Murakami Magic

I’ve always been a big Murakami fan.  I’ve read most of his novels.  My daughter introduced me to his work with ‘The Windup Bird Chronicles’, which until now I’ve considered his best work.  But 1Q84 is more ambitious yet.  It pulls together many strands that have been prominent in his works over the years.  It is quite simply the best book I’ve read in quite a while.

Yes, it’s long.  Over 900 pages.  In the original Japanese edition it was published as three separate books.  And the first two were published before the last was completed.  Echoes of Dickens serialization here. 

1Q84 is part straightforward modern novel, part love story, part science fiction, part thriller, and part modern myth.  The nearest equivalent I can think of is Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’.  The writing is very straightforward.  Typical for Murakami, an easy read.  Simple yet very engaging.  The structure is reassuringly formal and strict.  That helps in a book that is intentionally ambiguous in several ways.  The typography is innovative without feeling gimmicky.

All the usual Murakami elements are present:  lots and lots of Western cultural references, main characters that live outside of societal norms, supernatural aspects, a tight plot structure that has ambiguity built in, plain unadorned language that is at the same time aptly expressive.  Readers of Murakami will notice one thing is missing:  wells.  The well is an image that Murakami uses in a number of his books, but it makes no appearance here.  No need.

There are stories within stories, commentary on the role of literature in society, a surprising amount of sex (unusual for Murakami), violence, and suspense.  But there’s a central theme that Murakami has hinted at in earlier works but never focused on as he does here:  the redemptive power of love.  He shows us that we are all intended to love, to love wastefully, and to love fully.  In order to do this, we have to go through a process in which we shed limits and fears from our past, and in which we are transformed into our true selves through a kind of alchemy that produces pure human gold, a genuinely loving individual that fulfills his individual destiny.

Perhaps my own peculiar circumstances make me especially ‘vulnerable’ to his message.  Divorced, I find myself rediscovering my own capacity for love, finding again the person that I am meant to be.  Yes, I cried during the last hour of reading the book.  I’ve read many reviews and I won't quibble with much of the carping and criticism.  Nonetheless, 1Q84 struck a chord in me that I would wish for everyone to experience.  We are all meant to love.  There are many obstacles in our way, but we can find our way around them.  I’m not a strictly religious person (nor is Murakami), but I have attended services at Unity Church in Palo Alto for the last year, and I find Murakami’s message to be oddly compatible with Unity’s central theme.  We are all meant to love and be loved.  The path to that place is a difficult one, but it is the path that we are destined to follow.  Look for the signals in your everyday life.  You only have to notice them.  They are there.  Be open.  Love generously and unconditionally. Be who you are meant to be.

I’m not certain how open modern readers will be to Murakami’s message about the redemptive power of love.  It is certainly at odds with much that our cynical snarky culture puts out in huge quantities every day.  Perhaps underneath that cynicism is the hope that someday we will fulfill our emotional destiny.  Strangely Dickensian.  Call me a sucker.  I love it.  Sign me up.