1Q84
1Q84 Books One & Two are really a single book. The subtlety of the dividing line between one book and the next escaped me. It just appeared to be an abitrary delineation of the end of one book and the beginning of another; perhaps I'm just not sensitive enough.
Regardless, I enjoyed the book. Its structure worked well; chapters alternated between the viewpoint of one primary character and that of the other.
Having finished the book (or "books" if you prefer) I can say it (they) constitute a good, enjoyable novel. I have not started Book 3 but will do so soon. If Book 3 had never come into existence I would be happy that Books 1 & 2 were sufficient in themselves to be regarded as a good work of fiction.
The primary theme in the book is violence against women. However, here are many themes worked into the story; namely, love, family (in particular parent/child relationships), religious sects, justice, helplessnes, isolation, etc... There is also a strong "coming of age" element. In addition, there are many episodes of sexual gymnastics. I hasten to add that I was enjoying the book before I reached Chapter 3, and I didn't enjoyed it any less having read the hot lesbian encounter in that chapter.
Another message from the book is that the bad guy may not necessarily be the bad guy; he/she could be a victim too.
The translation by Jay Rubin was excellent. I say this based on the easy flow of the book's English rather than from any knowledge of how well the English reflected the original Japanese meaning. One piece had me puzzled though, and I don't know if it was due to literal translation, differences in Japanese language structure, an error or whatever; it was where one of the characters asks about the difference between lunatic and insane, and the words are both described as being adjectives. Not a major issue, but it has me curious about the Japanese language.
Also, this book is the first instance where I came across a record player pick-up arm being referred to as a tone arm. Having grown up in the vinyl age and used turntables all my life I tripped up on this term. One lives and learns.
This book encouraged me to look at the geography of Japan and to finally go an look at a map to see were all the places I.ve heard of in the past are actually located.
In summary, an enjoyable read with some thought provoking elements.