The king of modern Japanese literature, Haruki Murakami, is back at last! The millions of Murakami fans outside Japan have been enduring a long wait for his latest magnum-opus "1Q84," which is released in English this October. Luckily, I have been able to jump the queue, thanks to my Japanese knowledge, as the original version of the novel has actually been out here in Japan for over 2 years, breaking all kinds of sales records in the meantime.
The title of "1Q84" is a kind of Japanese pun, as "9" in Japanese is pronounced the same as "Q." The reason for this quirky substitution becomes apparent fairly early on in the story, which is set in 1984 and divided up between two characters, living in two parallel realities. Tengo resides in our familiar reality, which is appropriate as he's a fairly typical Murakami protagonist - a thoughtful loner with an unremarkable life, in this case working as a cram school teacher while doing a bit of editing on the side. Aomame, on the other hand, who crosses into the alternative "Q" reality near the start of her narrative (though she doesn't realize it at first) is a more mysterious character with a far from normal job. She is also, as a female main character, something of a novelty for a Murakami novel, although in truth, in terms of personality she is more masculine than the mild-mannered Tengo.
These two characters, now living in separate worlds, actually share a deep emotional connection originating from a childhood encounter when they were classmates in elementary school. As the story flicks back and forth between Tengo and Aomame, who both find themselves caught up in the affairs of a decidedly shady religious cult with supernatural undertones, we get the sense that they are destined to meet again, if only they could manage to unite their two realities. Indeed, while they are oblivious to the fact, these two lost and lonely souls may well hold the key to the destiny of both worlds in their hands.
On one level "1Q84" is a love story, in the same vein as Murakami's most famous novel "Norwegian Wood" but it also follows in the surreal traditions of his more recent works "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" and "Kafka on the Shore." Murakami enjoys placing his characters in bizarre situations, where they seem just as puzzled as the reader as to what on earth is going on. Reading a Murakami novel can be a somewhat challenging experience, as we are often left wondering what deeper meaning the fantastical elements of the story may have, without being given a clear answer. This invitation to analyse events, where reality and fantasy seem to blur into one another, is what most attracts me to Murakami's writing, however, and "1Q84" certainly doesn't disappoint in this regard. It also features some truly memorable, and creepy, scenes, involving the so-called "Little People" who are not as cute as they sound. And there is one particular scene involving an NHK (Japanese equivalent of BBC) license fee collector which sent shivers down my spine.
In the final analysis, however, while I found "1Q84" a frequently entertaining and thought-provoking read, I have to say that it does not quite measure up to the weird and wonderful standards set in "Wind-up Bird" and "Kafka." Firstly, after a captivating opening few chapters, the story settles down to a pace which, for me, was too slow. We spend a lot of time with the two main characters as they dwell on their memories and contemplate their circumstances, without their narratives making much significant progress. The novel was released in three parts here in Japan, the third part of which came out a whole year after the first two. The third part, in which a third main character is introduced, is, in my opinion, the weakest one. Seeing as it will be released in one volume in English, I'm hoping that the translation will cut at least a little bit of unnecessary filler from the original to make the story more streamlined. Incidentally, I was slightly anxious to hear that the English version has been split between two translators, with Jay Rubin handling parts one and two, and Philip Gabriel taking over for part three. While both translators have previously done amazing jobs, on "Wind-up Bird" and "Kafka" respectively, I'm not sure it's such a great idea splitting translation duties between them in one novel, as a certain amount of consistency in tone is likely to be sacrificed. Hopefully it won't be too noticeable, though.
In any case, I will certainly be getting hold of a copy of the English translation as soon as it comes out, as "1Q84" is, like most of Murakami's work, a multi-layered and complex story that demands repeated readings. It may not be my favourite of his efforts, but it is still a fascinating story, packed with touching, suspenseful, bizarre and humorous scenes, which will stay with you long after it's been put down.
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