1Q84 must be the most surreal book I have ever read. Yet even with it's creepy and confusing plots I managed to finish this book and I proudly say that this is a memorable book for me.
This is the first (yes, I'm hoping to read more of his works but not anytime soon) Murakami book I read. I am not a bookworm so I'm not really familiar with his name (what a shame!) until two of my friends told me that their favorite book is from Murakami. Although I forgot the titles of the book they've read, the name lingered in my mind whenever I visit a bookstore. It intrigued me why they like Murakami's books so much. So one fine day, I decided to buy 1Q84.
Bought the book early December of 2012 but it was only in January of 2013 that I started reading it. I should say it has a mature content and I was uncomfortable reading it at first. I was surprised, really. It wasn't the kind of books I read. It was too depressing for me at that time so I decided to stop reading after the end of book 1 and put it on my on-hold list first.
Last week I felt like I was ready to read it again.
I finished book 2 and 3 after a week. I really could not put it down after the start of book 2. I was too excited as to what will happen to the two main characters, Tengo and Aomame. I guess I was just in the right mood to read it that I finished reading it that fast.
There were a lot of characters in the book but Murakami made sure that each character was described meticulously. More importantly, he made sure each character has a significance role in the story. The story was confusingly good.
For the nth time, I'm not good at book reviews but I just want to tell you that I really enjoyed reading 1Q84. And there are two things that will always make me remember the book: 1. Moon 2. Lightning.
Here are some of my favorite lines / quotes from the book:
But inside, where she could not be seen, she was confused.
It's not me but the world that's deranged.
There's nothing wrong with not looking like something. It just means you don't fit the stereotype yet.
... ordinary kind of happiness - marry someone you love, happy ending.
Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has tightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. (The conclusion of things is the good. The good is, in other words, the conclusion at which all things arrive. Let's leave doubt for tomorrow. That is the point)
... reading novels was just another form of escape. As soon as he closed their pages he had to come back to the real world.
If you can love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there's salvation in life. Even if you can't get together with that person.
... it seems to me that this world has a serious shortage of both logic and kindness.
You throw a stone into a deep pond. Splash. The sound is big, and it reverberates throughout the surrounding area. What comes out of the pond after that? All we can do is stare at the pond, holding our breath.
But decent motives don't always produce decent results.
Knowledge is a precious social asset.
If you can't understand it without explanation, you can't understand it with explanation.
“Good and evil are not fixed, stable entities but are continually trading places.
It is not that the meaning cannot be explained. But there are certain meanings that are lost forever the moment they are explained in words.
It is not that the meaning cannot be explained. But there are certain meanings that are lost forever the moment they are explained in words.
... most people in the world don't really use their brains to think. And people who don't think are the ones who don't listen to others.
To rephrase Tolstoy's famous line, all happiness is alike, but each pain is painful in it's own way.
