Review of 'IQ84: Book 3'
IQ84: Book 3 by Haruki Murakami
It took me a bit of time to get to finally completing the tale begun by Murakami in Books 1 and 2 (the tale separated into two books for the western market) but I picked up reading this while traveling to Abu Dhabi and, much like the first book, found I could not put it down. I had to find out what would happen to Aomame and Tengo would finally meet each other and what, exactly, was going on. Of course, one shouldn't expect to get all of the answers but the ending is certainly satisfying and did leave a bit of a tear in my eye. I think the ending, however, is fairly obvious to any reader making their way through more than half of the book…but that doesn't mean it is not worth it!
We pick up the story where Books 1 and 2 left off with Aomame holed up in an apartment after killing The Leader and Tengo getting to grips with his dying father (and the enigmatic Fuka-Eri). Ushikawa, the investigator hired by the cult to trace down the murderer serves as a good introduction to the story so far as he tries to figure out where Aomame has gone (perhaps a bit too much over-analyzing and summarizing throughout, it has to be said). Aomame watches for Tengo where she first spotted him - on the slide outside of her apartment but her life is reclusive and lonely. Tengo tries to reconcile with his father who slips into a coma yet still manages to communicate (the recurring theme of the knocking NHK inspector is quite creepy in this regard). A number of characters from the first two books slide into the background as we are really only concerned here with Aomame and Tengo so focus shifts to them.
Wonderfully and almost poetically written Book 3 certainly continues on the story in a readable fashion. Interesting and quite poignant throughout. Definitely worth a read for those fans of Murakumi and, of course, those who have read Books 1 and 2, but I would suggest this to anyone that does not mind a bit of weirdness (there are some persistent fantastic elements here) and passionate characterization.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2012-05-26
Genre: General Fiction
Publisher: Vintage Digital
Publication Date: 2011