1Q84 Book Review - by Araina

1Q84 Review 1Q84 is a novel written by Haruki Murakami. This novel was recommended to me by a Hingetuationship (RIP) who described it as the “best love story” and boy did he lie.   

Structure/Organization 

1157 pages of pure rambling and gibberish later, I find myself entirely confused wondering “WTF did I just read?” The novel is split into 3 distinct “books”. Each chapter alternates POVS between the two main characters, while the third book unnecessarily adds the POV of an additional character who everyone hates. 

Despite these criticisms, chapter length was acceptable and rather enjoyable. Alternating the POV often helped keep the story fresh as misted fruit and engaging. It’s the kind of book you can carry with you anywhere to read when you have breaks in between the day. Well, this would be true if it weren’t so gargantuan and essentially equating to a hefty sack of “trying to be tastefully sensual and failing” nothingness. 

Aomame 

The story starts off with Aomame, a 30 year old woman who is stuck in traffic while on her way to an important meeting. The driver suggests to her an alternate choice: exiting the car while on the freeway and taking the emergency stair exit down, so she can still make it to her unspecified meeting. As she exits, the driver tells her “please remember: things are not what they seem.” He then goes on to elaborate how she has committed a spontaneous act and how “after you do something like that, the everyday look of things might seem to change a little…but don’t let appearances fool you. There’s always only one reality.” When Aomame makes it to her meeting, things quickly take a dark turn. Here Murakami steps on the gas, swiftly picking up the pace of the novel and sharply contrasting the earlier traffic jam. We learn Aomame was sent to assassinate a powerful man who has committed violent acts against his wife. She quickly and efficiently carries out this task by using her knowledge of the body and extensive assassination experience. 

Tengo 

Tengo is a 30 year old cram school teacher and part time writer. Living a rather mundane life, he suddenly gets pulled into a sea of troubles and the waves only continue to get harsher as they pull him further under. One day a 17 year old Fuka-Eri submitted a novel about air chrysalises, little people, and two moons to a writing competition. Tengo is asked by the editor to secretly revise the style so it can become a bestseller. Although reluctant at first, Tengo caves and agrees to rewrite the work because of the strong attraction he feels to the story. Unbeknownst to Tengo, the novel was based on stories of the cult Fuka-Eri escaped from. Publishing the novel angered the cult as it stopped them from being able to “hear the voices” that the religion was based off of. We follow Tengo and Fuka-Eri as their connection builds and the Sakigake-cult tries to stop the book's influence. 

Plot 

Aomame is asked to go on a mission to kill the Sakigake cult leader because of the heinous crimes he has committed against women, including his own daughter. Aomame agrees, even though she knows she may have to entirely change her identity and start a new life after killing such an authority figure. When she goes to kill him in a private hotel room, she assumes the role of an exercise coach who is there to help him relax his muscles. To her surprise, the leader actually asks to be put out of his misery. He explains how hearing the voices takes a severe toll on him, and Aomame agrees to kill him. After the murder, Aomame goes into hiding in an apartment while two men from Sakigake try to locate her as she has ruined the foundation of the cult. The cult's focus shifts from Tengo and the novel to making Aomame answer for what she has done. While in the apartment, Aomame spots Tengo in a park atop of a slide staring at the sky. She knows there is only one reason for a 30 year old man to be out so late in a park at the top of a slide staring at the sky: he is in an alternate reality where there are two moons in the sky, just like she is. She then realizes that when she exited the car on the freeway, she was sent into another world (the 1Q84) which was necessary for her to ever meet Tengo, the love of her life. Tengo has not spoken to Aomame in 20 years. The last time they saw each other was 5th grade. Tengo stood up for Aomame, and after class in the empty room she quietly held his hand. Aomame moved and naturally never saw him since, yet the two never loved anyone else. Perhaps they were destined to be lovers which was only made possible by entering this new world where they could finally reconnect by mere chance, fate, or destiny. The book ends by Aomame asking someone more powerful to reach out to Tengo, asking him to meet her at the slide. When they reunite she takes him back up the emergency exit as they run away together. In the end, they return to the original world reunited under one moon. 

Grievances 

Okay first off this book could have been 500 pages shorter I swear. Like I basically just wrote the whole book right now in two pages so SUCK ON THAT MURAKAMI. Also there were way too many erotic scenes that weren’t necessarily meant to be sensual but also kinda were. Murakmi is deffo an undercover weirdo and this book is a steller reflection of that. #ew WHY DOES THE THIRD BOOK NEED TO INCLUDE THE POV OF USHIKAWA. I understand that we needed to see the POV of Sakigake in some way to wrap up the book, but this honestly felt like such a random, lazy solution. Plus he’s a dumb roach who no one likes, his presence infected the pages like an unwelcome mold. Or maybe even a worm that slowly eats away at the book until you want to throw it against a wall. The main characters only met in the last 50 pages. Yes, that's right. So fuck you Shreyas for saying this was the best love story. Never trust an esoteric man because of course they will hype up a book about soul-tied lovers where there was actually no relationship development. Hinge men are players even when it comes to their taste in literature. Just like a cheap bottle of wine. There were so many unanswered questions at the end of the book. We never get to know the fate of Fuka-Eri or Sakigake. Additionally, there was a scene where an Air Chrysalis of Ushikawa was being built, and this was never elaborated on again. Essentially, the book was somehow way too long and yet also didn’t adequately discuss Aomame’s friends, Tengo’s mother, the nurse, and almost any other character besides Aomame and Tengo. Still, this somehow profoundly emphasizes that everyone is merely a background character to Aomame and Tengo’s story. All that mattered in the end was their connection, and everyone else was merely there to bring them together in this 1Q84. The characters didn’t go get Subway even once in the story? How could they resist when footlongs are only 5 dollars? 

Conclusion 

The connections in this book were endlessly intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed finding out how even the smallest connections led Aomame and Tengo together. To almost any reader, there lies joy in discovering the ways their two stories are connected. But the many unanswered questions in the novel cheapens the whole experience. I would describe it as drinking a Bubbly. You can just barely taste the flavor, the experience lasts too long, and only pretentious guys really probably enjoyed it. But I yearn to emulate pretentious men. And so, therefore, I would conclude this was the greatest literary experience of my non-self-effacing life.