happens to them, but there is something about the "Little People" that bugs me. There was a sort of ethereal, mystical quality to the story for me. Then the Little People come out and make it weird. I'm going to have to take a break from this book and decide if I want to finish. Guess I'll move on to 1984 for now.
Fair enough, I'm a bit behind so the little people have been mentioned but haven't shown themselves.
I've just finished the chapter on Tengo's childhood. Such a lonely boy. So sad.
Well, it's April 11, which was the scheduled date for finishing 1Q84. Personally, I'm still working on it. How is everyone else doing with it?
Mod
book 2 read faster than 1 for me, but now slowing down on book 3. Hoping to finish soon, but I am not so sure
While the book was interesting, it is one of the few times I can honestly say, I don't care what happens to the characters at the end of the book. I finished the book more because of the time I had already invested but the characters were not identifiable and I didn't find myself rooting for any of them.
Synopsis from GoodReads:
"The long-awaited magnum opus from Haruki Murakami, in which this revered and bestselling author gives us his hypnotically addictive, mind-bending ode to George Orwell's 1984.
The year is 1984. Aomame is riding in a taxi on the expressway, in a hurry to carry out an assignment. Her work is not the kind that can be discussed in public. When they get tied up in traffic, the taxi driver suggests a bizarre 'proposal' to her. Having no other choice she agrees, but as a result of her actions she starts to feel as though she is gradually becoming detached from the real world. She has been on a top secret mission, and her next job leads her to encounter the superhuman founder of a religious cult. Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange disturbance that develops over a literary prize. While Aomame and Tengo impact on each other in various ways, at times by accident and at times intentionally, they come closer and closer to meeting. Eventually the two of them notice that they are indispensable to each other. Is it possible for them to ever meet in the real world?"