1Q84
Encyclopedia
1Q84 is a novel
by Haruki Murakami
, first published in three volumes in Japan in 2009–10. The novel quickly became a sensation, with its first printing selling out the day it was released, and reaching sales of one million within a month. The English language edition of all three volumes, with the first two volumes translated by Jay Rubin
and the third by Philip Gabriel
, was released in North America and the United Kingdom on October 25, 2011. An excerpt from the novel, "Town of Cats", appeared in the September 5, 2011 issue of The New Yorker
magazine.
. Book 1 and Book 2 were both published on May 29, 2009. Book 3 was published on April 16, 2010.
In English translation, Knopf
published the novel in the United States in a single volume on October 25, 2011. In the United Kingdom the novel is published by Harvill Secker in two volumes. The first volume, containing Books 1 and 2, was published on October 18th, 2011, with the second, containing Book 3, due for publication on October 25th, 2011. The cover for the Knopf edition was created by Chip Kidd
.
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
. Prior to the publication of 1Q84, Murakami stated that he would not reveal anything about the book, following criticism that leaks had diminished the novelty of his previous books. 1Q84 was noted for heavy advance orders despite this secrecy. The letter Q
and the Japanese number 9 (typically romanized
as "kyū," but as "kew" on the book's Japanese cover) are homophones, which are often used in Japanese wordplay.
The narrative is composed of two storylines that alternate by chapter. The book opens with Aomame's perspective as she catches a taxi in Tokyo
on her way to a work assignment, noticing that Janáček's Sinfonietta
is playing on the radio. When the taxi gets stuck in a traffic jam on the expressway
, the driver suggests that she get out of the car and climb down an emergency escape in order to make her important meeting. Aomame makes her way to a hotel in Shibuya
, where she poses as a hotel attendant in order to assassinate a hotel guest. She performs the murder with a tool that leaves almost no trace on its victim, leading investigators to conclude that he died a natural death.
As the story unfolds, Aomame has several bizarre experiences, including a string of memories that do not line up with the archives of major newspapers. One of them concerns a group of extremists who are engaged in a standoff with police in the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture
. Upon reading these articles, she concludes that she must be living in an alternate reality, and suspects that she entered it about the time she heard Sinfonietta on the radio.
The second chapter introduces Tengo, whose mentor Komatsu asks him to rewrite an awkwardly written but otherwise promising manuscript that had been entered in a literary contest. Komatsu wants to submit the novel to a prestigious literary agency and promote its author as a new literary prodigy. Tengo has reservations about rewriting another author's work, especially that of a high school student. He agrees to do so only upon meeting the original writer, who goes by the strange name "Fukaeri," and asking her permission. Fukaeri, however, seems to care very little what happens to the manuscript, telling Tengo to do as he likes with it.
Soon it becomes clear that Fukaeri, who is dyslexic, neither wrote the manuscript on her own nor submitted it to the contest herself. Tengo's discomfort with the project deepens upon finding out other people must be involved. To address his concerns, Fukaeri takes Tengo to meet her guardian, a man called Ebisuno-sensei , or simply sensei to Fukaeri. Here Tengo learns that Fukaeri's parents were members of a commune called Takashima . Her father, Tamotsu Fukada was Ebisuno's friend and colleague, but they did not see eye-to-eye on this subject. Fukada thought of Takashima as a utopia; Ebisuno, however, describes the commune as a place where people were turned into unthinking robots, saying that it was like something out of the world of George Orwell's novel. Fukaeri, whom Ebisuno-sensei calls Eri , was only a small child at the time; she sits quietly through the discussion, noting only that Takashima was fun.
In 1974, Fukada and 30 members founded a new commune called Sakigake . The young members of the commune work hard under Fukada's leadership, but eventually disagreements split the commune into two factions, and the more radical form a new commune called Akebono , which eventually has a gunfight with police near Lake Motosu
in Yamanashi Prefecture.
One day, Fukaeri appears on Ebisuno-sensei's doorstep. She does not speak and will not explain what happened to her. When Ebisuno attempts to contact Fukada at Sakigake, he is told that he is unavailable. Ebisuno thereby becomes Fukaeri's guardian, and by the time of 1Q84s present, they have not heard from her parents for seven years, leading Ebisuno to fear the worst.
It is while living with Ebisuno that Fukaeri composes her story, Kūki Sanagi. Unable to write it herself, she tells it to Azami , Ebisuno's daughter. The story is about a girl's life in a commune, where she met a group of dwarfs, whom Fukaeri refers to as "Little People ".
