1Q84 was a very unique book. Overall I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but I did have some signifigant complaints. 
 This is the first Murakami book I have read, so all my observations of his style are derived strictly from this book. I really like the premise for this plot, and much of how it develops. The lectures on fiction vs. reality and the interactions between them were intrigueing, and the convergence of the A and B plotlines is always welcome. My first complaint is the overabundance of sex scenes in this novel. While many of them we're used as symbolism or to make a relevant point, this could have been accomplished in other, less intrusive ways. Aside from that, Murakami seems to be particularly bad at writing sex scenes. Granted I am not a connoisseur of such literature, but Murakami's are by far the worst I have read. My second complaint is the length of the book. 1Q84 is written at a very leisurely pace, and things take a long time to develop. Having read series such as Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time", I'm used to such writing. However Murakami's pace is borderline lethargic. It becomes tediously slow at some points, and he repeats things frequently for emphasis. This book would have been much more interesting had Murakami eliminated one or two of the side plots, developed his characters a little less, and reduced the size by 200-300 pages. That would have helped the novel signifigantly. While I enjoyed the concept, unfortunately the problems with this book lead me to not recommend it to those who have not read it.