I made it!It's an epic read and I'm still mulling over how I feel about it.
I'm glad I left some time between No. 2 and No. 3 otherwise I may have become annoyed at some of the developments or to be more accurate, the slow pace of development in No. 3.
The dream sequences started to annoy me, but just as I was feeling really bugged by them, they stopped. As did Ushikawa. I can see that he was used as a way to bring the two stories together, but he bugged me too. His ending felt quite satisfying!
I enjoyed the references to other books and authors.
The ending was satisfying.
Murakami's writing, his world, his characters were memorable and vivid. A little editing might have helped things along though.
But I will be reading more Murakami in the future.
In some ways this quote sums up the book ""No need to explain," Tengo said. If you can't understand it without an explanation, you can't understand it with an explanation."
Book One
Book Two
I agree that Tengo's quote is an excellent summary of this book. It is not my favorite Murakami. I think you may enjoy some of his others more, given what bugged you about this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to eventually dipping my toe in some Murakami fiction, but I think I'll probably start with one of his shorter novels... :)
ReplyDeleteWell done for getting to the end, it's certainly a doorstop of a book. I've never read any Murakami, I'd like to some day, but would probably start with a shorter one.
ReplyDeleteglad you read it. I found it to be my most favorite book by Murakami: http://wordsandpeace.com/2011/11/15/80-review-1q84/
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, I didn't find it long at all, and could have remained it its thrill for more pages!