by Haruki Murakami.
I'm on Vine now.
For me books are a treasure and I used to compulsively buy them until I decided I would only buy a new book after I was done reading whatever I was currently reading. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that while growing up I didn't have access to a public library and my school's library was, well, nonexistent.
Books, or good books, are a rare item here in El Salvador. You can get your hands on classic novels and trendy stuff (Twilight and blah) but everything in-between is literature delicacy.
When I moved to France I took all of my books with me. It was pretty much the dumbest idea ever. My luggage was so heavy I couldn't go up or down any stairway and -long story short- when I had to move again I donated a lot of books to the school's library where I worked. If you are ever Bretagne there's a little town called Lannion which now holds a great collection of spanish literature :)
I moved to Madrid with only my favorite books under my arms and while I lived there I knew I couldn't keep adding books to my collection. That is when I discovered the joy of what access to a public library was. It's no joke when I say that Heinz and I used to go every weekend to pick up new books and movies. Our Saturday routine was to wake up, go to a local coffee shop to have breakfast (one of the few places with decent coffee in Madrid) and then head to the public library which was a couple of blocks away from our apartment...argh Chamberí sometimes I miss you.
Their movie collection was outstanding! But of course I focused on books. Floors and floors of books. During that time I discovered one of my favorite writers Amelie Nothomb, I also met Herman Hesse and Milan Kundera and I re-read other spanish authors I had read before.
Then, we had to move again. I still have books in Spain you know. They were still too many to bring with me to El Salvador -again- so some of them are safely stored at my in-law's house...for now.
When I went to Madrid last year to run my first marathon one of the first things I did was to slowly drag myself -post-marathon-walking- to one of my favorite bookstore to stock up on reading material. I never learn my lesson I know.
Heinz warned me about traveling with too many books and he was right, so I had to be very selective in what I bought. I only got four books and one of them was "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Haruki Murakami.
Murakami is a Japanese writer known for his novels Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the shore -to name two-. I had never read something by him before buy I had definitely heard about him so I decided to start by reading his running-related book.
This book is something of a journal and I cannot recommend it enough to those of you who love to run and read or just run or just read. I loved how unpretentious he was about his running and how honest he was about what he thinks is the formula to become a good writer.
After I finished reading his book I knew I wanted to continue reading his novels. That is when Heinz got me 1Q84 as a present.
Somehow he thought it would be a good idea to bring a 936-page book as a traveling book...even after all we've been through.
Nonetheless I was excited when he gave it to me in Costa Rica as a Yoga Teacher Training graduation present.
I started reading the book in early December so it took me 4 months with a one-week-reading-only vacation included to finish it. If you want to know what I think just click and continue reading.
The story is told in alternating chapters. Structurally this is how the writer weaves together a story of two people who are connected but don't interact.
Aomame was born and raised inside a religious group. She decided to leave the group and her family as soon as she was able to and went on living what seems to be a very introverted life.
Tengo grew up without his mom but holds on to an intriguing memory one hopes will be explain by the end of the book.
Aomame secretly works for an old lady who runs a shelter for women who are victim of domestic violence.
Tengo's editor calls him up one day with a scheme proposal. He would re-write a novel in order to win a prize but no one would know about it. No one except him, the editor and Fuka-Eri, the 17-year old original writer.
Tengo and Aomame unwillingly and unknowingly are pulled into an alternate reality. Aomame decides to call it 1Q84. Did I forget to mention it's a sci-fi book. Ok, because it's not. The letter 'Q' in japanese sounds like the number '9' and here it stands for Question.
The story is more than a love story. It's got a bit of puzzling childhood memories, a cult's history and unexplained characters like "the little people". You would think this turns it into a a mystery novel but personally I don't think it is.
It's not a romantic novel, it's not sci-fi and it's not mystery.I think this is an alternate reality book.
It's a long shot, I know, but I think Murakami is trying to come up with a new genre and that is why many people in the editorial world have a hard time reading it. It lacks the structure of what is already out there but I don't see why this has to be something negative.
There are many unanswered questions, inexplicable facts and unnecessary repetitions but that doesn't make the book less enjoyable and -most important- that doesn't make the reader less interested.
After reading the book -all 936 pages of it- I realized there is a final book. The book I have are only part I and II.
Coming from a girl who absolutely dislikes open-endings I still will continue to read the third part. I don't expect my questions to be answered or any mystery to be solved. I will continue to read it because Murakami was able to create that alternate reality. A reality where even though no answers will be given and there is zero chance that the story will have a happy ending I want to keep on reading.
Murakami has made me a sort of Big Brother where I can observe how 1Q84 unfolds and that may be the link I find between Orwell's 1984 and Murakami's 1Q84.
Finally, would I recommend it?
It depends who you are. If you are a book critic then NO.
If you are an ordinary person who likes to read only for the pleasure of reading -without having to judge a book as good or bad- then go ahead and read it. I don't know if you'll love it but you will definitely finish it and have an opinion.
Nine hundred and thirty six pages later come back and tell me what you think.