1Q84
The novel is a sub-melodramatic sentimental metafictional love story in a ficticious world with two moons in the sky, a thriller packed with cults, assassinations and grotesque sex (newyorkobserver). The title is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the year 1984 of George Orwell. The novel was longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize and placed No. 2 in Amazon.com's top books of the year.
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Aomame leaves a Tokyo taxi and walks into a parallel 1984 with two moons in the sky. Tengo, a math tutor, ghostwrites a teenage runaway's strange novel. Their lives are converging, and a cult is watching.
1Q84 was written by Haruki Murakami, originally published in Japanese in three volumes between 2009 and 2010. The English translation by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel was released in 2011.
1Q84 is over 900 pages and uses Murakami's characteristic dreamlike pacing, with parallel storylines that take time to converge. The prose is clear but the structure rewards patience. Most readers either commit to the long arc or set it aside.
1Q84 is the protagonist Aomame's name for the alternate 1984 she finds herself in, where Q stands for question mark. The title is a play on George Orwell's 1984, which Murakami acknowledges is a reference point for the parallel-world conceit.
1Q84 is 925 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, 1Q84 takes most readers 14 to 20 hours to finish.
1Q84 is a standalone novel by 村上春樹, not part of a series.
1Q84 is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
