1Q84 - Bks 1, 2, 3 Author:Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (Translator), Philip Gabriel (Translator) 1Q84 (Bk's 1, 2, & 3) The number 9 in Japanese is pronounced like the letter 'Q'. — An ode to George Orwell's "1984" told in alternating male and female voices relates the stories of Aomame, an assassin for a secret organization who discovers that she has been transported to an alternate reality, and Tengo, a m... more »athematics lecturer and novice writer.
Aomame is riding in a taxi on the expressway, in a hurry to carry out an assignment. Her work is not the kind that can be discussed in public. When they get tied up in traffic, the taxi driver suggests a bizarre 'proposal' to her. Having no other choice she agrees, but as a result of her actions she starts to feel as though she is gradually becoming detached from the real world. She has been on a top secret mission, and her next job leads her to encounter the superhuman founder of a religious cult.
Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange disturbance that develops over a literary prize. While Aomame and Tengo impact on each other in various ways, at times by accident and at times intentionally, they come closer and closer to meeting. Eventually the two of them notice that they are indispensable to each other. Is it possible for them to ever meet in the real world?
Book 1. April-June --
Book 2. July-September --
Book 3. October-December.
Books 1 and 2 translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin. Book 3 translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel.« less