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1Q84
Group Reads Discussions 2012
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"1Q84" First impressions *no spoilers*
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How did I miss this? For once I actually have the book of the month at home - will start reading tonight :-)
Rita wrote: "How did I miss this? For once I actually have the book of the month at home - will start reading tonight :-)"Awesome! I'm looking forward to starting it too :)
I just bought mine today. I didn't know it would double so well as a cinder block, or a doorstop. I think I will read the other group read before I start this one, so I can devote my whole reading attention to it and make sure I finish it in time :).
Wow. No waiting list at my library for the e-book! Only read the first chapter last night before my body decided to play catch-up from insomnia. But I really enjoyed the setup.
Kyle wrote: "I just bought mine today. I didn't know it would double so well as a cinder block, or a doorstop."Kim did try to warn the group that they were picking another massive book this month :) The Lies of Locke Lamora is a really fun quick read so you should still have plenty of time to read this one before the month is out!
This is my favorite book of all time, so I may do a reading this month since I nominated the book.
So far I'm enjoying this one. It's a little bolder in some aspects than I was expecting. But that's all I'm going to say for now. No Spoilers. :)
I only got to read 12 pages yesterday evening (first chapter), and must say that I like the setting/atmosphere! :) Hoping to get to read more tonight/in the weekend. (I don't bring it-for now at least- while i am commuting, it's too darn heavy!)
Mine's split into three parts, and I hope I'll have time to read the first this month, at least (I'm in the middle of moving house, so reading time is hard to come by).
I read this last year when the English translation came out, and plan to read it again. Murakami's a great writer, all-things-considered. As I remember, the last book drags a little. Sputnik Sweetheart is my favorite Murakami--but there's enough of that in all his original fiction to keep them interesting.
I read this earlier this year and I loved it. It may take a while to read it but stick with it, it's well worth the time!
I'm a fan of Murakami, all his works are special and I enjoyed 1Q84 specially because it was endless... and as always Haruki Murakami is a wonderful narrator.
I'm really liking it so far; I've heard a lot of good things about it. I'm very excited to finally be reading this!
Liz: "Wow. No waiting list at my library for the e-book!" - Thanks for the idea, I'm first on the wait list.
Just started this book, and have read the first couple of chapters. My biggest impression so far, is of the quality of the translation. Now, I don't know Japanese, but one thing I notice with a lot of translated books, is that they sometimes read like they're translated. This book, however, feels more real and genuine, as though the author actually wrote it in English.I like it, so far. The author likes to lay on some heavy description, but I don't feel like they hold back the plot. This could change as I read more and more, but so far the book has made a good first impression.
Kyle, Interestingly enough, Murakami has translated many English books into Japanese. When reading his works in English (since I can't read Japanese) I often wonder how much of his phrasings and style comes from the translators and how much are the linguistic choices that he makes. Take the phrase 'married girlfriend'. In this book, it shows up so often and to me it seems so out of place. Is there a word for 'married girlfriend' in Japanese that does not translate to English or is it just the phrase Murakami chose to describe her. (Did I mention how happy I am that we are reading Murakami this month?)
I can't think of another Japanese author more accessible to an American audience. He uses the expression "I wonder" a lot (in English, which sounds quite quirky) that I assume is the translation of かな, which is more of a placeholder for internal reflection. That's an interesting question about "married girlfriend." Are we forced to just make up a word (married girlfriend). Do we have an English expression for anything so specific, which doesn't use the actual words? If I had to guess, I think I'd try 既婚の恋人 or 不法の恋人 (married lover, or illegal sweetheart). I suppose though, because the kanji have meaning, we (English-speakers who know a little Japanese) like to make up Japanese words that don't exist. I like that about Japanese: words that don't exist can still make sense.
I'm about 10% in and finding it very good so far. The style is interesting and I have also asked myself how much of it is influenced or changed in the translation. At this point I don't feel like I've lost much reading a translation rather than the original. There have been a number of really beautiful lines and I'm enjoying the story more than I might have expected to. Glad the group chose this book!
I wish I had more time to be reading this book. Normally I read during my daily commute, but my copy of the book (hard-cover) is so big, that it just doesn't work carrying with me every day. So when I'm lucky I read during weekends when time allows.I also noticed the high quality work of the translation, made a private note on that which I plan on use for my review, when I eventually finish reading it...
