It was a smash hit in Japan, selling a million copies in its first month and now a translation of the bestselling Japanese trilogy has finally been released on our shores.
Set in 1980s Tokyo, the novel concerns Aomame, a young woman on a secret mission and her male counterpart Tengo, a maths teacher turned writer, who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding a fantastical novel apparently written by a 17 year old girl.
These two lonely people are somehow connected and as the novel unravels, mysterious events conspire to bring them together. To say any more about the plot would be to give it away but Murakami weaves a surreal but also very relatable tale about love, loneliness and destiny.
Events take place in 1984 and the novel is a clear homage to George Orwell's 1984, but the conspiracy that is unravelled in 1Q84 is more a spiritual mystery than Orwell's dystopian nightmare.
There are touches of sci-fi and fantasy but the clear-cut prose keeps the novel grounded in reality. Reading 1Q84 feels very much like the recollection of dreams, with Murakami's mix of the everyday and the fantastical.
It's clear why 1Q84 was so successful in Japan. It's reminscent of other popular fantasy book series like Harry Potter but on a more adult level and it's easy to relate to the emotional journey of both Aomame and Tengo.
If you're looking for something unusual but absorbing for your holiday reading, this Japanese bestseller will definitely hit the spot.
1Q84: Books 1, 2 and 3 by Haruki Murakami
RRP: $55
Available: Now
Publisher: Random House