Aomame and Tengo's parallel world's begin to draw ever closer. Aomame is introduced to a 10 year old girl named Tsubasa through the dowager. It transpires that Tsubasa and her parents have been involved with Sakigake. Tsubasa herself has been forcefully abused by the cult leader named only as `The Leader.` As Tsubasa sleeps in the safe house owned by the Dowager the `Little People` which are mentioned in Air Chrysalis by Fuka Eri appear from Tsubasa's mouth and proceed to repair some sort of object which is hidden under Tsubasa's bed.
The reader discovers that the Dowager has decided that `The Leader` will, in fact, be Aomame's next target. This proves to be an near impossible task as The Leader never ventures outside the walled enclosure which houses Sakigake.
Tengo : the second of the novel's point-of-view characters, he is an unpublished novelist who works as a math tutor at a prep school. His mother died when he was very young; his earliest memory is of his mother in bed with a man who was not Tengo's father. His father worked for NHK
going door-to-door collecting the network's reception fee, and he used to make Tengo go with him every Sunday.
Komatsu : A 45-year-old editor of a publishing company. He lives his daily life on his own schedule, seemingly oblivious to the rhythms of people around him, and often calls Tengo in the middle of the night. Although Komatsu enjoys a good professional reputation for his competence, he is not seen to be an amicable person. Little is known about his private life beyond rumors.
Fukaeri : a slight but striking 17-year-old high school student whose manuscript, Kūki Sanagi , is entered in a literary contest. She is extremely reticent, with an unusual, abrupt way of speaking, and what seems to be an apathetic view of life. She also suffers from dyslexia and struggles in school.
s Douglas Haddow has called it "a global event in itself, [which] passionately defends the power of the novel." One review described 1Q84 as a "complex and surreal narrative" which "shifts back and forth between tales of two characters, a man and a woman, who are searching for each other." It tackles themes of murder, history, cult religion, violence, family ties and love. In another review for The Japan Times
, it was said that the novel "may become a mandatory read for anyone trying to get to grips with contemporary Japanese culture", calling 1Q84 Haruki Murakami's "magnum opus
". Similarly, Kevin Hartnett of The Christian Science Monitor
considers it Murakami's most intricate work as well as his most ambitious and the New York Review of Books has praised the ambition of the novel down to the typography and attention to detail. Malcolm Jones of Newsweek
considers this novel emblematic of Murakami's mastery of the novel, comparing him to Charles Dickens
.
One of the few dissenting reviews is Time
s Bryan Walsh, who found 1Q84 to be the weakest of Murakami's novels in part because it excises his typical first-person narrative. A negative review from A.V. Club had Christian Williams calling the book "stylistically clumsy" with "layers of tone-deaf dialogue, turgid description, and unyielding plot;" he awarded a D rating.
Awards and honors
The novel was longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize
and in November, placed #2 in Amazon.com
's top books of the year.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami
is a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...
, first published in three volumes in Japan in 2009–10. The novel quickly became a sensation, with its first printing selling out the day it was released, and reaching sales of one million within a month. The English language edition of all three volumes, with the first two volumes translated by Jay Rubin
Jay Rubin
Jay Rubin is an American academic and translator. He is most notable for being one of the main translators into English of the works of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. He has also written a guide to Japanese, Making Sense of Japanese , and a biographical literary analysis of Murakami.He has...
and the third by Philip Gabriel
Philip Gabriel
J. Philip Gabriel is a full professor and department chair of the University of Arizona's Department of East Asian Studies and is one of the major translators into English of the works of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami....
, was released in North America and the United Kingdom on October 25, 2011. An excerpt from the novel, "Town of Cats", appeared in the September 5, 2011 issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine.
Publication history
The novel was originally published in Japan in three hardcover volumes by ShinchoshaShinchosha
is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.-Monthly:* ENGINE* Foresight* nicola*Shinchō-External links:*...
. Book 1 and Book 2 were both published on May 29, 2009. Book 3 was published on April 16, 2010.
In English translation, Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
published the novel in the United States in a single volume on October 25, 2011. In the United Kingdom the novel is published by Harvill Secker in two volumes. The first volume, containing Books 1 and 2, was published on October 18th, 2011, with the second, containing Book 3, due for publication on October 25th, 2011. The cover for the Knopf edition was created by Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd is an American author, editor, and graphic designer, best known for his book covers.- Early life :Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up in the Reading suburb of Shillington, strongly influenced by American popular culture...
