1Q84

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

Narrado por: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett

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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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)

This story falls off a cliff

I was really into the story and couldn't wait for the end! Then I feel like the author got tired of it and said "The End". Too many loose ends. No explanations. Were they planning sequel to wrap things up? After seeing this booked hyped up I was really left expecting more. I can't really recommend it. I gave 3 stars because it was good 3/4 of the way through.

Who or what are the "little people?"

I just loved being wrapped up in this story. I really liked how it went from Tengo to Aomame. I felt a bit of disappointment in not knowing what the "little people" were doing or why they built "air chrysalises."

It then dawned on me that the author had originally wrote this as three separate volumes. In English we got them wrapped up in one.

I'm now eagerly awaiting the next world Murkami weaves from strands plucked from the air.

Consider me a fan.

First and Last

This was my first Murakami book, and it'll probably be my last. I actually enjoyed it, but with major reservations.

It was very repetitive. Like watching a marathon end-to-end TV series, when they give you recaps every 24 minutes. Like the reader/listener is stupid, and not paying attention.

The prose was very utilitarian. No wit, no humor.

It's a fantasy, but some parts are so ridiculous that author devotes four sentences trying to convince you why it isn't that ridiculous.

I thought all three narrators were good. Some folks seem to have a problem with the female narrator, Allison Hiroto. She seemed fine, but I wish all three narrators would settle on common pronunciations of the Japanese names.

The ending was the most predictable of any book I've read/heard. If 2/3 way through the book you asked a group of readers how it would end, half would give the exact actual ending, and probably a third would come up with a much better ending.

There are complaints that the audiobook was too long. Yep. I think 1Q84 could have been much better with some tweaking and editing, and a lot more finesse.

Imaginative, gripping

What did you love best about 1Q84?

I loved the stories within stories that tied all sorts of people,, real and fantastical situations all together! 2 moons!?

What other book might you compare 1Q84 to and why?

I saw a little of 1984 as the title suggests but this is better! It was like a creepy fairytale too.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Ah Màmi, the female protagonist and a killer,lover, and the immaculate conception.

It went on and on and on!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would make it shorter.

Would you be willing to try another book from the authors? Why or why not?

Yes. The writing is really good. The characters are all so weird and broken, though, and it's a little difficult to believe the trajectory of some of them.

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

N/A.

Was 1Q84 worth the listening time?

I listened to it, but I have to admit my mind started to wander around the 30th hour or so!

Glad I gave it a second chance

I started to listen to this one right after I bought it, and just couldn't get hooked. I've read several Murakami novels before and knew going it it might be one of those books that is better to read than to listen to. So after listening to about an hour of it I went on to other very good Audible books.

So several months later I was out of credits and had read everything else, so decided to give 1Q84 a second chance. And really glad I did. This time the hook set and I fell in love with the story. And with the multiple narrators.

The book chapters are broken to be from the perspective of different characters after a while you can directly relate the character to the narrator. Works fantastically with a complex novel like this. But it did lead to the only very minor complaint I had. There is a TV tax collector character in the story that originally fell into the story line of the main female character. The narrator did such a convincing job of acting the collector's lines that when the tax collector showed up in another characters storyline and narrator, I found it disappointing. But given the structure of the novel and the narration scheme, it really couldn't be avoided I guess.

Fascinating, a thriller, spellbinding

If you could sum up 1Q84 in three words, what would they be?

.spellbinding, fascinating, engrossing

What did you like best about this story?

I downloaded this book on a whim and was completely engrossed in moments and could not put it down, Now my wife is listening to it and loves it. the narrators are magnificent

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

the multiple narrators made the book so easy to listen to especially with the Japanese names involved in the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

to tell you, would give away the plot

Any additional comments?

I will buy more books by Murakami

Addictive

I couldn't stop listening and weeks later, I am still thinking about the story and the characters.

What world is this?

I enjoyed every second of it, the voice performers aré excellent, the story quite amazing!

Incredibly unique story

Very long book, but Murakami keeps your interest throughout. The story is very unique with interesting characters and crazy plots!