The book "1Q84" is divided into three volumes. I usually read books 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.
Murakami continues his style from previous works, and "1Q84" shares a similar style with "Kafka on the Shore," where the story moves between dreams and reality. The story develops on its own, guided by itself, rather than the author directly determining the direction of the story or the beginning setting the ending. The illusion of dreams and the imagination of reality complement each other, like two opposing mirrors placed together, creating countless intertwined worlds. Compared to the two main storylines in "Kafka on the Shore" progressing interactively, "1Q84" starts with three main storylines. In the world of 1Q84, these three perspectives and viewpoints progress simultaneously, with Aomame as the female protagonist, Tengo as the male protagonist, and Tengo as the third viewpoint observing the intersection of the main storylines of the male and female protagonists. I have to admire the author's approach, 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, and the concept of duality between the body and the self. It feels conflicting, but when you place everything within the background of 1Q84, it all feels natural. What left a deep impression on me is the recurring 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 serves as 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. To better track Aomame, the cult hires Ushikawa, a former lawyer whose license was revoked.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 existence of the body and the self, 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 the Dowager and Tamaru. Every day, she observes the slide in the park across the street. Meanwhile, Ushikawa searches for clues, relying on Tengo's storyline. Ushikawa persistently 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 body and the self 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 going through countless obstacles, 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 duality between the body and the self. Although these elements seem magical, when you place them within the context of 1Q84, they feel natural. The book also touches on various themes such as religion, women's rights, family happiness, childhood, and love. Each of these themes can be interpreted differently by different people. From my perspective, I would like to summarize my own feelings and thoughts. The role of religious cults, on the one hand, allows people to have their own beliefs and a sense of belonging, but under certain circumstances, they can become extreme and control many freedoms and thoughts. From Aomame's experience, due to her family's religious beliefs, she followed her mother's long-term persuasion to join the cult, which led to her being ostracized by her classmates and not being accepted by her environment. Her family was also dissatisfied with her, so she had a miserable childhood and ran away from home at the age of eleven, eventually becoming an assassin. On the other hand, Tengo's childhood was also unfortunate. From a young age, he accompanied his father, who worked as a collector for NHK, to collect payments from door to door, living an unwilling life. He also witnessed his mother's infidelity, so his father, to some extent, did not 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, joy in the world is the same for everyone, but there are thousands of types of sorrow. 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 viewpoint, witnesses the story of the male and female protagonists. However, Ushikawa also has an unfortunate life. 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 easily, and his family eventually leaves him. The characters in the book all have their own unknown pain, and even in this distorted and magical world, they experience real pain and despair. To some extent, these are reflections of 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 be revealing pain and despair, but he also places hope within the story. Aomame and Tengo eventually meet each other after going through so many hardships and setbacks, searching and waiting. But they are just like what 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 people in Japan. It resonates with them.
If a book only has suspense and characters that resonate with readers, even if it is good, it will fall into the clichés of popular novels. 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 book in words. It's like two parallel lines slowly and constantly approaching each other, eventually merging into one. Murakami's writing is long, detailed, and serene, embodying the traditional Japanese literary style. It evokes a slow sense of beauty, like being in a stuffy room before a summer thunderstorm.
✍🏻 Finally, I would like 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 and profound beauty. Afterwards, I consciously or unconsciously started to explore well-known Japanese novels at that time. I gradually read works such as Junichiro Tanizaki's "The Makioka Sisters," Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country," and then I became obsessed with some Japanese mystery novels, including Keigo Higashino's "Malice," "Journey Under the Midnight Sun," and "The Devotion of Suspect X," Shusuke Shizukui's "The Astrologer's Murder," and Shinsuke Numata's "The Headless Ghost." I also read some of Haruki Murakami's representative works.
I have always felt that the greatest beauty of Japanese literature is its use of plain language to slowly build up descriptions. But if you read carefully, you will find that the entire emotional experience is immersed in it. It may start off feeling plain, but as you read on, it becomes oppressive, like being in a stuffy room before a summer thunderstorm. Many Japanese authors excel at creating a sense of suffocation 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, within this mire, an untainted lotus blooms. Additionally, most Japanese authors are adept at psychological and scenic descriptions (and they enjoy it). The combination of the two is extraordinary, and it evokes our resonance. It's like looking up at the sky while submerged in 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 many times they seem to be overwhelmingly oppressive, melancholic, and gloomy, they insert something that touches everyone in the ending and the theme, and that is "love." Whether it's "Norwegian Wood," "Kafka on the Shore," or "1Q84," the underlying theme of these novels is love and the actions and interpretations of love. So even though Haruki Murakami often expresses disappointment with 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 betrayed.