"1Q84" is divided into three volumes. I usually read books very quickly, sometimes without fully comprehending 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 just 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 "Kafka on the Shore" has a similar style. The story moves back and forth between dreams and reality, allowing the story to guide its own development rather than being directly determined by the author or 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 fascinating 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, these three angles, progress simultaneously, with Aomame Kawana as the male protagonist, Tengo Kawana as the female protagonist, and Tengo's perspective observing the intersection of the male and female 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, doppelgängers and mothers, which 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 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 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 In order to track Aomame more effectively, the cult hires Ushikawa, a former lawyer whose license was revoked. The story starts from there. Tengo helps the leader's daughter, Fukaeri, write the novel "Air Chrysalis", which mentions the existence of doppelgängers and mothers, which in a sense leads to the leader's death, aligning with Aomame's goal. To escape 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 tirelessly searches for clues, relying on Tengo's storyline. During this time, 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 doppelgängers and mothers 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 trials and tribulations, Aomame and Tengo finally meet again after twenty years. 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, doppelgängers and mothers. Although these elements seem magical, they all have their own significance when placed in the context of 1Q84. 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, here are my own feelings and thoughts. The role of religious cults, on one hand, allows people to have their own beliefs and 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 in persuading others to join, which led to her being ostracized by her classmates and not being accepted by the 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 a life he didn't want. He also witnessed his mother's infidelity, so his father didn't fully acknowledge him as his own child. Later, Tengo became a math teacher and a novelist. Both of them 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 kinds of sorrows. Just 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, unbearable pain, and even self-destruction. Ushikawa, as the third perspective, witnesses the story of the male and female protagonists. But Ushikawa is also unfortunate, because of his peculiar appearance, he has endured strange looks since childhood, and even his family refuses to acknowledge his existence. So, even though he has talent, he is reluctant to show it easily, and his family leaves him as he grows up. The characters in the book all have their own unknown pain, and even though this world is twisted, magical, and contrary to common sense, they are experiencing real pain and despair. To a certain extent, these are also 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 in his stories. Aomame and Tengo eventually meet each other after all the hardships and setbacks, after searching and waiting. But they are 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, and they can relate to it.
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. But "1Q84" has more than that. There is so much I want to say about it, but I find it difficult to describe the feelings it gave me 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 want to add a few more words. Personally, I greatly appreciate and love Japanese literature. The first time I encountered Japanese literary works 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 other famous Japanese novels at that time. I have read works such as Junichiro Tanizaki's "The Makioka Sisters", Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country", and then I became obsessed with some Japanese detective novels, including Keigo Higashino's "Malice", "Journey Under the Midnight Sun", "The Devotion of Suspect X", and Shuichi Yoshida's "Villain", Soseki Natsume's "Kokoro", and many more. And of course, I have 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, hot room before a summer thunderstorm. Many Japanese authors excel at creating a sense of suffocation in their writing. They are skilled at bringing beauty to life from the mire. This mire encompasses death, incest, repression, sensuality, unattainability, cruelty, and coldness. Strangely, even in this mud, an untainted lotus can bloom. Additionally, Japanese authors are adept at psychological and scenic descriptions (and they enjoy it), and their combination is extraordinary. This is what is meant by "finding solace 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-style literature, 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. That is "love". Whether it's "Norwegian Wood", "Kafka on the Shore", or "1Q84", the original theme of these works 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 betrayed.
Translation: