The book "1Q84" is divided into three volumes. I usually read books very quickly, sometimes without fully understanding them, but I have always been confident in my understanding. When I read books that truly interest me, my attention is highly focused. However, it took me a whole day to finish "1Q84", starting from 9 in the morning at the library and reading until 8 in the evening. I didn't even eat in between, just ordered a cup of coffee and immersed myself in the book. The reason for this is that the writing is so good, or rather, for me, it's like what Maupassant always said about "bread". Just by reading it, I already feel satisfied.
Haruki Murakami continues his style from previous works, and "1Q84" has a similar style to "Kafka on the Shore", with a back-and-forth between dreams and reality, allowing the story to guide its own development rather than being directly determined by the author or established by the beginning of the story. The illusion of dreams and the imagination of reality complement each other, like two mirrors placed opposite each other, overlapping to create countless mysterious worlds. Compared to the dual narrative structure in "Kafka on the Shore", "1Q84" starts with three main storylines. In the world of 1Q84, these three perspectives progress simultaneously, with Aomame Kawana as the male protagonist, Tengo Kawana as the female protagonist, and Tengo's father as the third perspective observing the intersection of the male and female protagonists' storylines. I have to admire the author's thinking process, using three perspectives to drive the story's development. It requires such rich imagination.
In the world of 1Q84, there are many illusions, two moons, Little People, air chrysalises, the concept of "maza" and "dohta", which may seem conflicting, but when you place everything in the context of 1Q84, it all seems natural. What left a deep impression on me is the repeated mention of a cheering tiger. In the world of 1Q84, the tiger's face is turned to the right, while in the real world, it is turned to the left. This is the basis for distinguishing between the two worlds.
The story begins with Aomame assassinating the leader of a religious cult and being pursued by the cult. In order to track Aomame more effectively, the cult hires Ushikawa, a former lawyer whose license was revoked. This is where the story starts. Tengo helps the leader's daughter, Fukaeri, write the novel "Air Chrysalis", which mentions the concept of "maza" and "dohta", which in a sense leads to the leader's death, coinciding with Aomame's goal. To escape from the pursuit of the cult, Aomame lives alone in an apartment with the help of Tamaru and the Dowager. Every day, she observes the slide in the park across the street. Meanwhile, Ushikawa conducts a thorough investigation, relying on Tengo's storyline, and monitors Tengo and Fukaeri for a long time. During this period, Tengo visits Cat Town, another name for 1Q84, to take care of his aging father, who used to work as a collector for NHK. In reality, Tengo is also searching for Aomame. Every day, an NHK collector comes to Aomame's door to collect payment. Later, due to the connection between the "maza" and "dohta" in the world of 1Q84, Aomame becomes pregnant and is certain that she is carrying Tengo's child. The child and the hope of being with Tengo become Aomame's courage to keep going. After countless trials and tribulations, Aomame and Tengo finally meet again twenty years later. With fate's arrangement and their own perseverance, they meet and escape from the world of 1Q84, returning to their original world.
