Haruki Murakami.docx

Publication history The novel was originally published in Japan in three hardcover volumes by Shinchosha. Book 1 and Book 2 were both published on May 29, 2009; Book 3 was published on April 16, 2010.

In English translation, Knopf published the novel in the United States in a single volume on October 25, 2011, and released a three volume box-set on May 15, 2015. The cover for the box-set, featuring a transparent dust jacket, was created by Chip Kidd and Maggie Hinders.[8] In the United Kingdom the novel was published by Harvill Secker in two volumes. The first volume, containing Books 1 and 2, was published on October 18, 2011,[9] followed by the second volume, containing Book 3, published on October 25, 2011.[10]

Background information Murakami spent four years writing the novel after coming up with the opening sequence and title.[11] The title is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the year 1984 and a reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The letter Q and the Japanese number 9 (typically romanized as "kyū", but as "kew" on the book's Japanese cover) are homophones, which are often used in Japanese wordplay.

Before the publication of 1Q84, Murakami stated that he would not reveal anything about the book, following criticism that leaks had diminished the novelty of his previous books. 1Q84 was noted for heavy advance orders despite this secrecy.[12]

Cultural influences As in many of his previous works, Murakami makes frequent reference to composers and musicians, ranging from Bach to Vivaldi and Leoš Janáček, whose Sinfonietta pops up many times at crucial points in the novel. A verse from the 1933 song "It's Only a Paper Moon" by Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg and Billy Rose, also appears in the book and is the basis for a recurring theme throughout the work. In addition, Murakami refers to more contemporary artists such as Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and The Rolling Stones.

The text also quotes a lengthy passage about the Gilyak people from the travel diary Sakhalin Island (1893–94) by Anton Chekhov.

The structure of the novel refers to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (alternate "major key" Aomame and "minor key" Tengo story lines forming 48 chapters of Books 1 and 2) and Goldberg Variations (Book 3).