For the uninitiated, Haruki Murakami is considered to be among the world’s best authors. His work is hard to define – a hypnotic blend of Beatles references, pop culture, an undefined sense of longing, mysterious events, Japanese detachment and first person narratives. Reading Murakami is to get lost in the imagination of Murakami himself, a pleasant, if odd place, that floats on the currents of the collective unconscious of the modern world.

IQ84 is actually three books in one and at a whopping 952 pages, it represents a significant investment of time, attention and stamina to get through it. Significantly more complicated than previous works, it is too heavy to carry with you, it is too complicated to dip into lightly and it is too long to offer a reasonable explanation of plot.

The prose still shimmers with promise, the characters still entice and intrigue, the plot still mystifies but at such a fantastic length, it is hard to sustain the interest and excitement throughout the reading process. Earlier works like Norwegian Wood or even the lengthy The Wind Up Bird Chronicle are more successful at keeping you suspended in Murakami’s world apart.

The novel opens with thirty-year old Aomame stuck in Tokyo traffic in a cab, listening to Janácek's Sinfonietta and late for an appointment. She remembers a beautiful moment as a child of holding the hand of a boy in her class. This memory sustains her. The boy in her memory, Tengo, is now a part-time maths teacher and struggling novelist who also cherishes the memory of Aomame. Over the course of 900 pages, they are inexorably drawn together.

Quibbles about length aside, there is no doubt that Haruki Murakami is a writer of considerable power. IQ84 is an example of a skilful author flexing his literary muscles and testing the outer limits of his ambition. He is a rare beast that is at once highbrow literary material and at the top of the best seller lists, he is popular in the East and West, he post-modern and a classic.

IQ84 is a bleak and strange fairy tale that while overly long and complex, still enchants, intrigues and takes the reader down into the rabbit hole of Haruki Murakami’s imagination. If you are feeling strong and have 3 months spare, do try it.

1Q84
Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel
Random House

952pp; $39.95