21 replies to this topic

[bd_monkey]

I just finished 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. First thought, gosh it's a freakn' long book. Looking back at it, it feels that it was maybe 200 pages too long. In some chapters the characters basically did the same things as in some other previous chapter. With that gripe aside, I actually really liked the book. Given that it was so long, when I returned day after day to the book, it felt like I was coming back somewhere familiar. It gave some odd comfort to just come back to Aomame’s or Tengo’s apartment. I am quite glad I was able to see this one to the end. It was quite a pleasant read.

[The Argobot]

Really been meaning to read this book; ever since I read Kafka on the Shore, I've wanted to get more into Murakami. If you've read his other work, how does 1Q84 compare?

[Kroms]

I've read two Murakami books: A Wild Sheep Chase ("weird" is the word that comes to mind) and South of the Border, West of the Sun (which I can't be objective about, since it closely mirrors something of my old life; but Murakami has a gift for capturing mood and feeling, which he takes to full advantage here).

[nateberna]

I enjoyed it. There is a strong feeling of the passage of time, and the subtle but important shifts in mood that that brings. It's almost imperceptible as you read, because the pace is relatively slow. I found the rhythm of the writing lovely and it ebbed and flowed in a very natural way. I read the book after I left my last job and started working from home, so the book matched well to my life as I felt I could relate to the isolation that the characters felt. For that reason, the book has a special place in my mind.

[bd_monkey]

I enjoyed it. There is a strong feeling of the passage of time, and the subtle but important shifts in mood that that brings. It's almost imperceptible as you read, because the pace is relatively slow. I found the rhythm of the writing lovely and it ebbed and flowed in a very natural way. I read the book after I left my last job and started working from home, so the book matched well to my life as I felt I could relate to the isolation that the characters felt. For that reason, the book has a special place in my mind.

Yeah, that loneliness was one of the things that kept me going. The entire time, I was just waiting for something to work out for them. It made the times that the characters spent with other people that much more interesting. Specifically Aomame's time at the dowagers estate.

[bd_monkey]

I've also read Norwegian Wood. The pacing also seem quite deliberate. He has a great way of making the reader get to know the main characters. It too was a great read

[nateberna]

Yeah, that loneliness was one of the things that kept me going. The entire time, I was just waiting for something to work out for them. It made the times that the characters spent with other people that much more interesting. Specifically Aomame's time at the dowagers estate.

That's a great point. I don't want to drive the discussion towards video games, but I think that's a quality good first person shooters share. Rather than a constant bombardment of battles, you have decent stretches of quiet, lonely areas. Off the top of my head, HL2 is a great example of this sort of pacing, and a big part of the reason I didn't enjoy Killzone 2.

[Chris]

Really been meaning to read this book; ever since I read Kafka on the Shore, I've wanted to get more into Murakami. If you've read his other work, how does 1Q84 compare?

I had only read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle before 1Q84, and I ended up not actually finishing 1Q84. I got about halfway through. I basically always finish reading fiction, too. It's incredibly rare for me to just stop. It just went on too long. I didn't feel like I was getting anything out of it past a certain point.

[The Argobot]

I had only read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle before 1Q84, and I ended up not actually finishing 1Q84. I got about halfway through. I basically always finish reading fiction, too. It's incredibly rare for me to just stop. It just went on too long. I didn't feel like I was getting anything out of it past a certain point.

That's a shame. I heard that Norwegian Wood was really good, and I think I have a copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle somewhere. Maybe I'll just stick to those two. I really hate having to give up on a book once I've already started reading it.

[Scipio]

That's a shame. I heard that Norwegian Wood was really good, and I think I have a copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle somewhere. Maybe I'll just stick to those two. I really hate having to give up on a book once I've already started reading it.

Wind-Up bird is p. incredible, if that's sitting around unread I'd go for that first.

I was thinking of making 1Q84 my holiday read, does anyone have any experience with the kindle version? Or rather, is there anything in the text that would make it obviously unsuitable for that.

