1Q84 by Haruki Murakami | Book Thoughts
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2016
- I decided to keep the sound of cicadas in the video since it's summer and they are relevant to Japanese culture since it's a Japanese book.
In case you're wondering, I gave the book a 4 out of 5.
Disclaimer: All items were purchased or checked out of the library by me. All opinions are my own.
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Great review, and I appreciate your explanation about the title and '1984' - I didn't know that!
Just finished this book yesterday. Your review definitely sums it up. Thanks 😊
Great review! Especially your thoughts about the third book. And yes, more cats! :)
Finally i finish the book today 28 Februari-2022 and I know 100% meaning of this book.
I agree with what you said about the reocurring types of persons and stories in his books and especially the „sexualisation“ of women and young women in particular kinda gives me a weird vibe. I kinda always feel like HE is the main character thats always a bit nerdy but describes that he has many great qualities, is kinda a loner but then again I think maybe hes just that good of an author haha. Nevertheless I love his books and characters!!
Thanks for the review! I just finished it and can totally agree with you about the long "streched" third part. In addition to that the ending for me was too classical - I kinda expected the unexpected in the end...
I agree with the 'male man' part. I've read Norwegian Wood and the same main male character is somehow, somehow similar with Tengo's. Silent, mysterious, etc... Anyways, I'm currently reading 1q84 and it's taking me forever lmao. Maybe because the size of it is intimidating (I have the same version of yours) and yeah, there are some parts that could've been cut out but I actually, quite enjoy reading his books and I am excited to try kafka on the shore and sputnik sweetheart as well :) Btw, fun book review! New subscriber here!
thank you! I've read several of his works and it's basically the same. lol. He writes about similar themes but it's a double edge sword for me because at one point, I know what I'm getting into and it's comforting, but at the same time, it does get eye rolling. I'm hoping to read more from him.
Have been wanting to read this FOREVER and have been intimidated by the size, hearing that there are parts that lull scares me even more. You suggesting to break up the reading give me hope though. High5 for any Kingdom Hearts reference, that was my game back in the day! 👊🏾💥 Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
yay Kingdom Hearts! if you can, you should start off with one of his shorter novels so you can see if you will like his style. he is a really polarizing author. lol
+Michael Reads (michaelisreading) maybe so!
I want to read this now - subbed!!
Omg yes you perfectly described how I feel when I read murakami
It's always hard for me to explain my critique of Murakami so I'm glad that it came through the video. Thanks for watching.
I love this book with all my hart... you did awesome review...
Thank you. It's been so long since I've read it.
Hi,
I haven't read this book but I'm glad I bought the 3 books seperatly. I wanted to try this author in 2016. Now, I think I will start with the other book I have, "Spunik sweethearts". Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Have a nice day.
I haven't read that oneb yet and I'm hoping to read more of his works.
#bishwhet bahahaha.
I agree with how his writing reads. It flows nicely and reads smoothly.
I haven't read this book, but I recently started Kafka On The Shore and I liked hearing your thoughts on his writing because I am seeing we have some similar opinions.
It's confusing at the beginnings and his stories are weird LOL!
I'm glad you're enjoying Kafka. I haven't read that one yet and I'm hoping to get to it soon.
Omg same, I left it after the first 100 pages for months. And only this summer did I muster myself to finish book one at least.
it's definitely a long book. lol.
funny and honest! Thank you for genuinely expressing your opinion :D
Can you tell me what to read next after this? I have already completed the rat tetralogy, wind up bird and norwegian wood.
Found some great points out of your review. Thanks!
You should try his short stories collection. They're interesting. "Barn Burning" is one to check out because you can watch the Korean film "Burning" afterwards. It think it's a great adaptation.
@@MichaelReads okay thanks again!
Loved your review. I just started reading his books. I read a Wild sheep Chase, Colorless....., After Dark, Sputnik Sweetheart and Hardboiled Wonderland.......
Hard boiled Wonderland is the only one I didn’t like.
I have 1Q84 next, but only book 1 & 2,
I’m expecting book three soon.
Hope I like it!!! 😁
Hardboiled Wonderland was so crazy when I read it awhile back. lol. Have you watched the Korean movie Burning that was released last year? It's based on one of his short story and it's really good.
