What we read in March

Known for his eccentricity and highly imaginative novels, Haruki Murakami's novels are strangely addictive. Murakami is a highly regarded Japanese writer whose novels are mainly translated from Japanese to English for international readers. Murakami's writings are highly influenced by Western writers such as Franz Kafka and Kurt Vonnegut, distinguishing him from other Japanese writers. His novels, though rich in imagination and fantasy, always have a touch of melancholia and loneliness.ย 

1Q84 might sound familiar, and that's because it is a reference to George Owell's famous Nineteen Eighty-Four (another great novel, by the way). Set in Tokyo, 1984, the novel spans over three volumes and alternating perspectives between the two main characters. We get a glimpse of the supernatural, comprising of freaky parallel worlds and strange occurrences. Filled with disturbing elements that are definitely a departure from reality, Murakami does it so splendidly that sometimes we just can't tell the difference between reality and the fantastical in the novel.

"That's what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories."ย