[idesofapril]

That's a shame. I heard that Norwegian Wood was really good, and I think I have a copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle somewhere. Maybe I'll just stick to those two. I really hate having to give up on a book once I've already started reading it.

Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle are both quite good. I prefer the latter to the former, but they're both worth your time. I've noticed a lot of people dislike After Dark, but I'm quite fond of it and it's a pretty short read so you should check that out too!

I also was unable to get very far into 1Q84. It's hard for me to articulate it intelligently and accurately (it's been a while since I've re-read any of Murakami's novels, my first crack at 1Q84 was my most recent exposure), but it seems like 1Q84 is derivative of Murakami's previous works, especially in terms of characterization; we see protagonists who, for the most part, live relatively normal lives and do relatively normal things (if one can consider assassination "normal"), but do so in an extremely surreal and dangerous world which borderlines on fantasy and yet remain unflappable and even find time to wax philosophically about one thing or the other. I would love a Murakami protagonist that acknowledged the madness of her reality instead of cooking spaghetti, listening to jazz, and pontificating.

I was thinking of making 1Q84 my holiday read, does anyone have any experience with the kindle version? Or rather, is there anything in the text that would make it obviously unsuitable for that.

I don't have any experience with the Kindle version, but I know I hate having to take my hard copy of 1Q84 off the bookshelf. The dust jacket is basically this thin parchment paper and I'm always afraid of completely destroying the damn thing! There's a paperback boxset that looks pretty sweet, though, and it divides the story up into three books (similar to how it was published in Japan, I guess). I would get that, or the Kindle version if space/weight is an issue.

[bd_monkey]

Wind-Up bird is p. incredible, if that's sitting around unread I'd go for that first.

I was thinking of making 1Q84 my holiday read, does anyone have any experience with the kindle version? Or rather, is there anything in the text that would make it obviously unsuitable for that.

The Kindle version is fine. That's where i read it

[bd_monkey]

As far as being to long. I took a break half way for week, and reread a short book. Dose any have an opinion on take breaks in the middle books either way?

[The Argobot]

I take breaks during books all the time, sometimes for long stretches. Like I mentioned earlier, I really hate to not finish a book once I've started to read it, so I'm willing to put a book down for a few months if that's what will help me eventually get through it. As I long remember the characters and the basic plot of what I've already read, taking a break has never been a problem.

[The Argobot]

Also, this seems pretty relevant:

http://www.vulture.c...obel-prize.html

[vimes]

Before 1Q84, I had only read from Murakami 'Kafka on the Shore', his interview oriented 'Underground' and a collection of short stories 'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman'.

I like the eerie atmosphere and melancholy of his world, but it works better in his short stories for me. I enjoyed Kafka a lot, but both it and 1Q84 are disappoiintely designed to tie everything together in the end. It's sad, because I feel ike each of the stories could inform the other without having to be actually related. On top of that, 1Q84 also features a collage of heteregenous and sometimes new age mythos which feels very tacky to me.

There are very good elements in 1Q84 though, but the whole works often felt to me like an grotesque version of Murakami more sublte works .

[binhoker]

I likes aspects of underground, was fairly ambivalent about Wild sheep chase and one other of his I read whose name escapes me ( perhaps wind up bird chronicle?). I never really did see anything in his books beyond a silky nipponoweirdness.

[vimes]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "nipponoweirdness" but you might want to check 'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman': the short stories have less of the 'fantasy' element but retain Murakami's style; so the result is better IMO.
edit: reworded because the original might have sounded agressive.

[binhoker]

I'l check "blind willow.." out at some point, I do like the idea of Murakami more than I have enjoyed any of his work, but then I'm hardly his audience as I find little merit in magical realism and can't make it more than two pages into any fantasy work without sending the tome windmilling across the room.

[bd_monkey]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "nipponoweirdness" but you might want to check 'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman': the short stories have less of the 'fantasy' element but retain Murakami's style; so the result is better IMO.
edit: reworded because the original might have sounded agressive.

If you are looking for some good shorter no fantasy with Murakami's style, you should definitely check out Norwegian Wood.