Rita wrote: "I wish I had more time to be reading this book. Normally I read during my daily commute, but my copy of the book (hard-cover) is so big, that it just doesn't work carrying with me every day. So whe..."I'm so glad to be reading it in ebook form because it is huge! I don't blame you for not lugging it around on your daily commute. If you're the kind of person who can read more than one book at a time, then that's ok. I'm not so good at that.
I agree that the translation is really really good. I look forward to reading your thoughts about it when you post a review :)
audry wrote: "Kyle, Interestingly enough, Murakami has translated many English books into Japanese. When reading his works in English (since I can't read Japanese) I often wonder how much of his phrasings and ..."Before this month, I had never even heard of Haruki Murakami. So I'm glad I'm able to expand my author horizon a bit further :)
I actually found out Haruki Murakami through another group's book of the month read when 1Q84 came out last October. So last Decemeber I went to library and borrowed a few of his books, and quickly feel in love with him. I bought and read 1Q84 Christmas week, and the book quickly became my #1 favorite book of all time.
What a strange book so far...
David wrote: "I can't think of another Japanese author more accessible to an American audience. He uses the expression "I wonder" a lot (in English, which sounds quite quirky) that I assume is the translation of..."Apologies for the slight tangent, but I recently read his other book Kafka on the Shore and I was (greatly) irritated by the use of "bucks" as in something cost 5 bucks (rather than saying something cost 500 yen). Are you aware if there is a slang term in Japanese for "bucks"?
But 1Q84 was my first Murakami novel (I had only read his short stories). And I loved this book. This one in particular makes me feel like it could be set in any big city (and less Japanese, but in a positive or at least neutral way).
And yes, since he also speaks English, I think he has a lot more say in the English translation than most foreign authors.
I'm a little more than half way through and I'm finding it very hard to describe what I think of it. It's unusual in terms of the characters, plot and style but I'm fascinated and can't put it down. I do find my reaction to 1Q84 rather strange, but I'm ignoring that for now and hoping that by the end I'll better understand how I feel. I don't usually recommend books before I've finished them but I've already told friends they should read this.
I borrowed it from my library and am about a quarter of the way through. Very interesting so far. I do occasionally forget that this is Japan and 1984. Then something reminds me. For some reason my brain keeps doing "some years in the future" instead of almost 30 years in the past. So when there is discussion about characters and what they were doing in the 60's and 70's my brain goes "just how old are you!?!"
“Five bucks.” It must be referencing a colloquialism for a “small amount” rather than “Yen” in general (maybe the name of the person on the bill—like a “Benjamin” or a “dead president”).His protagonists often reference western music—in a kind of recurring homage. It was Norwegian Wood (I believe) where he cites a number of western pop songs accessible to a protagonist of Murakami’s age (they’re almost always Murakami’s age) and included The Sukiyaki Song (1963, in the US), which of course has nothing to do with sukiyaki. I thought it was a little odd that Gabriel (I think they met at Harvard and he does all Murakami’s English translations) didn’t use a more literal rendering of the song title (上を向いて歩こう—naming it “The Sukiyaki Song” in America always struck me as a little insulting). Since I’m Murakami’s age, I remember The Sukiyaki Song. How many other readers would know what it is without Googling?
Futabatei Shimei is also very accessible to American readers; although he's a Meiji writer, and not as polished as Murakami.
Aomame chats up the Kansai salary man and comments on his accent. There are a number of Japanese comedians identified with their Kansai accents; and, of course, Murakami is also from Kansai (does he still have a Kansai accent? is his hair starting to thin? does he have a nicely shaped head?). This time through, I'm struck by how deeply Murakami identifies with all his characters. I can sense Murakami inside the skin of his characters.I remember James Dickey being asked if he identified with his character Bobby Trippe (Deliverance) and he replied that he identified with all of his characters, including the two hill billies.
I don't think you have to love your characters, but you do have to respond to them emotionally. Murakami takes this to the next level where the boundaries between himself and his characters blur.
This book is very...different. I'm only at about the halfway mark, and I'm usually a very fast reader. There's something hypnotic about the prose. I don't necessarily mean this in a bad way, but there's something about this book that makes me sleepy. I want to know what happens, but can't stay away for more than a chapter or two.
