The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
I read his book on running, and didn't love it. But then this book was recommended to me, and since I hear good things about this writer, I thought I should give him another try.
I know it's written in Japanese, so I have to wonder if the translation ruins the essence of the story.
Whatever the case, I found the book slow to start, then hugely intriguing and then baffling. You have this unremarkable thirty-year old Japanese guy talking about his basic life: he's married and he recently quit his job for no great reason and is trying to figure out his next move. Then this lady calls and tries to have phone sex with him. He goes in the back alley behind his house and looks for his cat, and nothing ever make sense again.
These women keep coming into his life with crazy stories and seem to do whatever they want with him, claiming they know more than he does and it will make sense later. There is a war story woven in there. He has a bizarre friendship with his 16-year old neighbor. He likes to hang out in the bottom of a well and merge into an alternate reality.
General consensus: I think something of epic proportions might have happened in this book, but it's totally lost on me.
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