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Showing posts from May, 2014

The Strange 1Q84

I love Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. To paraphrase the blurb: a love story, a fantasy, and a mystery - all rolled into a dreamy world. In the book, Tengo is a writer asked to rewrite a fantasy manuscript for an enigmatic girl. Aomame is a fitness instructor with special skills asked to do an unusual job. Their lonely paths intertwine in this surreal world, both searching for something they yearn for. And there's a dangerous religious cult. Like Aomame, who can't quite explain the world of 1Q84, I can't fully articulate why I like the book so much. But I shall try. The story is imaginative. There is no formulaic plot with just the characters and the settings changed. The characters are deeply carved. Murakami tells you a lot of backstories about how they grow up, what they like, how they act. By the end, I really knew the two main characters, liked them, and rooted for them. The setting is intriguing. Everything seems normal, but the details are off just enough fo