I am not sure if reading the Chinese translation, rather than the Japanese text in its original form, gives an accurate picture but 1Q84 has exceeded my expectation in so many ways. Let me say this up front, I have never been a fan of Haruki Murakami because his signature surrealism always leaves me in a confused and unsatisfied state. So many signs and symbols appear in the book, as if they signify a larger theme and yet, Murakami never clarified and explained further in his books the deeper meaning of such bizarre ideas like the giant speaking frog, or the underworld that a deserted well connects to. To me who perhaps lack the sensitive appreciation for his imaginations and creativity, this is all a trick he employs to hook you into reading till the end so you can discover what the book is all about but till now, I fail to grasp the larger picture in his books. Even though 1Q84 incorporates elements of surrealism like the other Murakami's works, the weight between the abstract and actuality is of a good balance in that the the abstract does not overshadow other major themes that I can relate to the reality including domestic violence, religion, sex, love, loneliness and evil. Murakami offers something for everyone in this multilateral novel.
One idea that diffuses across the first two volumes of 1Q84 is the ambiguity of the divide between good and evil. In the first volume, there are events that suggest absolute evil on our moral standard such as the leader of a secret religious cult having sexual intercourse with premature girls but later we find out that this leader carries a bigger mission which seems to justify his deviant behavior. And then there is the main female character who is secretly employed to kill men who abuses their wives. Unacceptable in the ethical perspective, but their motives are justifiable in the author's narratives. Throughout the book, like yin and yang, every event and person has 2 opposite sides which challenges our day-to-day presumptions - be it the bonded couple who has yet to come cross each other's lives since childhood or the macho bodyguard who happens to be homosexual, it is perhaps Murakami's intention to bring opposite elements into these characters to further echo the theme that there is no true divide between good and evil.
1Q84 is the kind of book you will have to read at least two times. The comments, conversations, and observations which appear random in the first time will reveal more significance in the the second time. Each character in this book is uniquely crafted with strong distinctive personality, and the main male character Tengo who got drifted into a whirlpool of events but had almost no control over his own fate, is an extension of the typical male character in Murakami's previous works. Gifted but with almost no ambitions in life, the male characters always live in a dull routine until something extraordinary happens to them one day. In Tengo's case, despite the hope to become a novelist and is talented in writing, he does not know what to write about until a mysterious girl unleashes the creative juice inside him. Sexually as well, he is submissive in nature and therefore dates an older woman who can tell him exactly what to do. Women are both weak and strong in 1Q84 - weak in their vulnerability to sexual assault and strong in their critical role to offset the evil power.
With all the buzz surrounded over 1Q84 (over 2 million copies sold already in Japan), this is only the first 2 volumes of the 3 volumes series. The 3rd volume is scheduled to come out in April in Japanese and the translation versions will be rolled out later. Depending on your state of mind, 1Q84 can be an enjoyable read in the late afternoon or a serious text for students of Japanese Literature and for that, I recommend it to everyone.
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