Have you read Haruki Murakami’s new epic novel 1Q84? I’m a bit beyond the halfway point, comfortably past the big scene in the hotel room, and I enjoyed the first “book,” but the last few hundred pages have been a bit flat. I’m debating whether to keep going.
If you’ve read it, did it get better? Should I finish it?
All of Murakami’s writing shares the same lazy, sedated quality, to one degree or another. It was overpowering in the short stories in The Elephant Vanishes, and much less pronounced in novels like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but it definitely seems like a consistent style. My sister, who loves it, describes it as “He ate a sandwich. Then he took a nap.” Quite so.
I gave up on the book on advise of a friend. via Facebook
I gave up too. via Facebook
I read it, and loved it! It's a very typical Haruki Murakami book (or so I hear; I haven't read any of his other works) and I did find the ending satisfying — but he definitely takes his time getting there. IIRC there is at least one character whose development you have hardly seen at this point (although he's been introduced). Murakami's books are definitely about the journey, not the destination. :-) via Google+