.
Background information
Murakami spent three years writing the novel after coming up with the opening sequence and title. The title is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the year 1984, a reference to George OrwellGeorge Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
. Prior to the publication of 1Q84, Murakami stated that he would not reveal anything about the book, following criticism that leaks had diminished the novelty of his previous books. 1Q84 was noted for heavy advance orders despite this secrecy. The letter Q
Q
Q is the seventeenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.- History :The Semitic sound value of Qôp was , a sound common to Semitic languages, but not found in English or most Indo-European ones...
and the Japanese number 9 (typically romanized
Romanization of Japanese
The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is known as , less strictly romaji, literally "Roman letters", sometimes incorrectly transliterated as romanji or rōmanji. There are several different romanization systems...
as "kyū," but as "kew" on the book's Japanese cover) are homophones, which are often used in Japanese wordplay.
Plot summary
The events of the story take place in fictionalized 1984, with the first volume set between April and June, the second between July and September, and the third between October and December.The narrative is composed of two storylines that alternate by chapter. The book opens with Aomame's perspective as she catches a taxi in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on her way to a work assignment, noticing that Janáček's Sinfonietta
Sinfonietta (Janácek)
The Sinfonietta is a very expressive and festive, late work for large orchestra by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček...
is playing on the radio. When the taxi gets stuck in a traffic jam on the expressway
Route 3 (Shuto Expressway)
Route 3 is one of the radial routes of the Shuto Expressway system in the Tokyo area. Route 3 runs southwest from Tanimachi Junction in Minato-ku and runs for 7.44 miles through Shibuya-ku, Meguro-ku, and Setagaya-ku...
, the driver suggests that she get out of the car and climb down an emergency escape in order to make her important meeting. Aomame makes her way to a hotel in Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
, where she poses as a hotel attendant in order to assassinate a hotel guest. She performs the murder with a tool that leaves almost no trace on its victim, leading investigators to conclude that he died a natural death.
As the story unfolds, Aomame has several bizarre experiences, including a string of memories that do not line up with the archives of major newspapers. One of them concerns a group of extremists who are engaged in a standoff with police in the mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture
Yamanashi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Kōfu.-Pre-history to the 14th century:People have been living in the Yamanashi area for about 30,000 years...
. Upon reading these articles, she concludes that she must be living in an alternate reality, and suspects that she entered it about the time she heard Sinfonietta on the radio.
The second chapter introduces Tengo, whose mentor Komatsu asks him to rewrite an awkwardly written but otherwise promising manuscript that had been entered in a literary contest. Komatsu wants to submit the novel to a prestigious literary agency and promote its author as a new literary prodigy. Tengo has reservations about rewriting another author's work, especially that of a high school student. He agrees to do so only upon meeting the original writer, who goes by the strange name "Fukaeri," and asking her permission. Fukaeri, however, seems to care very little what happens to the manuscript, telling Tengo to do as he likes with it.
Soon it becomes clear that Fukaeri, who is dyslexic, neither wrote the manuscript on her own nor submitted it to the contest herself. Tengo's discomfort with the project deepens upon finding out other people must be involved. To address his concerns, Fukaeri takes Tengo to meet her guardian, a man called Ebisuno-sensei , or simply sensei to Fukaeri. Here Tengo learns that Fukaeri's parents were members of a commune called Takashima . Her father, Tamotsu Fukada was Ebisuno's friend and colleague, but they did not see eye-to-eye on this subject. Fukada thought of Takashima as a utopia; Ebisuno, however, describes the commune as a place where people were turned into unthinking robots, saying that it was like something out of the world of George Orwell's novel. Fukaeri, whom Ebisuno-sensei calls Eri , was only a small child at the time; she sits quietly through the discussion, noting only that Takashima was fun.
In 1974, Fukada and 30 members founded a new commune called Sakigake . The young members of the commune work hard under Fukada's leadership, but eventually disagreements split the commune into two factions, and the more radical form a new commune called Akebono , which eventually has a gunfight with police near Lake Motosu
Fuji Five Lakes
is the name of the area located at the base of Mount Fuji in the Yamanashi prefecture of Japan. It has a population of about 100,000. and sits approximately 1,000 meters above sea level. The name Fuji Five Lakes comes from the fact that there are five lakes formed by previous eruptions of Mount Fuji...
in Yamanashi Prefecture.
