From the Bookshelf of Reading the Chunksters…

1Q84 (1Q84, #1-3)

Haruki Murakami,

Jay Rubin (Translator)

Start date: December 31, 2019

Finish date: April 30, 2020

Discussion: 1Q84

Discussion leader: Dianne

Why we're reading this: Winter 2020 Contemporary selection
[close] Winter 2020 Contemporary selection

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1Q84

* 1Q84 - Chapters 1-4
By Dianne · 34 posts · 103 views

last updated Feb 24, 2020 07:28AM

1Q84 - Book 2: chapters 20-24
By Linda · 7 posts · 23 views

last updated Jul 09, 2020 09:40AM

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What Members Thought

Jun 04, 2017 Cindy Newton rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books

Since I don't really read reviews about books before I read them (afraid of spoilers), I missed the advice to NOT start reading Murakami with this book. I don't know, maybe that would have helped. I know that most people greatly enjoyed this book, with some of my friends marking it as a favorite, but it just didn't work that great for me. I liked the characters, the storyline, the writing style--it was just too long. And this is coming from someone for whom the sight of a chunkster is like a sir Since I don't really read reviews about books before I read them (afraid of spoilers), I missed the advice to NOT start reading Murakami with this book. I don't know, maybe that would have helped. I know that most people greatly enjoyed this book, with some of my friends marking it as a favorite, but it just didn't work that great for me. I liked the characters, the storyline, the writing style--it was just too long. And this is coming from someone for whom the sight of a chunkster is like a siren's song.

The first half of the book, I was captivated. The plot was moving slowly but steadily forward. Each chapter ended in a mini-cliffhanger, and I was enjoying getting to know Aomame and Tengo at this slow pace. Gradually, though, the pace slowed even more, until it was non-existent. Suddenly, we had all of the main characters--ALL--holed up in individual hiding places. Fuka-Eri is hiding in Tengo's apartment ALONE. Aomame is hiding in a safe house apartment ALONE. Tengo is in a different town, spending every day at the bedside of his comatose father, ALONE (except for the nurses). There were pages and pages of this, with the characters doing nothing. Oh, yeah, except they were doing something--they were reflecting on the stuff that had already happened and that we had already been over many, many times.

I realize that a book has lost me when I stop wondering what happens next and just wonder what happens at the end. That's my signal that I am completely bored with what is happening now and just want it to be over. My personal principles do not allow me to flip to the last page, read it, and be done with it. Would that I could! When I did read through some reviews last night, I could completely identify with the ones (and there were several) that spoke of their intense desire to "just finish it!"

I did like the story--I did. That liking, that investment, was marred and buried beneath the ever-growing boredom brought on by the almost complete inactivity of the second half. Again, I LOVE big books. It just makes me sad that he had all that room, all those pages, all those words--and he chose to do so little with them. Most of my favorite books are behemoths like this one, and many are universally admired. When I go back and try to sum up those stories, even the summary is long and detailed because SO MUCH HAPPENED. I could sum up this story in a paragraph. It would be an interesting paragraph, but still just a paragraph.

I fully intend to read more of Murakami's work. I do believe he is a talented writer. Hopefully, I will have a different reaction to his other works. This is just my opinion, and I'm well aware that I'm in the minority. If you're reading this before reading the book, do not let this deter you. The odds are in your favor! ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Nov 03, 2011 MichelleCH rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fic, scifi-fantasy, group-reads, kindle, japan, dystopian, around-the-world-in-80-books

3.5**

This is a very hard review to write. I really wanted to like Murakami and this book was a lengthy intro.

I found it difficult to get into the overall flow; there were so many pieces of the story that I thought would later be relevant but were placed into the narrative in a way that I would characterize as red herrings. I get that red herrings can be interesting to the reader, but too many make my head spin. Cults, multiple moons, strange nurses, kidnappings,dyslexia, clones, there's lots goi ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2014 Nicola rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books

I was rather disappointed by this book and I'm not often. Usually I like a book or I don't and that's that. In this case though I felt it could have been so much more and wasn't.

* Some of the idea's were great but they weren't carried through enough; so much so indeed that I had to wonder if the author himself had thought it through or was just throwing in mysterious crap to spice the book up.

* There were some interesting characters but lots of rather dull ones including one major character who ...more

2 likes · Like · see review