Thinking back over the many books I have read during 2013, some of which were really very good and some anything else but good, I decided to mention a few of them in the following posts.
I was first introduced to Haruki Murakami in 2012 when I read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World. In this amazing book, Murakami slides two completely different stories over the top of
each other until they cling together to form one story. Be prepared to be slightly confused, enraptured and always completely involved as memories from the past and the perceived reality of the present create new, fanciful ideas of time and even of identity.
In 1Q84, which I read in 2013, Murakami continues to weave together many different strands, and, while the story itself is drawn from different planes and even different
parallel worlds, the actual expression of the story does not belong
completely to the fantasy genre, nor is it just a thriller or a romance:
it is a mixture of all three and even more. Like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World it is beautifully and intelligently written, subtly presenting images and ideas that remain with the reader long after he/she has finished the book. Murakami's books most definitely belong among the best books I read in 2013. Has anyone else read him? What do you think?
The following image is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
