Book: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

I almost never write negative reviews these days. We have enough resources at our disposal to be able to avoid things we might not like. Generally speaking, any moderately high profile movie, album, or book has been reviewed a handful of times before you're able to experience it and a quick search will let you know what to expect. I realize most people like to just dive in regardless of other people's opinions. I just don't like taking the risk.

There is one exception to this guideline though. If an artist I've really grown to appreciate releases something, I'm going to give it a shot. Very few artists have made it into my favorites and once they have, I'm going to give them my full attention. Haruki Murakami is one of the few. He's proven himself time and again with outstanding examples of surrealist fiction (my favorite literary genre). So when 1Q84 came out I didn't bother looking up reviews; I immediately pulled out my nook and hit the download button.

The story began like many of his other novels: the introduction of a couple colorful characters, vivid descriptions of the setting, beautiful analysis of the musical piece playing in the background while inner monologue carries on with existential speculation. But, I could sense a change in the style. There was a bit more repetition. It took me a little time to notice the pattern, but after the first few chapters it was obvious what Murakami was doing. He was dumbing down his prose by highlighting important thoughts, events, and descriptions by repeating them every 20 or so pages.

Now, the reason I got into surrealist fiction in the first place was because it attempts to describe things foreign to our world, things that people have never seen or thought before. And Murakami is a master of creativity, coming up with conflicts that place very human characters in situations that would be otherwise unfathomable. I can understand that otherworldly content like this might throw someone not well-versed in the genre and a little repetition is good to keep a new-comer from getting lost and discouraged by the density of such foreign ideas. But, at this point I don't need that, and Murakami has never taken this approach before. With his previous novels he dives in to the deep end before you can even realize what's happened, forcing the reader to pick up clues and swim to eventual understanding. 1Q84 doesn't take this approach, it introduces an idea, explains it from various points of view, and then repeats it so there is no misunderstanding.

1Q84 is quite simply Haruki Murakami's attempt to reach a wider audience... And as rich as a couple characters are, as original as the main plot might be, I found myself perpetually frustrated by the repetition. It was like he was dictating the story to a 10 year old. So for me, his tone seemed borderline condescending and to trudge through this 1000 page novel was ultimately a chore.

2/5