Have you heard of the name of a book, "1Q84?" If you don't know this, I want you to remember it now. Or, at least, I want you to remember the author's name of this book, Haruki Murakami. He is my most favorite novelist and (In my opinion,) the most famous living novelist in Japan.
I read a review (which was written by Leanna B. Ehrlich) of 1Q84. The review summarized 1Q84, so I will share this this time.
This novel begins in 1984 Tokyo and alternates between the life of Aomame, a fitness instructor and part - time assassin, and Tengo, a math teacher and struggling writer. They have been isolated for a while, however, they can't forget each other. So basically this novel is a sort of love story which they try to meet up with overcoming many hardships, however, it includes many insidents - being hurtled into a subtly strange world, a sort of parallel universe "1Q84" and meeting a chief of a cult and his death. I'm sure that this novel will take you wonderful imaginary world.
Leanna said, "Murakami's vivd descriptions enliven a world that is frequently bleak and unforgiving." Take an example, "The sky remained dark, as if covered with a rid, and the world wore a heavy dampness,"Murakami writes at one point, conjuring up a dismal, unsettling mood. This kind of his evocative language is a characteristic of his writing style.
Interestingly, he is a professor of UH now and lives in Manoa now. Plus, incredibly, I encountered Haruki a week ago....! I got the best memory of Hawaii at that time.
evocative
(a) evoking strong images, memories, or feelings.
(ex) The smell was evocative of spring.
bleak
(adj) not encouraging or giving any reason to have hope
(ex) His future is bleak since he dropped out his university.
Is Mr. Murakami teaching at UH? I was told he had written "Kafka on the Shore" on Kauai, the only his novel I read. The title of his new novel sounds very intriguing. I wonder if there are some changes in his writing style. His metaphysical and somewhat Japanese realism gave me a hard time while I was reading his novel.
ReplyDeleteyeah, his writing style is very hard to understand. and it sometimes can b creepy.
ReplyDelete"Q" in 1Q84 means "9" (cuz japanese pronaunce 9 as Q)and a question mark. so basicaly he questions something in 1980s. anyway, i really recommend to read it:)