[	Tags	|	books, haruki murakami	]
[	mood	|	amused	]

Old Murakami book on my desk.

After five long years, Haruki Murakami is releasing a new book, 1Q84. I first learned it from Dylan during the weekend and so immediately after that, I ran a literature search on the internet about it.

Here are what I have learned:

• There’s a quite a hush on the release of this new book. Publisher said it’s a market strategy.

• The new book is said to be a hefty one at “least twice the size of Kafka on the Shore.”

• The English will be released in two volumes around 1,055 in page count.

• Murakami interview described the new book as a “real doorstop”.

• Although it’s already out in Japan, there’s no official English release date yet.

• Like many of his previous works, 1Q84 is a complex and surreal narrative. It shifts back and forth between tales of two characters, a man and a woman, who are searching for each other. Through their thoughts and experiences, which include murder and historical references, the book explores social and emotional issues such as cult religion, violence, family ties and love.

There are lots of speculations surrounding about this book. The title itself is assumed to have been homage to Orwell’s 1984. Since the number 9 in Japanese is pronounced “kyuu” like the "letter Q". Or a talk that it might be a play off of Chinese novelist Lu Xun’s novel, "The True Story of Ah Q". The "number 1 in the title could stand for the pronoun “I” so that it should read something like “I am Q”.

I should have said that I wasn't quite satisfied with his latest, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" which I could relate to because running is close to my heart and the book is a homage to a Raymond Carver's book which I read prior to Murakami's and was quite happy about it. But one thing remains. I am a HUGE FAN of Murakami, so like any loyal fan that I am, no amount of speculation can ruin my anticipation and urge to read one more of his books.

Murakami's latest, 1Q84 is now released in Japan.

photo courtesy of guardian.co.uk

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The thoughts that occur to me while I’m running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they go, while the sky remains the same sky as always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving behind the sky. The sky both exists and doesn’t exist. It has substance and at the same time doesn’t. bAnd we merely accept that vast expanse and drink in it.

~ What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, page 17~

I passed by FullyBooked last night and got a copy of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I’ve been aching for a new Haruki Murakami book since I heard of the release of his latest published work. I've never been this excited. Not only because it's Murakami but more so because he'll talk about his other passion aside from writing--long distance running.

I called the bookstore last week if they already have it in their shelves and the lady who received my call informed me that they only have two copies left. I got distressed. I should have whizzed my way to the bookstore and get one of that last two copies but I couldn’t. My workload is killing me.

I miss my early days when I would wind away my time at the mall visiting every bookstore I could find or sitting at one particular shop, on that one particualr spot and read there for hours. I miss movie hopping, trying the most outlandish and never-heard films I could watch. Most of all, I miss my “not-so-busy-days” where I would just walk languidly in the middle of a busy and crowded place without looking at the clock.

Strangely, I miss my old self.

"Looks like a totally ordinary guy," says Komugi.
The ordinary-looking ones are the most dangerous," says Kaoru, rubbing her chin.
"They carry aroud a shit-load of stress."
- after dark, page 67

I've finished reading Murakami's latest, After Dark. It's a good thing that Monday was declared a national holiday. You got to do something aside from voting, right? It was a fun time to stay in my nook for awhile and finish a book. I've never done that, not usually. These days, finishing a book becomes more of a dispensation rather than a option.

I would understand why after reading this book, some people would say they didn't like it (comparing to all his other works), or they might feel a bit cheated at some part (which is very Murakami-esque, by the way), or it's not as thick and rich as the Wind-up Bird Chronicle or as deceptive and mind-boggling as Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but alas...I got what I came to read. What I meant to say is, I love it nonetheless.

I've got at least 5 reasons why I would recommend it to anyone. (I always have a reason, it has becoming more of an annoying habbit but I make it a point to have some). 1) I love its narrative treatment, sort of like writing a screenplay, the readers are being maneuvered; 2) The conversations betwen Mari and Takahashi are witty and rich; 3) Strong characterization, which I believe has always been a strong trait for every Murakami's novel; 4) There's always the "thinking sequence" one has to always connect the dots, sort it out and the readers are alone in this feat; and 5) The cats and the crows are here too, you wouldn't miss them.

I could tell you some reasons why you might not like it, but that's besides the point already.

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I feel like saying "Sorry" today. I hope it gets to you.