Haruki Murakami 1Q84 Discussion Thread - There's always only one reality.

[GrayGhost81]

I just finished book two.

Finally, about halfway through book two, the pornographic nature of the prose hits a climax (pun intended) and cools off for a while.

The paint analogy continues to hold up, though now I feel as if someone (God, or maybe BIG BROTHER) is slowly folding the canvas in half, and at any minute I'm ready for the canvas to snap shut on the itself and the two paint blobs to finally smash together.

However, I noticed that the main subject of the first chapter of book three (it's not really a spoiler, go ahead and take a look):

Spoiler (hover to show)

is neither Tengo nor Aomame.

One thing I keep thinking is that I can't wait to finish this book so that I can read up on how the hell this has anything to do with Orwell's 1984, because I'm not seeing it at all.

[techwizard]

i don't think it has anything to do with 1984 in a direct way, i think it's just chock full of references and comparisons. from what i know at around 250 pages in of Sakigake and Akebono, both of those seem similar to Oceania and Eastasia/Eurasia in some ways.

[techwizard]

just passed the halfway point, at the start of Book 2 Chapter 14

Spoiler (hover to show)

right after aomame kills "leader"

really getting into it, and i'm seeing the 1984 comparisons even more now.

the writing can be a bit sub-par at times but overall it's not bad. i wish a lot of the references were used with more subtlety instead of always saying "this is just like in The Brother's Karamazov" or whatever the reference of the day happens to be. sometime's i'm thinking "hmm this could be an interesting allusion to something, i wonder what?" and then it's like "oh. he just told me what." i don't really mind that much, i still enjoy when those moments happen, i just feel like it could be done better.

are either of you finished it now? and where's Rich at, haven't heard much from him?

[GrayGhost81]

I'm a little more than halfway through book three. Like I said, I don't want to spoil it, but in book three the chapters alternate between three different characters instead of two. The focus on this new character is kind of a case of "too little, too late" or to put it another way, I really don't care about this person at this point. Nine hundred pages into this thing, I just want more of our hero and heroine.

Still a great book and a page-turner, but I can identify with people who say it could have been a little shorter. I'm motivated to finish it soon because I told a friend of mine I would give him my copy before I move.

[singlebanana]

Sorry guys. I've been plugging a lot of time into the playthrough of Shining Force and it's a really busy time of year for me. Evenings consist of kids' practices/games, lots of Spring yardwork, and working on getting my pool up and running for the Summer. At the end of the day, all I want to do is crash and reading a page or two just puts me to sleep. Glad to hear you guys are pretty much enjoying the book. I love Murakami, but probably not the one I would have suggested starting with. I hope this doesn't sway either of you in any way from reading some of his other stuff.

[techwizard]

I'm a little more than halfway through book three. Like I said, I don't want to spoil it, but in book three the chapters alternate between three different characters instead of two. The focus on this new character is kind of a case of "too little, too late" or to put it another way, I really don't care about this person at this point. Nine hundred pages into this thing, I just want more of our hero and heroine.

Still a great book and a page-turner, but I can identify with people who say it could have been a little shorter. I'm motivated to finish it soon because I told a friend of mine I would give him my copy before I move.

i agree, it definitely could have been shorter. many segments feel like it's not offering anything new and only repeating earlier segments, and the dialogue can get quite repetitive too with almost every character repeating everything that's said to them. it's not a terrible book by any means but it has it's issues. like you said it's definitely a page turner and i want to know how it ends for sure.

i'm a couple chapters into book 3 now as well so it sounds like i'm catching up, i hit the point with the third character and i'm a little disappointed. out of all the interesting characters it could have been, the one that gets the spotlight is the one i cared least about. oh well, at least tengo and aomame still have their usual chapters too and it's not just him.