What is impressive about 1Q84 is that the world it depicts is so fantastical, with two moons, Little People, air chrysalises, and the concept of "maza" and "dohta". Although these elements seem magical, when you place them in the context of 1Q84, they seem natural. The book also touches on many themes such as religion, women's rights, family happiness, childhood, and love. These themes can be interpreted differently by different people. In summary, based on my own feelings and perspectives, I believe that the role of religious cults can provide people with a sense of belief and belonging, but under certain circumstances, they can become extreme and control many freedoms and thoughts. From Aomame's experience, her family's religious beliefs led her to be ostracized by classmates and misunderstood by her environment. She had a miserable childhood and ran away from home at the age of eleven, eventually becoming an assassin. On the other hand, Tengo also had an unfortunate childhood. From a young age, he accompanied his father, who worked as a collector for NHK, to collect payments from door to door, living a life he didn't want. He witnessed his mother's infidelity, and his father, to some extent, didn't acknowledge Tengo as his own child. Later, Tengo became a math teacher and a novelist. Both Aomame and Tengo had difficult childhoods, but they meet each other and this meeting becomes the beginning, determining their waiting for each other. As Tolstoy summarized, "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." As this quote suggests, every character in the world of 1Q84 is flawed and has their own unique experiences and pain. Women face discrimination, domestic violence, murder, and unbearable suffering, leading some to take their own lives. Ushikawa, as the third perspective, witnesses the story of the male and female protagonists. However, Ushikawa is also unfortunate. Because of his peculiar appearance, he has endured strange looks since he was young, and even his family refuses to acknowledge his existence. Therefore, even though he has talent, he is reluctant to show it, and his family eventually leaves him. The characters in the book all have their own unknown pains, and even in this distorted and magical world, they experience real pain and despair. To some extent, this reflects the real world. People pursue happiness, but they also experience their own pain.
Haruki Murakami is a magical writer. Throughout the book, he seems to reveal pain and despair, but he also places hope in his stories. Aomame and Tengo eventually meet each other after going through so many hardships and setbacks, searching and waiting. But they become an essential part of each other, just as Aomame said:
"Although I am alone, I am not lonely."
So I can understand why this book became so popular in Japan because it reflects the emotions and life situations of many young Japanese people, allowing them to empathize.
If a book only has suspense and characters that resonate with readers, even if it is enjoyable, it will fall into the clichés of popular fiction. However, "1Q84" has more to offer. There is so much I want to say about this, but I find it difficult to describe my feelings about the whole book in words. It's like two parallel lines slowly and constantly approaching each other, eventually merging into one. Murakami's writing style is long, detailed, and serene, which is a traditional Japanese literary style. It evokes a slow sense of beauty.
✍🏻 Finally, I want to add a few more words. Personally, I appreciate and love Japanese literature. The first time I encountered Japanese literature was in high school during a reading class when I finished reading Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human". I was deeply moved by its melancholic beauty. Afterwards, I consciously or unconsciously started to explore well-known Japanese novels at that time. I have read works such as Junichi Watanabe's "Lost Paradise" and Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country". Later, I became obsessed with some Japanese mystery novels, including Keigo Higashino's "Malice", "Journey Under the Midnight Sun", and "The Devotion of Suspect X", Shoji Shimada's "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders", and Shinsuke Numata's "The Summer That Doesn't Come". I also read some of Haruki Murakami's representative works.
I have always felt that the greatest beauty of Japanese literature is that it often uses plain language to slowly build up descriptions, but if you read carefully, you will find that the entire emotion is immersed in it. It may seem plain at first, but as you read on, it becomes oppressive, like being in a stuffy room before a summer thunderstorm. Many Japanese authors like to create a suffocating feeling in their writing. They are skilled at presenting beauty on top of decay. This decay encompasses death, taboo, repression, sensuality, unattainability, cruelty, and coldness. Strangely, even in this mire, an untainted lotus can bloom. Additionally, Japanese authors excel at psychological and scenic descriptions (and they enjoy it), and their combination is extraordinary. This is what is meant by "finding emotions in scenery". It easily evokes our resonance. It's like looking up at the sky from the bottom of a deep blue water, or struggling to breathe in the cold air of winter.
However, I find that Haruki Murakami's works are quite different from traditional Japanese literary styles, including some of Keigo Higashino's novels. Although they often give a sense of oppression, melancholy, and gloom throughout the entire story, they insert something that touches everyone deeply in the ending and theme. That is "love". Whether it's "Norwegian Wood", "Kafka on the Shore", or "1Q84", the original theme of their stories is love, and the actions and interpretations of love. So even though Haruki Murakami often expresses disappointment in the world in interviews, he still hides love in his words, waiting for every reader to discover and feel it.
Only love will not be disappointed.