'1Q84' by Haruki Murakami
'1Q84' by Haruki Murakami

The good

  • Occasionally good writing/prose.
  • A fascinating intro/premise that pulls you in. The ability to travel into a different world or reality is fascinating.
  • A few interesting characters, especially Ushikawa and Tamaru.

The not so good

  • Most of the other characters don’t think or act like people. Almost all of them are flat, uni-dimensional tropes designed to further the story along.

  • I found the magic / surrealistic / religious bits dull and confusing. Little people, Air Chrysalis, the speaker, etc. all appear out of nowhere, act bizarrely, and don’t seem to actually do anything of consequence.

  • The focus on several cults in the book was intriguing at first—really got you wondering what secrets they were hiding and what they were up to—but none of that went anywhere.

  • The focus on other worlds / dimensions was similarly intriguing, but again, it didn’t end up going anywhere

  • In general, nothing actually got resolved or explained. You’re pulled in by all sorts of intrigue, mysteries, and magic at the beginning, but your understanding of them doesn’t improve any towards the end. It’s deeply unsatisfying.

  • There is a ridiculous obsession with sex organs, and especially breasts. The author discusses, in massive detail, the breasts of almost every single female character. We hear about Aomame’s small and uneven breasts and Fuka-Eri’s large and beautiful breasts dozens of times each. The characters grab their own breasts at weird moments, think about breasts, and talk about breasts constantly. There’s nothing wrong with talking about sex or gentalia when it serves a purpose in the story, but here, it felt gratuitous and pointless.

  • Way too long.

Rating: 2 stars