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1Q84 cover art

1Q84

By: Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin - translator, Philip Gabriel - translator
Narrated by: Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett
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Publisher's Summary

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realises, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - 'Q' is for 'question mark'. A world that bears a question.

Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.

As Aomame's and Tengo's narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's, 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami's most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

BONUS AUDIO: Audible interviews the translators of 1Q84, Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel.

©2011 Haruki Murakami (P)2011 Audible Ltd

Critic Reviews

"It is a work of maddening brilliance and gripping originality, deceptively casual in style...vibrating with wit, intellect and ambition." ( The Times)
"Eerie, suspenseful and packed full of gorgeous ordinary details and provocative extraordinary events...funny, fresh and intensely surreal. Unmissable." ( Marie Claire)

What listeners say about 1Q84

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Third time around even better.

I've read this book twice before listening to it. The narration was perfect and made the work more entrancing.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointing and clumsy

It read like a teenage boy had written large parts. I don't know any women who think about their own breasts half as much as the female characters in 1Q84. My eyes were nearly rolling out of my head by the end.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Certainly an unusual read

An interesting story that slowly weaves the threads together, knowing a little of Japan helps.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best Murakami book ,

This is my favourite Murakami thus far, not only beautifully written but an engrossing and exciting story. Characters are well crafted and relatable. They have become part of my world. I loved this book! Well read excellent delivery.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivated the entire time

The narration for this story is very well done, the book is so large and daunting that I don't think I could have maintained reading it as regularly as I did when listening to this audiobook. I love hearing the surreal and detailed descriptions and listening to this book provided a very convenient means of escape during the work week.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Different

I love Japanese and have always wanted to read Japanese literature but this was extremely different then anything else I've read before. I will one day read this in Japanese but for now am happy to have listened to the English version. People seem to either like it or hate it but I just find this whole thing curious and the narrators voices are all to me calming.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful story told with patience and care

For me 1Q84 is about falling in love with the details. Aomame, one of the protagonists, is a very detail oriented person and so Murakami (the author) spends time to paint a picture of various elements of her world. At time this might seem like too much detail, but it serves a purpose and reinforces the joy of resolving the subplots.
The book is beautifully narrated, giving the work a quality of a life performance. Especially the last few chapters, where both Tengo and Aomame get a chance to speak, are really touching.
Overall a wonderful book with great narration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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This book took over my life

What a tour de force!. Maybe you need to be a Murakami fan: it's long and probably not for the novice . But what storytelling, imagination and characters. He does repeat details but that makes it easy to follow On to my next Murkami book. Great combo narration too.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Thought about the fee collector

Some memories are just like a HNK fee collector, yet he is not any regular collector, he will be banging your door with his palms and fists, shouting out loud with your names, condemning you for steeling or cheating, all you can do is to hold your breath and hide behind the door and not make any sound, hoping he will go away soon, no he is the consistent one, he comes in any time and will try to catch you off guard, then one day you will learn the only way to pay the HNK subscription fee, is through the process of self reconciliation and catharsis.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

An Interesting Experience

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

not sure? I would recommend it if they were looking for something really different to read.

Would you ever listen to anything by the authors again?

maybe? I think it depends on if im in the right mood to listen to that sot

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The narrators really gave the book a sense of reflection and tranquility. They really brought the book the 'Japan' feel. I don't know how else to explain it.

Do you think 1Q84 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

YES!!! SO many unanswered questions!!!

Any additional comments?

I wouldn't call it a bad book - I wouldn't say I didn't like it... lets just say - it was an experience, definitely an acquired taste... but worth a try - its unusual

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