'1Q84' by Haruki Murakami

1Q84, Haruki Murakami (3.5)

Reading a 1,000-page book always makes me question ‘did there need to be that many words?’. In the case of ‘1Q84’, I believe most of the words were needed, though there were many passages of banal every day tasks (i.e. making dinner, cleaning up, etc.) that were oddly long and descriptive.  While reading I found these passages somewhat irritating, but once complete I’m still trying to decide if Murakami included them to balance the fantastical elements of the story. Speaking of which, the story starts in Japan in 1984 with a young woman in a taxi.  She is on an elevated highway stuck in traffic.  Impatient to make her appointment, the driver suggests she take an unknown set of stairs down to the subway.  She does this and it is the beginning of an adventure that takes her to what is possibly a subtly different version of her current world.  The story is told alternating from her point of view and a young man’s. I won’t say more, as I think the thrill of this story is the unfolding drama and many surprises. Many people will hesitate to read a book of this length, but the drama made it go much faster than I expected.  It’s a mixture of a love story, mystery, and fantasy with a dash of suspense, something for everyone!