Michael Reads haven’t seen it, but I’ll search online for it. Maybe Netflix? Amazon? 😮😀
I'd really like to read Murakami's description of your personality after him watching you commenting on his book like this, especially the part you said it's TOO LONG
man, you would have a worse description than Ushikawa himself
interesting review thanks i enjoyed what u had to say
Finished it last night, first book I ever read by this author. I have the same edition as you do, and given its length, just finishing it in and of itself feels like a huge accomplishment! I still have so much to digest.
But regarding the sex scene you referenced in the video, I definitely agree; it was confusingly and disturbingly uncomfortable. I can sense dissonance in his portrayal of women, and I had a problem with pretty much every sex scene in this book, each one for different reasons.
Also *****SPOILERS****** (I think) the addition of the POV of a third character that was chronologically a step behind in the last book just didn't sit well with me. It contributed a lot to these "Previously On..." parts you mentioned. Ushikawa's POV is mostly justified in his last 2 or 3 chapters or so) and interesting (but mostly not crucial) info about his perspective is scattered in maybe 2 other chapters but that's it. The rest just makes book 3 unnecessarily bloated, as opposed to books 1 and 2 when I kinda liked it when they were just faffing about lol. There was a point I was relieved when his chapters ended because they provided next to nothing new and could never raise the stakes.
Regardless, I loved the main characters' connection and resonated with their loneliness and longing for each other. So it made me push through the... um... morally questionable and repetitive bits.
I'm still processing it so sorry about this being too long. This damn story has me wondering wayyyy too much
I've read and filmed this video SO LONG ago and people to this day still watch it and leave comments. I think I need to re-read it again but I've read so much of Murikami's works that I think I'm good for now. lol. His stories tend to overlap because they're VERY similar to one another.
In regards to the sex scene, whenever I encounter those types of things in the Japanese entertainment that I consume, it's always interesting because they view and portray sex different than Americans. Even kissing each other on the cheeks or hugging each other is SO important where as here in the US, it's not really a big deal. In a lot of the movies and anime, for modesty, if two characters kiss, they'll find a way to hide it, unless it's hentai (don't look it up if you don't know. lol). Even their porn there is SO DIFFERNT and the age of consent. It's just a cultural thing for sure. It is noticeable though how he doesn't really portray his female characters as well as the main, male protagonist.
There are a lot of repetitiveness in the last part of the novel that the editor/translator should have shortened. The best part about the novel is definitely how Murikami connects and makes similarities to Orwell's 1984 that I do remember him making but I'm sure I missed some and there are definitely different interpretations of both the novels.
My comment is long too but thank you so much for watching and commenting. There's definitely a lot of things in the book to digest. :)
Michael Reads Yes! Talked to a friend about it and he said the same thing about it probably being the result of a cultural tendency (of course we can only speculate considering our backgrounds). Certain gestures, especially physical ones, hold so much more meaning while in America for example they're so trivialized. If I pick up any Murakami book again, I'll surely keep what you said in mind. I hope I wasn't insensitive in my remarks, and thank you for helping me become more aware!
It's a dense story and I really like your perspective on it!
BTW when you said bishwhet it was so funny! I like your personality, just subscribed :)
i want to read that book out loud.
The reason for having q is certainly not because it resembles 9 q in Japanese. Aomame, a character in the book, cannot make sense of the year that she was found. This year is raising too many question marks in her head. That's why she calls this year 1q84. That being Q is the initial of the 'question'
great video, just found your channel, subscribed! :)
thank you!
Great review.
thanks!
Finished the book today, and I think I’m just gonna stop reading Murakami. I’ve only read 2 of his books but you pretty much summed up why I was put off by the author
I really need to read something by this author.
you should! at least see how you feel about him. I would start off with one of his shorter novels before tackling one of his tomes. he's an author that people definitely has an opinion about
Norweign wood read it
I would love to hear your thoughts on the various themes of the book as I am a confuzzled reader as well who is still trying to make sense of what murakami is trying tell us or teach us. Haha.
This is going to sound weird as I type this but his themes are always the same but different. One thing I do notice within his works is this idea of two worlds. A LOT of Japanese novels explore this topic. That's why I made the Kingdom Hearts reference. It's similar to the concept of yin and yang. Have you ever watched Legend of Korra?
