I
finally got around to reading 1Q84 after probably just about every
other Murakimi fan in the English-speaking world had already read it. Like
Murakami’s prose, I’m not in that much of a hurry usually. The publication of 1Q84 in English was a huge
event, just as it had been in Japan - such is the impact Murakami has on
literature culture. Murakami deserves the attention because one of the great
things about his writing is that when you first discover him you can feel
invigorated by his unique sensibility and style. 1Q84 certainly has its
share of such quality moments, but unfortunately it also suffers from over
familiarity and a sense of over-stretching on the author’s part.
1Q84 was published as three
books in one – a huge 925 pages of pure Murakami. This is both its strength and
its weakness. To try and describe the plot of 1Q84 is perhaps folly;
fortunately it is enough to know that it contains most of Murakami’s typical
tropes and obsessions. Once again Murakami has set a book in the 1980’s and I
wonder why he is so fixated with this period. Perhaps it represents a lost
‘innocent’ era when the web didn’t exist, there were very few mobile phones,
vinyl records still sold in their millions and pop music was arguably far less
cynical and self conscious.
1Q84 bears all the
hallmarks of Murakami’s distinctive style. The narrative quite often has a
glacial pace, with plenty of nuance and space. There is also the usual peculiar
attention to mundane details about the character’s lives, such as what they
eat, and how they prepare their food. Sometimes I wonder if Murakami has
Aspergers Syndrome, such is his obsessive attention to detail! Logically it’s
more likely that it is a device that helps build tension between the ordinary
and the preternatural.
Typically
for a Murakami narrative both the main protagonists are in their early 30’s.
This is a symbolic age for Murakami characters – an in between age; too old to
be innocent and yet too young to be wise. Aomame is a distinctly strange woman,
an ex member of a religious cult turned murderess. Tengo is a writer, teacher
and is one of Murakami’s lonely men. For all 1Q84’s strangeness it is
essentially a love story between these two characters. Their connection is
interwoven into the plot, acting as a counterpoint to the obtuse weirdness that
percolates through their otherwise every-day lives.
Another
hallmark of Murakami’s writing is his tendency to have unresolved narrative
arcs, and there’s plenty on offer here. 1Q84 is a mysterious novel and the
more you try and make sense of it the more it slips away. But it is useful to
remember that Murakami still flies the flag for post-modernism and there are
multiple interpretations of 1Q84 that could all be equally valid.
As
much as I love Murakami’s writing I found 1Q84 to be a frustrating experience.
The first book lures you in with Aomeme’s literal descent into an alternate
reality in which two moons hang in the sky. Then there is the mystery of the
Air Chrysalis book written by Fuka-Eri, a member of a cloistered mountain cult.
Tengo and Aomame are trapped in the realm of the Little People, a place that
Aomeme calls 1Q84.
The
second book maintains a disturbing tension. We watch helplessly as Tengo’s life
becomes compromised by unexplained events. Aomeme works towards fulfilling her
destiny as a bringer of justice. New characters are introduced, such as
Ushikawa, a sinister man with an ugly oversized bobble – like head. The mystery
of the Little People deepens. The second book is vintage Murakami - weird and strangely compelling
despite the slow motion narrative.
The
third book is left with the job of tying up all the loose ends leftover from
the first two, but then does its best to leave mysteries unexplained and
plotlines unresolved. The main problem with the third book is that the
protagonists spend inordinate amounts of time holed up contemplating their
situation. The normally glacial pace is slowed even further and finishing 1Q84 becomes a matter of
tenacity on the part of the reader. Unfortunately the ending is, well,
disappointing. For a book that demands such a huge investment in time it’s a
pity that 1Q84’s endgame lacks tension and is almost unapologetically
banal.
Normally
I don’t draw attention to the rating system I use, but 1Q84 is essentially three
books published as one. The first book borders on being excellent, but I’ll
give it an admirable rating. The second book is excellent and I wish that
Murakami had wrapped it up then and there. The third book is mediocre due to
its slow pace, lack of tension and an unsatisfactory resolution. Murakami will
shortly have a new novel published, so I’m hoping that it will be a return to
form because despite my relative disappointment, he’s still worth reading.
