This is a book I had been wanting to read, in the back of my mind, for many years. Probably ever since around the time it had been translated and published in English, which was 2011 or so. Only recently did I finally get around to it.
I do tend to enjoy abstract things in artwork and other areas, so this book fits within that category. It is somewhat abstract and has surreal elements. The surreal elements aren't overboard in my opinion; the rest of the book seems realistic. The writing style is plain and matter-of-fact, but I didn't find it boring/unappealing. It's definitely not full of flowery language, though there are a series of interesting metaphors/analogies sprinkled throughout the book (ex: "we must move him to another world").
Though the book is close to 1000 pages in print, it goes by relatively quickly and doesn't feel overly dense/hard to read. I finished it within about a week of reading days (spread out over a period of two weeks). It doesn't really share many similarities with Orwell's 1984 despite the similar title. Apparently the title is supposed to be a pun/play on words in Japanese, as the letter Q and the number 9 are pronounced similarly. In English, the title more logically should have been 1?84, since in the book Q is explained as standing for "question [mark]" and the Japanese-language pun wouldn't have been evident to English-speaking people.
It reminded me somewhat of Klara and the Sun (by Kazuo Ishiguro) since both books are somewhat surreal and hint at/allude to things in the plot rather than fully explain them outright. I would probably read more by Murakami in the future.
Without spoiling the plot too much, 1Q84 is about two people who are thrust into an alternate universe and have to figure out what's going on with that, as well as trying to get back to the regular universe. The story switches between each character's perspective with each chapter, and there are various parallels interspersed in each of their storylines. I had very little idea of what exactly the premise of the book was when I started reading it. I only knew that it took place in Japan and was maybe somewhat surreal somehow. So I wasn't really sure what to expect from it, but in the end I did enjoy the book.
I'd like to read more (translated) books by Japanese authors in the future, including the ones mentioned here but possibly others as well.
