I have read many short stories of Murakami but this is my first novel. The first feeling i had after reading this novel was disappointment and felt as if came out of a strange world.
Is this a thriller ? Yes.
Is this a romance story? yes.
Is it interesting ? Yes.
Did I felt boring at times ? Yes.
Did I marvelled at writers imagination ? Yes.
My answers to the above question will give an idea about this novel.
“If you can love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there's salvation in life. Even if you can't get together with that person.”
“Life is not like water. Things in life don't necessarily flow over the shortest possible route.”
“That's what the world is , after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories.”The outline of the story looks very simple : boy meets a girl,separated, and search for each other. That is, the boy held the girl's hand for a moment during school days. Decades later they meet in a strange circumstances. But this simple outline transforms into a gigantic proportion as the author takes the reader to a new parallel word with two moons,"little people" and the enigmatic cult and its "The Leader".
The story oscillates between two main characters Tengo and Aomame . Aomame ,thirty year old woman , sort of assassin who kills men who abuses women in an untraceable manner.Tengo, who was asked by his editor to rewrite a story called 'Air Chrysalis' by a girl named Fuka -Eri. Air Chrysalis leads Tengo to Sakigake. Aomame was assigned by an wealthy dowager to kill the head of Sakigake.
“Loneliness becomes an acid that eats away at you.”
“I'm a coward when it comes to matters of the heart. That is my fatal flaw.”
“Life is so uncertain: you never know what could happen. One way to deal with that is to keep your pajamas washed.”
Aomame struck a deal with 'The Leader' that she will kill him and he will protect Tengo. And she did kill 'The Leader'. Tengo was followed by the private investigator Ushikawa , hired by Sakigake. The cult members wants to find Aomame through Tengo but Aomame was disappeared without a trace. She wants to find Tengo so she follows Fuka-Eri and finds Tengo's place.
Another important characters in this story are - Dowager , who helps women who suffered domestic violence, she assigns Aomame to kill 'The Leader'. Tamaru, dowager's body guard who helps Aomame to disappear and kill Ushikawa. Then Ushikawa, the tireless investigator, he almost succeeded in his job. He is ugly but clever, he is not a member of Sakigake himself.
“A person learns how to love himself through the simple acts of loving and being loved by someone else.”
“Knowledge and ability were tools, not things to show off.”
“The body is not the only target of rape. Violence does not always take a visible form, and not all wounds gush blood.”Typical Murakami's features are there in this novel too - cats, jazz, Classical music and a cult. He is finding reality in these simple things, making the reader to go in deep. I felt some details are repetitive and boring. For me its definitely a let down.
1Q84 - read if you have time and patience.
