1Q84

By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator, Philip Gabriel - translator

Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett

Length: 46 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question.

Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.

As Aomame's and Tengo's narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's, 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami's most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

BONUS AUDIO: Audible interviews the translators of 1Q84, Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel.

©2011 Haruki Murakami (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This imaginative, lengthy novel satisfies as a mystery, fantasy, and humorous coming-of-age tale—all blended with the vagaries of love and loss in a dystopia mired in strange cults and mathematical/musical dreamscapes. One surmises that it's no accident that the book's enigmatic title relates to George Orwell's 1984." (AudioFile)

“Profound . . . A multilayered narrative of loyalty and loss . . . A fully articulated vision of a not-quite-nightmare world . . . A big sprawling novel [that] achieves what is perhaps the primary function of literature: to reimagine, to reframe, the world . . . At the center of [1Q84’s] reality . . . is the question of love, of how we find it and how we hold it, and the small fragile connections that sustain us, even (or especially) despite the odds . . . This is a major development in Murakami’s writing . . . A vision, and an act of the imagination.” (David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times)

“1Q84 is one of those books that disappear in your hands, pulling you into its mysteries with such speed and skill that you don’t even notice as the hours tick by and the mountain of pages quietly shrinks . . . I finished 1Q84 one fall evening, and when I set it down, baffled and in awe, I couldn’t help looking out the window to see if just the usual moon hung there or if a second orb had somehow joined it. It turned out that this magical novel did not actually alter reality. Even so, its enigmatic glow makes the world seem a little strange long after you turn the last page. Grade: A.” (Rob Brunner, Entertainment Weekly)

"Lucid Dreamism" - Great Murakami Newness

Where does 1Q84 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This story was a true event. It is disturbing in points, hilarious, oddly raunchy every now and then, but for the most part this was amazing storytelling. As promised, it is a whole new world, and Murakami can never be accused of predictability.

What did you like best about this story?

If you want to read something that is like something else, especially something mainstream, then Murakami probably is not what you are desperately seeking in an author. 1Q84 is not science fiction, nor is it “magical realism,” although a whole bunch of those key elements are swirled into the mix. This is something quirkily new, a lot of it bizarrely disorienting, but always fascinating, and it draws you on. 1Q84 is story of soul mates, and destiny, and the “unknown” barging into our lives to get us back on track (those silly little people, yo ho!) and free will versus pre-programmed packaging, you know, all that good stuff that plagues us throughout our lives (regardless of which world we are currently stumbling through).

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

On the narration, the two male readers, Vietor and Boyett, are adept pros who stay out of the way of the story. Allison Hiroto is masterful, crisp and almost as unique in reading as Haruki Murakami is in storytelling (and it must be the reason she was chosen) but she does dish out a tad too much of a good thing, over-enunciating her “ing” endings so that the word “ending” becomes “ending-GUH” or at other times “ending-KUH”) which creates more than a little auditory dissonance, I often found myself disoriented while wondering what in the world a “ring-KUH” is, and at first I figured this was intentional, to give a bizarre spin on certain characters, but then it kept popping up throughout (and to her credit, this distraction could have been handled in post-production, as the exaggerated consonant endings can be toned down, or clipped). This over-enunciation is a technique that works well on live stage, but up close and personal with earbuds, it can tend to distract. Do not let this distract you (and do not punch anyone in the face!). Stick with the story, and allow Hiroto to teach you some patience!

If you could take any character from 1Q84 out to dinner, who would it be and why?

My favorite character by far (well, other than Tengo, as characters just do not get much better than Tengo) is Ushikawa (though I doubt I'd like to go out to dinner with him, although it would certainly be interesting), better known as Ushi (and what a difference in interpretation compared to Ushi’s stint in the Audible version of “The Wind-Up Bird”), he is hilarious, and sometimes evokes huge empathy (even as repulsively as he is represented) and deep sadness.

Any additional comments?

