Why Did You Abandon that Book?
Why I decided to give 1Q84 another shot
Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!!!
A few years ago in May, I struggled to get through Haruki Murakami’s novel 1Q84. When I first saw it at the bookstore, I was attracted to how its futuristic cover design showcased a pair of soulful, seeking eyes peering into mine. Also, the novel’s unique title, my love of Orwell’s 1984 and the fact that I had never heard of Murakami added to the novel’s intrigue.
Actually, this blurb on the back of IQ84 sealed the deal:
A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s –1Q84 is a tremendous feat of imagination from one of the most revered contemporary writers.
So What Happened?
As the number of chapters I read increased, the level of my enthusiasm waned. There were tediously detailed descriptions of someone preparing food or drinking tea. Interactions between characters seemed pointless and drawn out, and every character was as detached from life as I was becoming from this story.
Around chapter six, I took to the terrible practice of skim-reading this 1,157-page chunker. That was also a waste of time.
Not long…