I love Murakami, but probably not the one I would have suggested starting with. I hope this doesn't sway either of you in any way from reading some of his other stuff.

i've heard this too that it's not the best way to start with him, and that this one seems to be one of his lesser books in a lot of people's minds. i'm still interested in his style though and will definitely check out his other works at some point.

overall i've enjoyed getting to read this along with you guys, even if it's pretty much been just me and shawn. just like with the playthroughs, it's cool to have someone to share opinions with and get another viewpoint on what i'm reading. i'd like to do it again once we finish this book but maybe something shorter this time

[GrayGhost81]

Damn, was gonna bump this thread for crossing the quadruple-digit page number threshold, but Jamie beat me to it!

Agree with all your points. The characters are great at regurgitating exactly what has already happened, but I don't mind reading it because of how elegantly written it is.

Having said that, like some video games that approach the 100ish hour mark, I'm starting to feel like I'm ready to wrap it up, no matter how good it is.

[techwizard]

i'm not far enough into book 3 to really know all there is to this book yet, but at this point i have a strong sense that Fuka-Eri is

Spoiler (hover to show)

a Dohta

and not the other way around as implied by the Air Chrysalis story.

[techwizard]

i've started to notice a theme in this book, very late in it but thinking back on earlier sections i think it fits well. the overall theme to this book that i'm getting is powerlessness. in nearly every situation each character has faced, there has always been some form of powerlessness in regards to what they can do to affect things. Aomame may be strong as a person, but she is powerless to do anything about Sakigake after what she did to them except run. Tengo is powerless at almost every turn, accepting anything from everyone no matter what is asked of him (after some hemming and hawing that is). many other instances hint at the powerlessness of other characters in passing. no matter what you choose to do, the world keeps moving forward.

[GrayGhost81]

So, I'm about to finish the book (EDIT: FINISHED! FIRSTIES!) and there are some really beautiful things that go on that I'm going to need time to organize my thoughts about. For now however I have to put it out there that the only thing more over the top than the sexuality in this book is the degree to which we are beaten over the head with descriptions of Ushikawa's ugliness, to the point where whenever he is present, all I can think of is this:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=490 height=312]http://www.wolfgnards.com/media/blogs/photos/celebrities/Sloth-Fratelli-490x312.jpg[/img]

[techwizard]

So, I'm about to finish the book (EDIT: FINISHED! FIRSTIES!) and there are some really beautiful things that go on that I'm going to need time to organize my thoughts about. For now however I have to put it out there that the only thing more over the top than the sexuality in this book is the degree to which we are beaten over the head with descriptions of Ushikawa's ugliness, to the point where whenever he is present, all I can think of is this:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=490 height=312]http://www.wolfgnards.com/media/blogs/photos/celebrities/Sloth-Fratelli-490x312.jpg[/img]

congratulations on finishing! i'm around 725 pages in, still 200 to go or so.

[GrayGhost81]

So, having had a few days to digest the book, I can't help but apply the whole thing to my current personal situation, which every one knows about here, so I won't go into crazy detail. I do feel like my life right now is some kind of alternate reality. A reality where I live in NJ and my wife lives in TX is still bizarre and unimaginable in many ways.

I actually read my wife a few passages from the very end of the book last night. Everything really, really hit home for me as the story finally wrapped itself up.

Spoiler (hover to show)

Driving to Texas next week will be my version of climbing back up the emergency ladder. The extra moon will disappear and I will be hand in hand with my soulmate, together in the year 2015, not 2Q15 .

Put a tiger in your tank.

[singlebanana]

Though I haven't read this book all the way through, I will say that no matter how bizarre a Murakami story is, there is always something in them that resonates with me personally. I think this is a big part of the draw for me and why I've read so many of his works.

[GrayGhost81]

I have The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in my amazon cart on your recommendation, Rich. Looking forward to checking it out.

[singlebanana]

I have The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in my amazon cart on your recommendation, Rich. Looking forward to checking it out.

Man, you're going to love it. At least I hope so. Ha!