👍👍👍
I appreciate these thoughts because I'm reading Kafka on the Shore and a lot of what I am experiencing are things you're mentioning about IQ84. Sex scenes that seem pointless and out of place, the represenation of women as caricatures or otherwise vapid, that feeling of not having any idea what it going on. I relate completely. I am really not enjoying it, although his creativity is something that I won't scoff at. I don't think I'll pick up any other book by him after Kafka on the Shore. Do you think I'm making a mistake?
I've experienced similar feelings with his other books so I'm assuming it's just the way he writes. I like how you mention about his creativity because I feel as though his works FEEL unique (but that is debatable too). He is a polarizing author so if you're not enjoying his works, I would recommend not continuing because that feeling of being lost and weirdness will continue. YOLO!
Everything you say about Murakami's work is totally correct, yet at the same time...I think his work is amazing. He's written books I hate, and books I love. But there's no other work like it, and I feel like it definitely gives me a unique experience. And the sexism in his work, as much as it IS sexism, it is a unique manifestation of it that seems as though it developed independent of social conditioning, which to me, is fascinating in its won way. And really, he objectifies all his characters, both male in female. In different ways, yes, but there is a weird way of objectifying he does in all his writing that has been worth examining for me as writer.
finished this last night. i have also read norwegian wood, wind-up bird chronicle, and colorless tsukuru tazaki. i don’t know if i’m crazy about murakami’s fantasy novels. he even explicitly puts the words that describe his fantasy/mystery novels in the characters mouths with phrases like “there are more questions than answers” from the main characters in their experience of the story. it honestly feels like you’re being tricked into continuing to read, but you end up just more and more confused. same for wind-up bird,,, i honestly almost hated how wind-up bird gave little to no explanation behind the fantasy. but wonderfully written and full of beautiful poetic story-telling and atmosphere description.
oooo. Really interesting thoughts. Have you tried his short stories? There are some where it's more grounded and not as fantastical. It's really interesting the range of his stories because they really do vary. They made a movie adaption of one of his short stories, the movie is called Burning, that I thought was a fantastic adaption. I would probably have to do more research but I've always wondered how Japanese people feel about his works because from the anime that I watch, the sense of magical things happening "feels" normal, if that makes any sense. They have a different view of the fantastical that is very different from the western stories.
Michael Reads yes!! something amazing about his fantasy is that he makes them so relatable (well, they literally take place in an actual setting with actual history and landmarks etc) to the point that it just seems like something that could feasibly happen. ill have to look into the shorter stories!
I'm so late here haha! Some people didn't like it and i can respect their opinion, but honestly i really enjoyed it. It's my first Murakami book and compared to other (popular) japanese authors, i liked his work the most ( this might change tho). The characters are extremely well written, the plot is engaging. The only problem it has i think, it's that the "descriptions" of certain scenes are a waaaay too long, a bit uncomfortable and unnecessary. Otherwise 9/10
I seriously pushed subscribe after #bishwhet lol
Awesome video really thinking of giving his books a shot.
+BookishJayLee thanks! have you read any other Murakami?
Review Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy next.
Finished today the 3rd book, the ending was disappointing but everything before I enjoyed
Hi friend, I fell in love for Haruki Murakami long time ago but I'm kind of, hmmm, I'm too poor I cant afford to buy 1Q84 paperback book. 😔 Maybe you could sell me the old book you've read with a cheaper price. Sorry for the grammar I'm from Vietnam I dont speak Emglish well enough but I want to read 1Q84 to improve it. Hope you read this comment
Have you read Kafka?
Just only "The Metamorphosis" awhile back in high school but nothing else. It would be interesting to read another work from him.
o ok cool because i heard his stuff was a little hard to understand lol
U remind me of wah lol from wahlietv
I have this book and The Windup Bird Chronicle. For some reason I'm not so sure I'm going to like this author.
It's a hit and miss with him. To be honest and watching your videos for awhile, I don't think you'll like him either (lol) but it's worth a shot to read if you're ever in the mood.
I'm going to try but if ain't working for me I4m going to DNF.
I don't think this author is for me. I've read one of his books called Wind/Pinball, and I was bored.
I'm not always of fan of magical realism elements and apparently he's all about that life.
Yeah....it seems he's all about that life like Rushdie Salman.
I havent read any of his stuff
ah gotcha! I would recommend you NOT start with this book. lol. It would definitely turn you off of Murakami. I would recommend you start with something short, like The Strange Library. He has a short story collection called the Elephant Vanishes and that's a good starting point because you can see his style.