As long as the book is, even including the passages where the characters repeat their stories, like electricity sparking along neural pathways in the creation re-telling of memory (and Tango did program the ability to rewrite one’s own history, didn’t he?), I still wanted the story to continue at its end. If I had to categorize Haruki Murakami’s “genre” I would lean toward “Lucid Dreamism.” Art et Amour Toujours

Unique-Challenging-Eccentric

First off, this book is NOT for everyone. This was my first Murakami book and I have had a strange time with it. Overall I reccommend the book. As my headline mentions it is a unique, eccentric, and challenging novel that is unlike any other I have read. The plot contains many twists and turns you do not see coming (and a few that you do) and the actions described and words used to weave this story together is unlike an American novel (being as it is written in Japanese, by a Japanese author and we are listening to the translation). However, it is easy to quickly understand the flow and follow through 'til the end. It did annoy me that there were, in my opinion, superfluous sex scenes that (most anyhow) had no bearing on the story or the plot. I'm sure Mr.Murakami would not agree and they did have a bearing on the character's personal story but they just aggravated me and made me uncomfortable. I am by no means prudish but personally feel that if I have to read or listen to a graphic sex scene I need a reason for that scene. There were several times I thought about stopping the book and not continuing but *luckily* the sex scenes would die off and the story would recapture my curiousity and imagination all over again! I rather enjoyed the female narrator but can see how the dowager's voice annoyed many.

Loved the narration, loved the book!

What a truly bizarre and yet beautifully written book (originally a three volume set written in Japanese). 1Q84 is a masterfully told tale of two worlds; one, the real world of 1984 and another version tagged “1Q84” by one of the protagonist, Aomame, as she realizes she’s no longer functioning in the “real” world, but life has somehow blurred and merged with a slightly altered version…a version existing with two moons.

So much happens in this trilogy compilation, told from multiple storylines and interesting points of view that all ultimately and seamlessly intertwine into one epic tale. As such, I won’t even attempt to go into the rest of the elaborate plot; or more accurately stated the numerous concurrent side plots. Sound complicated?...Well, yeah it is, very much so actually and with plenty of curious supernatural twist, unexpected turns and overlapping connections (the phrase “six degrees of separation” comes to mind), making Murakami’s long read, 1Q84, all the more captivating and definitely worth the time and mental investment.

Although this was my first Haruki Murakami book, I have to say I enjoyed the Japanese author’s exquisitely strange and creative writing so much, that upon finishing 1Q84, I immediately ordered another of his prominent works (THE WINDUP BIRD CHRONICLE) and look forward to further experiencing his talented skilled pen in storytelling.

Great book, Highly recomended.

1Q84 is not science fiction for me, despite having some elements of science fiction as some mental powers and an alternate reality. The fantasy world is just a little fantastic, in a point you are in doubt if it even is fantastic or not. I approve 1Q84 and certainly want to read other books by Murakami.

This idea of ​​a bridge between reality and fiction is a major theme of the book. Linking all the beautiful love story of two teenagers. Like Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw in The Getaway, or Steve Mcqueen and Faye Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair both movies are cited in the book, along with many other citations of real places of Tokyo.

Skip It

Would you try another book from the authors and/or the narrators?

I stuck with this book because of the reviews. It started off fine but I've never been more let down with an ending before and considering I spent over a month flogging through this enormous book, I feel very cheated.

There are so many loose threads dangling that I could pull any one of them and totally unravel a sweater.

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Haruki Murakami can always be counted on to take his readers out of the realm of "The Normal." His stories tend to be slightly but plausibly supernatural and "IQ84" is no exception. I love Murakami's ability to give his readers a glimpse of some other reality flitting by just behind a gauzy curtain or just up a stairway by the interstate.

"IQ84's" characters are as complicated in their motivations and histories as the story line itself and all three narrators do a great job of giving them added depth. You can cheer for the protagonists without necessarily approving of them and really dislike the villains while harboring just a little pity and hope for their salvation.

