1Q84

Been struggling with this book for more than one month, finally yesterday this very-thick-book-with-adorable-cover by Haruki Murakami which titled 1Q84 was officially being shelved again. Proudly announced that I've finished it! Why so proud? Because this book is very thick. Not the one that you can read comfortably on your bed because this book is way too heavy. 3 books bundled into 1, with almost 1000 pages in total. Need so much effort to finish it.

Me, myself has been the fans of Murakami  after reading his book for the very first time, Kafka On The Shore. Actually I've planned to save 1Q84 for the last, after finishing all of Murakami's book. But everytime I saw this book on the bookstore, I can't resist the temptation to have it. And finally, one day at Periplus, I bought it. Book fetish, I am. 

If you are not too into Murakami, or maybe just begin to try or plan to read his book, I suggest you not to choose this one. It could bore you on the beginning.  The first part of the book is nothing short of what you expect from Murakami. But towards the middle it really begins to hypnotize you to keep reading and turning the pages. Just like the other book of  Murakami, this book is about self discovery of the main character that contains a lot of monologue. It begun in year 1984 when a young woman named Aomame follow the instruction from a taxi driver that soon lead her to the 'other' parallel world. Everything seems fine in that world until Aomame realized that she is not in the world that she used to be. That parallel world has two moons and much peculiar things. There's a strange religious group named Sakigake and the existence of Little People that made Air Chrysalis. Aomame called that world 1Q84, Q from word Question.

On the other side, there is Tengo, a novelist that involved in the ghostwriting of new novel called Air Chrysalis, which originally written by a mysterious-dyslexia-girl named Fuka-Eri. That book apparently revealed the secrets of Sakigake and the Little People. That made Tengo's live much harder because Sakigake begin to haunt him. Tengo and Aomame is somehow connected and they begin to found each other and trying to move to their 'real' world. The 1984, where there is only one ordinary moon.

The story is definitely interesting, with its highs and lows, as you would expect from a 1000-page thing. What keeps me going is this: I imagine everything in a very cinematic way, so here's a tip, try seeing what Murakami's saying.  

One of Murakami's reader said that "Reading a Murakami book is like diving into the ocean only to discover that you have always been a fish. Things suddenly start making sense".  Murakami is real genius. He really is.

Happy reading! :D