A love story across parallel worlds, a violent detective thriller revolving around a mysterious cult — 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s magnum opus, with over one thousand pages of weird and wonderful storytelling, suffused with a heady dose of surrealness that is quintessential Murakami. Now the Folio Society, independent publisher of beautifully illustrated hardback books, will publish the first ever illustrated edition of Haruki Murakami’s magnum opus 1Q84, featuring beautifully surreal artwork by acclaimed series artist Daniel Liévano.
“This magnificent two-volume edition of Murakami’s magical realist epic is the latest addition to the Folio Murakami library,” said Folio Society Editor Sophia Schoepfer. “The overall package design is a tribute to magical realism — a nod to the alternate realities and dark, dreamlike sequences that fill 1Q84. Bound in luxurious purple cloth and held within an intricate foil-blocked binding in a dreamy palette of golds, pinks, and lilacs, this substantial, highly illustrated two-volume set will be a coveted release for fans and collectors alike.”
The lavishly illustrated edition of 1Q84 features a total of 12 full-page colour illustrations — 7 single page illustrations and 5 double-page spreads — and over sixty motifs. Both cloth-bound volumes of the hefty two-volume edition are housed in a purple slipcase, gilded with a pink metallic foil and a die-cut circle that reveals a moon from the cover beneath. The bindings feature a scene from the novel that has been intricately blocked in multiple foils, while the illustrated endpapers are printed on purple paper, depicting a subtly different scene at the front and back of the books. The 1000+ page epic will be printed in two-colour, with purple and
orange motifs and accents appearing throughout the text.
Tokyo, 1984 – but not quite. Two moons hang in the sky, a sinister cult casts its shadow, and something has shifted in the air. As Aomame and Tengo move through their separate worlds, they begin to sense that their lives are quietly, uncannily linked. Murakami’s hypnotic novel is a sprawling, surreal love story wrapped in a mystery, all set in a reality that’s not quite real. Haunting, heart-tugging and deliciously disorienting, 1Q84 is the kind of book you emerge from blinking, unsure which world you’ve just left. Descend the emergency staircase of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway and enter a world where things are not what they seem!
“Illustrating Murakami has given me the opportunity to do something not all illustrators get to do: change styles without changing essence,” said artist Daniel Liévano. “I believe something similar happens in Murakami’s literature—regardless of whether a book is about twisted religious cults, wind-up birds, adolescents with unbearable pain, or talking cats, there’s always a leitmotif where artistic dancing is allowed, and the author’s identity quietly shines through. I’m deeply excited by the challenge of playfully adapting to the narrative novelty of each new book, yet I equally enjoy discovering what remains unchanged. I suppose that’s the everlasting mystery of identity itself.”
The Folio Society edition of 1Q84 will be available for £150 / US $215 from 4pm UK time (11am EST, 8am PT) on September 16, 2025 exclusively from https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/autumn-reveal. For more information, follow the Folio Society on social media: