Haruki Murakami is an international phenomenon. When Books One & Two of his latest masterpiece "1Q84" were published in Japan a million copies were sold in one month & the critical acclaim that ensued was reported all over the globe. Readers were transfixed by the mesmerising story of Aomame & Tengo & the strange parallel universe they inhabit. Then one year later to the surprise & delight of his readers Murakami published an unexpected Book Three bringing the story to a close. In order to reflect the experience of "1Q84s" first readers Harvill Secker is publishing Books One & Two in one beautifully designed volume & Book Three in a separate edition. A long-awaited treat for his fans "1Q84" is also a thrilling introduction to the unique world of Murakamis imagination. This hypnotically addictive novel is a work of startling originality & as the title suggests a mind-bending ode to George Orwells " Nineteen Eighty-Four". (The number 9 in Japanese is pronounced like the letter Q). The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo. Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment & with the traffic at a st&-still the driver proposes a solution. She agrees but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission & her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult. Meanwhile Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences & moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true? Both Aomame & Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another at times by accident & at times intentionally the two come closer & closer to intertwining.