About 100 pages in, and three things strike me: first, the narrative voice is far less alien than I expected from a Japanese author, second, I'm not a fan of reading books in ebook form, and third, this isn't science fictiony.Not sure the lack of alienness is a good or bad thing. Japan is a very strange place to a Westerner (this strangeness is beautifully depicted in the movie "Lost in Translation", BTW) and I was expecting to get some insight into the nature of that strangeness from the perspective of a native. Yes, there are some oddities such as a slight preoccupation with the history and nature of people's names. But otherwise, none of the thoughts of the characters, so far, seem alien at all. This is at once reassuring (hey, we're all the same!) and disappointing (damnit, we're all the same).
The ebook experience is still new to me, and I don't like it. I think that over the years my subconcious has grown used to indexing the story according to certain physical properties of the book. "Oh yes, he kissed her about a cm in on the right side, a bit down the page" is something I might think- but this coordinate system doesn't work. Seeing the cover art each time counts. I also rather like (and miss) the small stains and incidentals that normal books get that are totally missing from the experience. Finally, even though the quality is very good on my Nook Touch, I can still see some pixels and I find it distracting. Maybe some or all of these concerns will go away in time, but then there's also the (rather stunning) fact that ebooks are MORE expensive than the paperback - this, even though the cost of production is negligible, and typically you can't share or bequeath your e-library, etc.
It's not science fiction YET, although there are pleasant fore-shadowings. I'm neither terribly fond nor unhappy with the rather detailed narration, but it does have the downside of slowing down the payoff, so to speak. So far, this reads like an (admittedly well written) piece of mainstream fiction, with relatively mundane concerns of the main characters slowly taking shape.
Also, the title is dangerous because if, on a Mac, you slip and hit Command Q instead of Shift Q you will close your browser and lose your post, and since that happened to me, I will not capitalize it anymore end this initial review of 1q84. :)
I'm reading this for the first time, as part of the re-read schedule. My paper edition is 1,157 pages. I'm afraid it might put me to sleep, not by being boring, but by falling on my head and knocking me unconscious.
Whew, I was starting to think I was the only one that was going to do this read! My post is over in the spoiler thread. I got an early start since the book is so long, and I just posted there after I finished. I hope you enjoy the book, and I hope to see you in the spoiler thread once you finish it. Meanwhile, I’d recommend a hard hat.
OMG the audio of this book is 45+ hours long!! Good thing I looked into it ahead of time. I’m really hoping I can listen to it at 1.3-1.5x speed, because otherwise starting it today I won’t finish it till next year!! I’m gonna have to push with this one even so.
Diane wrote: "OMG the audio of this book is 45+ hours long!! Good thing I looked into it ahead of time. I’m really hoping I can listen to it at 1.3-1.5x speed, because otherwise starting it today I won’t finish ..."This one was a surprisingly 'fast' listen for me. Well ... it still was 45 hours, but time seemed to fly by, cause I can get totally get absorbed in Murakami's prose.
That’s good to know, thanks Gabi!
I started this last week and am about 3 hours in (Chapter 6, I think). I'm very much enjoying it, but I don't think I'm going to finish it anytime soon. LOL
Am I the only one (re)reading this? I’m only about 1/4 through and really enjoying it. I would love it if there were someone to discuss it with. I haven’t checked the spoiler thread yet though.
I read this earlier this year....around the start of the pandemic. So I’d be happy to discuss with you as you read. :)
Hi Kristenelle!sorry for my delayed response. I don’t know how I missed your post because I have notifications on. But I’ll just blame it on the crappy app.Anyway, that’s great. I’m at 39% at the moment. I’ll move over to the spoiler thread.
I’ve had the hard back of this since 2012, but could never bring myself to settle down and attempt actually physically reading the massive tome. A while back I picked up the kindle version of book 1 & 2 on sale so can’t use the weight of the book as an excuse anymore.So, either 10, 5 or 3 years late to the party depending how you look at it, I’ve finally rolled my sleeves up and started reading.
I’ve not read anything by Murakami before but I’m enjoying his measured style and the alternating POV. As mentioned earlier in this thread it doesn’t feel overly alien, which is comforting as every time I spend a day or two in Japan I always feel like a complete fish out of water. I’m a slow reader so might take a while before I can head over to the spoiler thread, but I’ve got a good feeling about this one.
First thoughts?