1Q84: Murakami’s Twisted Tale of Two Moons and Timeless Love

I’ve recently devoured 1Q84, the gargantuan tome from Haruki Murakami, in less than a week. Apart from the surrealistic and fantasy elements of the book, it was a very straightforward book that propels the reader forward as it shifts from the main characters’ points of view for each succeeding chapters. Overall, an interesting read that keeps you enthralled and invested right until the very end.

Spoiler Filled Plot Summary

The plot of 1Q84 is deceptively complex: In 1984 Tokyo, Aomame, a fitness instructor and assassin, is transported to an alternate reality when she descends an emergency escape ramp on a Tokyo expressway. She notices subtle but unmistakable differences between this new reality and her original world, such as altered historical events and the presence of two moons in the night sky. To differentiate this world from her own, she names it “1Q84,” with the “Q” signifying “question.”

Simultaneously, Tengo Kawana, an aspiring writer and mathematics tutor, is persuaded to rewrite a mysterious novella called Air Chrysalis. The book’s original author is a cryptic 17-year-old girl named Fuka-Eri, who claims the story recounts real events from her life. The novella describes enigmatic beings known as the “Little People,” who create “air chrysalises” by weaving invisible threads from the air. Captivated by the story, Tengo rewrites it, and it becomes an overnight sensation. However, as the book gains fame, Tengo finds his perception of reality changing and is gradually drawn into the alternate world of 1Q84.

Aomame and Tengo’s lives intertwine through their shared mission to find one another. As children, they shared a profound, silent moment that left a lasting impact, convincing them that they are soulmates. Over two decades, their separate journeys through danger, mystery, and self-discovery converge in 1Q84. Aomame becomes pregnant with Tengo’s child, albeit immaculately conceived via a channel that opened up when Tengo and Fuka-Eri had sex.

The story concludes as Aomame and Tengo reunite after years of searching, climbing back up the same escape ramp to return to their original world, leaving the alternate reality behind.

Reflections on the Narrative

Okay, reading back the plot outline, it seems pretty ludicrous but it was deliciously addictive the plot made a lot of sense when you are in the thick of it. The narrative style is propulsive and is written very much like a thriller as every chapter moves forward. Flashback scenes are always contained within the context of the main plot of the chapter but every chapter moves the story time forward. There are times when 

Murakami lets the readers be ahead of his protagonists so that suspense can be built. But most times, you are just as lost as the protagonists are in trying to make sense of what they are witnessing, especially on the more surrealistic parts.

There is some nice sum of whole is greater than sum of the parts in the book: Big moon and small moon, Perceiver and Receiver, Maza and Dohta, Aomame and Tengo. And there are some unfinished plot lines: what happened to Tengo’s older girlfriend? Did Tengo’s NHK fee collector dad haunt Aomame, Fuka-Eri and Ushikawa? Was he even Tengo’s dad? What happened to the Air Chrysalis that was spun in the Dowager’s apartment?