1Q84 - Haruki Murakami

My first endeavour into Murakami and it was a slog. His latest is a full length, that showcases moments of poetic brilliance set among a realistic fantasy tale. The story itself is intriguing but rather slow moving considering how little happens in 900+ pages. A handful of actions are analyzed over and over again, perhaps to stress their importance and show a glimpse of what the characters must have gone through but with nothing added on each retelling it is difficult to see the point of it all. I'd have preferred a boiled down Reader's Digest version, as long as it still included things like his likening of Ushikawa's hair to pubic hair, but cut out the ninth retelling of the hand-holding scene. Even after it all there isn't a great deal of resolution that makes one wonder whether it was worthwhile in the end.

6.5

Oct-Dec (no library renewals!)