ToB: Lightning Rods vs 1Q84

Ah Lightning Rods, the book we have nothing to say about.

Well there goes the last book I’d read in the matchups.  I am indebted to Lightning Rods for knocking out Salvage the Bones , a book I refused to read (dog death), but then it kept on getting up in my face and knocking out things I liked, while not being available in Australia. It sounds interesting and has polarised commentors but seriously I have nothing to say about it. Go check out the matchup comments to see how people who’ve actually read the book feel about it.

1Q84 on the other hand I have lots to say about. But I’ve already said it in three other posts. Previously, on 1Q84 : I really liked it, found it really entertaining the whole time, it was ambitious and often successful, had some minor problems, I didn’t agree with some ToB judge criticisms probably because I didn’t find it as painful as others to get through. I really like soemthing Judge Michelle Orange said: “The emphasis is less on the sentences themselves than their layering and arrangement for cumulative effect. It’s like reading underwater—at times it feels extraordinary, silky, buoyant, and strange, like moving through a new world.” There’s also an interesting discussion of Murakami’s writing style in the commentary.

Goodbye 1Q84! I’m glad you made it this far and not surprised you didn’t make it further. Tune in tomorrow for the last of the semis!