Invest a credit and jump on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. You'll enjoy the trip.

intrigued and tortured

At first I loved this epic story. I chose it partially because of the length,I hate being finished hearing a book before my 30 days are up......HOWEVER,I soon became aware of the repitition,literally ,as the characters often repeated back sentences....and then it was the revisiting of so much narrative .I thought it was me ,being impatient and being a victim of social mediaADD.The suspense and crazy imaginative story line despite flat characters that I could not relate to,kept me listening. Some parts were good and the pace picked up. If you want to know if it was worth waiting to find out what happened ,it was not. Many unanswered questions ,cliche finale ,and how can Murakami expect us to wait and then read a sequel ?! This is the first book I've read by the author who has a grand following - sorry but that's my review

Mazophilous Fantasy Funbag

I just checked the box by Haruki Murukami's name on my list of 1,000 authors to read before I die.

I knew from reading descriptions of his novels that I was in for a story eccentric at least and more likely phantasmagoric. I settled on 1Q84, despite its enormity - 928 pages and nearly 47 hours, originally published in Japan as a series of 3 novels.

While 1Q84 maintained my interest, I could not shake off my wish for a finish every time I picked it back up. I'm pretty sure if I'd been more attuned to the parallel universe created therein (called 1Q84 or the land of 2 moons), I'd have appreciated its plethora of symbols and literary structure.

One symbol I could not help but paying heed to, given its incandescence in both the volume and the variety of its iterations interspersed throughout the novel, was the female breast. The female protagonist is a twiggy 30-something physical therapist/masseuse, who is also a part-time assassin of abusers of women and children. Named Aomami (meaning, literally, "green beans"), she frequently has internal dialogs about bosoms, her size and inferiority complex and she even "mourns" the loss of the breasts of murdered women. It's the only literary novel I've read that I'd label, without hesitation, mazophilous (def., having an abnormal sexual focus on female breasts, or a breast fetishism).

Aomami experienced puppy love in grade school with the male protagonist but hasn't seen him since they were both 11. The cast also includes "little people" borne from a goat's mouth; a butterball of a reclusive cult leader who harbors a death wish; his doll-faced 17-year-old daughter with a stone-like personality and an ample bosom who can serve as surrogate sex partner in storms; a top-heavy, nymphomaniac female law enforcement officer; a pestering, porcine private investigator; a married MILF (with "pyriform mammaries) and an abnormal possessiveness of her young beau, who is the male protagonist, a part-time writer who teaches a cram course in math; and, his father, a cable bill collector, whose malevolent doppelganger (coma-induced) bangs on doors for hours as he harasses the two female leads.

The female narrator's voice is grating and staccato, narrating as if she's being compelled to read a piece of legislation rather than narrating the novel and acting out the part.

I wouldn't read/listen to it again. Yet, as President Lincoln once said when referring to a book he didn't like: "People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like."

1Q84 Rocks

What made the experience of listening to 1Q84 the most enjoyable?

I loved how 1Q84 kept moving you forward and backward giving you the background on each character in the novel. Also, the historically timelines use to tell the story of what was happing during 1984 made everything so real. I got so involve in the novel that I could not stop listening it. I love the two main characters Aoname and Tengo; their love was so strong even those they had not seen each other since childhood. I like how the novel involved us in figuring out how moons play a big part in joining the two main characters. I like how the novel was broken into 6 parts. It gave the reader time to process some of the clues on how thing were related. This was a very magically novel it kept me engage to the end waiting to see what would happened next.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 1Q84?

Aoname and Tengo.love story and what they had to go through in the changed world.

An Unfolding Word Painting

Murakami carefully builds a world and lets his somewhat bewildered characters pass through it. The book had a dreamlike quality but it is not tedious. It feels like a classic foreign (non-American) film. The translation sounds natural as do the readers (although I did speed them up some). Warning: there are some graphic, albeit non-erotic, sex scenes.