by Carley Litten
“iQ84” by Haruki Marukami is a series of three books published in 2009 that were written in Japanese and translated by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel. The series is best described as a mix of genres including science fiction, fantasy, romance and mystery.
The series consists of 1,157 pages in all three books. However, there is another version where you can buy it as one big book which is 928 pages.
The book consists of two main characters named Aomame and Tengo, and is set in the time period of 1984. The structure of the book bounces back and forth between their point of views every other chapter.
Aomame is a special character who takes on a career in teaching self-defense class while having a top secret (and illegal) job on the side. Tengo, on the other hand, is a cram-school math teacher who writes novels on the side, and ends up helping to publish one that gets him into deep conflict.
Both of these characters become intertwined in some trouble with a secret religious commune that ends up taking the story line onto an adventure of many ups and downs. Any more detail and I am spoiling it. I highly recommend reading it yourselves.
The reason this series is so hard to put down is because of the way they use perspective. Instead of having one perspective the entire time, you receive multiple points of view from different characters. While, of course, maintaining your own.
That brings me into another great aspect of interpretation. There are many times throughout reading the book that I sat there and really thought about the situation taking place and what it could mean. There are a lot of moments like this that allow you to see things on your own and make it as personal as you want.
The mix of genres in the series sends the reader into a spin of emotions. One second you’re anxious, the next you’re admiring a love scene, and the next you’re shocked because you had no idea a major event was around the corner.
With this series, I would claim it to be on the more extreme end of the emotional spectrum. If I had to boil down the entire series to one adjective it would be “mystifying.”
All of these qualities allow for such pure entertainment. I feel as though even someone who doesn’t enjoy reading could get lost in the storyline. If you’re looking for an intriguing series, I would 10/10 recommend getting lost in this one.
