{"id":7053,"date":"2025-11-24T09:29:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T14:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.laserfarm.com\/?p=7053"},"modified":"2025-11-24T09:29:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T14:29:54","slug":"book-review-1q84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.laserfarm.com\/?p=7053","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: 1Q84"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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1Q84,<\/em><\/strong> by Haruki Murakami<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know a book is going to be complex when you need to look up how to pronounce the title. Looks like most people say, \u201c1-cue-8-4.\u201d I call it, \u201cThat Q number book thing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the second Murakami book I\u2019ve read, and I liked it a lot. Do I understand it? Hahaha\u2026yes. But I\u2019m sworn to secrecy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story follows two protagonists, a young man and young woman, who get transported to an alternate reality. Everything is mostly normal\u2026until it\u2019s not. The two characters spend most of the (long) book apart, but there is a connection between them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s tough to explain. But as complex as the story gets, it\u2019s never difficult to read. Once again, Murakami shows his powers as a masterful writer. Simple sentences suddenly take abstract twists and turns and before you know it, you\u2019re reading about tiny mythical people who spin cocoons out of air and your brain says, \u201cYep, this all seems legit. I shall keep reading this normal story.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know how he does it! It\u2019s almost hypnotic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book is long and has a lot of ideas, but it\u2019s not dense in the way that Infinite Jest<\/em> is dense. Infinite Jest <\/em>often reads like a smarty-pants college thesis, but 1Q84<\/em> often reads like a breezy dream. The biggest problem is that Murakami makes it look easy. So many would-be writers probably think they can be just as wild as him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s my attempt at Murakami magical realism:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello,\u201d said the man.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re here,\u201d said the woman, as she turned into an umbrella. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that easy, folks\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Almost Thanksgiving! Please donate to my Reading is Fundamental campaign and help spread the joy or reading to those who need it!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n