Zhuhuan answers “i am struggling to finish reading this...”

Joshua Lee asked this question about 1Q84 (1Q84, #1-3):

i am struggling to finish reading this damn book. I can't stop due to the promise I made this year: Once start, finish the book. Haruki is an over valued writer.This is my thinking after reading several works of his. Am I only one thinking as this?

Zhuhuan You are definitely not the only one. I am Chinese and have lived in Japan for a while, so I could probably say that I am the kind of person who unders…moreYou are definitely not the only one. I am Chinese and have lived in Japan for a while, so I could probably say that I am the kind of person who understands more than other foreigners, especially readers in western countries.

Haruki's books are trendy among my Scandinavian friends, and they do like the way he tells the story in parallel lines in 1Q84. Here the other thing I feel is that his books are also good access for them to perceive Japanese culture and society. But actually for me, it is really nothing special and I am 100 percents sure I have had much more insightful stories than his.

What I could conclude is it depends on the readers' background as well as taste. In a very general way, his book could be an errorless one to get started with Asian literature. It is also very interesting to compare how eastern Asian writers tell stories in a more subtle and cryptic tone while more satires and significant ironic tones used in the western. (less)

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