Fantasy is a complicated genre to get right. While there's a built-in audience who are more likely to enjoy the unique world-building, reaching those who may be a bit allergic to the weirdness is a sizable challenge. With that said, the beguiling nature of Haruki Murakami has made him one of the most renowned writers of his generation. As he's produced several books with provocative texts and characters that lead readers to think differently about their own lives, it's easy to think that "1Q84" would be on another level. It is among his longest works and most complicated as well. However, there's as much of a chance for this to become self-indulgent and monotonous as it is to provide incredible answers about how everyone engages with reality. If judged for that, it's a phenomenal text about loneliness. However, it's also one of the most misguided portrayals of women in fantasy possible, leading to a complete mess of a book that may do more damage to beginner reader's familiarity with Murakami than help.
The story starts off excellently with a scenario that is full of rich mystery. From deadlocked traffic, one of the protagonists jumps out of a taxi to head down a stairwell. It accidentally transports her into a different world, and one that is full of something both recognizable and uncertain. The other protagonist is a novelist who is doing everything to help a young, incompetent writer create a narrative that will help his publishing house win prizes. Together, they parallel thematically before coming together in the back quarter in ways that should be rewarding but also appear as too little too late. These are two very lonely characters who struggle to find connection with anyone around them and cope in different ways. The male character has trauma regarding his mother while the other is on a more active journey. Still, the amount of questions surrounding their purpose in the text reaches levels of metafiction that are fun. It asks what the reader's own usefulness in their careers could be and if it's actually making them satisfied.
The issue is that for as perfectly as Murakami depicts the repetitive boredom of loneliness, he's also unable to equally represent something more nuanced. The male character gets something richer, but it's still through the guise of male objectification. Every woman in the story is somewhat sexualized to the point that the book one a prize for "Worst Sex Scene" upon release. It's difficult to respect or even acknowledge the brilliance of Murakami when he has female characters actively in positions of constant sexualization. There's the thinking of the body that transcends character development and comes across as more voyeurism. Even then, the repetition will help readers recognize his strange pubic hair fetish, as the line comes up too many times to hold a drinking contest and still maintain cognizance while reading. Everything about the woman feels distant and not say anything meaningful to the point that half the text is useless. There's almost a need to jump around just to avoid hearing his strange misguided views on nymphomania.
Which is a shame because if this was edited to even 700+ pages, there's a good chance that this text would flow a lot better and produce the thoughts that he's going for. There are a lot of striking moments in the first third that rank as riveting fiction. He's able to create intrigue that holds the reader and gives him the benefit of the doubt. The issue is that once he realizes that he needs to deliver a satisfying answer, it becomes difficult to appreciate the journey. It's full of absurdity, only some of which feels warranted. The sexualization early on makes the eventual romance feel less earned and instead the byproduct of nerdboy's wet dream. This search for human connection should produce something greater, and it doesn't. Because of its length, it's a frustrating book that makes one question, "Why do people like this guy again?"
All in all, this is a beyond mediocre book made worse because of its inability to write complicated characters deserving of its length. While there are scenarios throughout that capture the larger appeal, it's not enough to make the reader's time feel respected. Instead, it feels like being stuck with some unpleasant characters who didn't have much to say after the first 300 pages. If judged individually, some truly provocative chapters reflect a greater novel. As a collection, it was a relief to finish because the pretentiousness of the fantasy style only makes this seem more annoying and useless. It doesn't do enough right to make the grandiosity feel worthwhile. It's just a text with a lot of good ideas. If only they were in better vehicles.
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