One day, Fukaeri appears on Ebisuno-sensei's doorstep. She does not speak and will not explain what happened to her. When Ebisuno attempts to contact Fukada at Sakigake, he is told that he is unavailable. Ebisuno thereby becomes Fukaeri's guardian, and by the time of 1Q84s present, they have not heard from her parents for seven years, leading Ebisuno to fear the worst.
It is while living with Ebisuno that Fukaeri composes her story, Kūki Sanagi. Unable to write it herself, she tells it to Azami , Ebisuno's daughter. The story is about a girl's life in a commune, where she met a group of dwarfs, whom Fukaeri refers to as "Little People ".
Aomame and Tengo's parallel world's begin to draw ever closer. Aomame is introduced to a 10 year old girl named Tsubasa through the dowager. It transpires that Tsubasa and her parents have been involved with Sakigake. Tsubasa herself has been forcefully abused by the cult leader named only as `The Leader.` As Tsubasa sleeps in the safe house owned by the Dowager the `Little People` which are mentioned in Air Chrysalis by Fuka Eri appear from Tsubasa's mouth and proceed to repair some sort of object which is hidden under Tsubasa's bed.
The reader discovers that the Dowager has decided that `The Leader` will, in fact, be Aomame's next target. This proves to be an near impossible task as The Leader never ventures outside the walled enclosure which houses Sakigake.
Main characters
Aomame : one of the two point-of-view characters of the novel, Aomame is a thirty year old woman working as part of an enigmatic organization for which she commits carefully selected murders. Her name means "green bean".Tengo : the second of the novel's point-of-view characters, he is an unpublished novelist who works as a math tutor at a prep school. His mother died when he was very young; his earliest memory is of his mother in bed with a man who was not Tengo's father. His father worked for NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
going door-to-door collecting the network's reception fee, and he used to make Tengo go with him every Sunday.
Komatsu : A 45-year-old editor of a publishing company. He lives his daily life on his own schedule, seemingly oblivious to the rhythms of people around him, and often calls Tengo in the middle of the night. Although Komatsu enjoys a good professional reputation for his competence, he is not seen to be an amicable person. Little is known about his private life beyond rumors.
Fukaeri : a slight but striking 17-year-old high school student whose manuscript, Kūki Sanagi , is entered in a literary contest. She is extremely reticent, with an unusual, abrupt way of speaking, and what seems to be an apathetic view of life. She also suffers from dyslexia and struggles in school.
Critical response
Reviews of the novel have been mostly positive, praising both its quality and its place in the world of literature at large—for instance, The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Douglas Haddow has called it "a global event in itself, [which] passionately defends the power of the novel." One review described 1Q84 as a "complex and surreal narrative" which "shifts back and forth between tales of two characters, a man and a woman, who are searching for each other." It tackles themes of murder, history, cult religion, violence, family ties and love. In another review for The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
, it was said that the novel "may become a mandatory read for anyone trying to get to grips with contemporary Japanese culture", calling 1Q84 Haruki Murakami's "magnum opus
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
". Similarly, Kevin Hartnett of The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
considers it Murakami's most intricate work as well as his most ambitious and the New York Review of Books has praised the ambition of the novel down to the typography and attention to detail. Malcolm Jones of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
considers this novel emblematic of Murakami's mastery of the novel, comparing him to Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
.
One of the few dissenting reviews is Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
s Bryan Walsh, who found 1Q84 to be the weakest of Murakami's novels in part because it excises his typical first-person narrative. A negative review from A.V. Club had Christian Williams calling the book "stylistically clumsy" with "layers of tone-deaf dialogue, turgid description, and unyielding plot;" he awarded a D rating.
Awards and honors
The novel was longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize
Man Asian Literary Prize
The Man Asian Literary Prize, founded in 2007, is an annual literary award given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year...
and in November, placed #2 in Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's top books of the year.
Japan
- Book 1 (ISBN 978-4103534228, 554 pages), published on May 29, 2009
- Book 2 (ISBN 978-4103534235, 501 pages), published on May 29, 2009
- Book 3 (ISBN 978-4103534259, 602 pages), published on April 16, 2010
United Kingdom
- Volume 1 (ISBN 978-1846554070, 640 pages), containing Books 1 and 2, published on October 18, 2011
- Volume 2 (ISBN 978-1846554056, 256 pages), containing Book 3, published on October 25, 2011