1Q84: The Beginning

I have done the deed. The stage is now set for what would be a long journey into the mystical and bizarre, the inexplicable and astounding. The incriminating book has been stripped of its plastic cover, and the pages were ruffled for the very first time. I felt like a Murakami character experiencing a sense of uncanny delight as if I had been bracing myself for this moment, preparing to plunge into a strange world that the protagonists of Murakami's stories inhabit. Indeed, I wish some time I could fall out of the real world and enter another one which logic cannot explain every occurrence. In that world, one can disappear from the now and resurface in another realm (preferably one with sunshine and lots of greenery).

After gingerly turning the first few pages, I reached the first chapter and read the first few lines. Like other novels of authors whom I appreciate, I have mixed feelings when I begin reading the book. It's a great pleasure and I look forward to devouring every line, every page and every chapter. But all too often I dislike the fact that the beginning is the start of the end.

Murakami's latest novel is a thick volume. This will somewhat slow down my reading pace since I won't be carrying it around. Sounds reassuring.