Around a year ago, 2009, I believe, I found out about this mysterious book called 1Q84. No summaries, no comments, not in English. It's originally Japanese. Last year, I found that 1Q84 was being translated and would be released around September, 2011 (September's been a celebrating month lately, lol). It appears to be a trilogy, if I remember correctly. Now, I'm scared to actually read on the plot in Wikipedia (love-hate relationship regarding spoilers), and I just want to be surprised, like I would when I read a book I just picked off a shelf at a bookstore, not knowing at all what it's about. Not having the slightest idea. Oh, just wondering if anyone actually read it on here; and if you did, am wondering what you think about it. Trying to see if it's worth the wait and the money. I'm sorry if I sound, in a sense, spoiled, but I can't help it. XD;
So you know absolutely -nothing- about this book, and you decided that you want to read it? How'd you find out about it? Either way, you can expect it to be good. It has to be, for it to be translated from another language. Also, how's that pronounced?
I - Q - 84 You say the I and Q as if you were reading them off of a kindergarten poster, and 84 is just 84.
It's pronounced One Q Eighty Four. Just checked on Wikipedia. It's a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the year 1984. The letter Q and the Japanese number 9 are homophones. It's suppose to be a reference to George Orwell's 1984. I haven't read the books since I don't know Japanese but from what I've read of it on Wikipedia without spoiling, it looks interesting. One reviewer described 1Q84 as a "complex and surreal narrative" which "shifts back and forth between tales of two characters, a man and a woman, who are searching for each other." It tackles themes of murder, history, cult religion, violence, family ties and love. I might check it out when it gets translated.
How are Japanese dates pronounced in regards to number separation? Because that pun doesn't work if it's done in the same way English does it. (Nineteen Eighty-four) At least, I don't think it does. My Japanese is rusty during the holidays, like most other subjects.
Well it's a Japanese wordplay in the end so it would be lost in translation. My Japanese is also a little rusty but I'm pretty sure that the title isn't using the common way that Japanese dates are pronounced because when you look on the cover of the book: Spoiler The romanji under the title shows that each number is supposed to be said seperately as ichi-kyu(kew)-hachi-yon. It gets translated as One Q Eighty Four because in English, people tend to not say number seperately and instead in combinations. 1984 is pronounced Nineteen Eighty-Four, not One-Nine-Eight-Four. Or I could be completely wrong...ehh
It's the curiosity thing. You absolutely know nothing about something, and it's somewhat within your reach soon, you jump up and grab the opportunity to know about it...or at least for those who have curiosity impulses, aka me. XD;; I found out about it when Yahoo was still my homepage (it's Toggle now, I don't really know why, though). It was like, the top news because it was causing such a hype when it was announced. I won't answer your last question because it has been answered already. xD
If I recall correctly, 1Q84 is a book written by Haruki Murakami. While I haven't read the book itself, I have read other work of his. Rest assured, he's as capable a writer as you're ever going to find. Murakami isn't your everyday debut novelist: he's a big name in international literature and just about everything he writes gets translated in English.
