Which Haruki Murakami novel should I read first?
Okay, to begin with, I am also new to the world of Haruki Murakami. So far, I have read Sputnik Sweetheart, After Dark, the first book in the 1Q84 trilogy, Norwegian Woods, and a far amount of the stories in Blind Willow Sleeping Woman. I have also read a little bit of Kafka on the Shore. My personal favorite would probably have to be After Dark, though this is typically one of his more unpopular books. I also think the short stories from Blind Willow Sleeping Woman are a good way to get a taste of Murakami's work, but many do have vague, unclear endings, which is something you have specified that you don't like. However, based on the genres you like, I would recommend 1Q84. It is about two totally different people who have no relation (one an assassin, the other a writer) to each but both find themselves having bizarre experiences where they can't remember subtle difference in the world around them. It shows Murakami's surrealist writing style and is altogether a little odd (but in a good way). It also has hints of romance and tragedy throughout and is something I think you would very much enjoy. Kafka on the Shore is also a VERY good book to read if you like the Catcher in the Rye (similar theme with runaway teen), I just had to stop because it got a little disturbing towards the middle, especially if you are a cat person (but up until that point, it was probably on its way to being my favorite). If you are looking for romance, then Norwegian Woods is the way to go. It was good, just extremely depressing. For first time readers in general, Norwegian Woods is what I would recommend. From what I've heard, Wind-Up and Hard-Boiled Wonderland are both very popular, especially in the U.S., but I had a hard time getting into them.
Should teens read 1Q84 (Haruki Murakami)?
Well, teens are a large age group.I have seen from personal experience that a lot of teens are into some pretty terrible books. For someone who’s level of literary comprehension is limited to tripe like ‘Twilight’ or ’50 Shades of Grey’ (ugh…), appreciating Murakami might be a tad bit difficult. However, there are also plenty of teens who read objectively better stuff, so ultimately if you’re able to comprehend it, then go ahead by all means, it’s a beautiful story!I read it when I was 16, and I adored it. It was my first Murakami book and I swiftly went ahead and bought over the next two years, all his other books and now have an awesome Murakami section in my personal library!
Should Murakami virgins not start with 1Q84? And if not there, then where?
"You could bring all the gods of the world into one place, and still they couldn't abolish nuclear weapons or eradicate terrorism. They couldn't end the drought in Africa or bring John Lennon back to life. Far from it - the gods would just break into factions and start fighting among themselves, and the world would probably become even more chaotic than it is now. Considering the sense of powerlessness that such a state of affairs would bring about, to have people floating in a pool of question marks seems like a minor sin." "1Q84"Floating in a pool of question marks is one of those images that enrich 1Q84 and make it an excellent introduction to Murakami's work. I started with this book and just read "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," which has more pools or perhaps I should say wells of question marks than "1Q84."The pace of Murakami's books and the thought processes of each character are engaging if you've a mind to enter a different world and take your time exploring it. I liked tackling a nearly 1,000 page book and the ending justified the divergent paths of the main characters. This then made the transition to a more surreal world in "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" easier to accept.
Haruki Murakami (author): Does anyone else feel that 1Q84 wasn't a good book?
I was very split on 1q84. As Alexis mentions, Murakami's worldbuilding in 1Q is of mythic proportions(pun intended). He knocks it out of the park with respect to immersion and plot deepening. However, this becomes his undoing. In my opinion, he goes so far into the creation of the two alternate worlds(the one of Air chrysalis and the one that Aomame enters(questionably the same) that by the end, there is no reasonable escape for the reader or the characters. In 1Q, Murakami's usual surrealism is ever more mixed with philosophical manifestations and social quagmire. His characters, like most of his novels range from eerily fleshed out, to totally unknown, however unlike his usual novels, some characters in 1Q seems to lack purpose in the story. Additionally, the sex and violence in 1Q seems soft and dulled from his usual hyper realism. The book, not significantly longer than wind-up bird, seems to drag on needlessly. Returning to the subject of useless characters, much of the fluff time in 1Q focuses on characters that never serve a purpose other than misdirection of the reader. Additionally, the romance in 1Q is particularly immature compared to the brilliance of the deep romance in Norwegean wood or even Kafka(in a certain sense). More generally, I found that the writing in 1Q was also lacking. I normally find several instance of staggering prose in a Murakami novel, where I feel like he has spoken a true sentence in the sense of Hemingway. In 1q I found none such. Everything else is just my opinion, but let's look a bit more critically at the question. http://www.theatlantic.com/enter...http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/1...http://www.rochester.edu/College...The answer to your question is: yes. Many other people were left with the same feelings as you.
Which should I read first: Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, or Murakami's 1Q84?
I don't think they are really related. 1Q84 occasionally makes reference to 1984, but it's hardly in an essential fashion. If you find the 1Q84 references to 1984 confusing, read the Wikipedia summary of it and you'll know more than enough.Now if this is a matter of finite time resources, 1984 is completely different in style and scope than 1Q84. 1984 is political and is very realistic in style. 1Q84 is whimsical and personal. 1984 is a classic and I found it very enjoyable and you should read it. But 1984 is not a prerequisite for 1Q84 and it is perfectly plausible that you might hate 1984 and love 1Q84 (and many people love Orwell and do not like Murakami). If you like Murakami, read 1Q84. If you like Orwell read 1984. If you don't know Orwell read Animal Farm (it's a quick read and is sort of a warm up for 1984). If you don't know Murakami, read Norwegian Wood or Kafka on the Shore for warm ups.
What are the best books whose standard is the same as 1Q84?
It’s rather difficult to say. I don’t think I can judge it in that manner, but give these a try (don’t know about the level, but these are amazing books) :1.) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez2.) Factotum by Charles Bukowski3.) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov4.) Blink by Malcolm Gladwell5.) Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman6.) The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman7.) Anything else by Murakami or BukowskiCheers !