Read it in: just over a month

I spent one month in Tokyo at the start of this year, hence I was inspired to read some literature spent in Tokyo.  Having said that, I did not read this one in Tokyo.  My ‘one book at a time’ rule meant that I was stuck on a particularly thick history of the Middle East which I couldn’t finish in time to enjoy Murakami in Tokyo.  So, alas, the month I spent reading this book was a month of nostalgia and longing for that fantastic city of cities.

It was a little strange, especially for me, for whom it was my first ever Murakami.  And what a Murakami to start with – his 1,000 page + epic (only when you combine books 1, 2 and 3, which is what I had to read).  Things of that size I sometimes have doubts about taking on – the commitment is akin to a long-term relationship.  That’s the other rule, you see, ‘finish every book you start’.

Yes, it was strange, a sort of science fiction, no fantasy, no literature, no something else.  A cross between many things.  At once a novel that manages to be completely realistic and enthralling, but at the same time mysteriously fantastical and unbelievable.  I think Murakami is playing around with suspension of disbelief at times.  It is an interesting read, to say the least.  But it is one that hooked me from the start.  After about 100 pages or so I wouldn’t have been able to put it down.

The storyline follows Aomame, who is an assassin-cross-instructor at a gym club whose fate happens to be entwined with that of Tengo, who is an unassuming cram school maths teacher.  Their lives join through connection with a mysterious religious cult whose spiritual beliefs end up ringing a little true and affecting the lives of everyone involved – especially that of Aomame and Tengo.

Read it if you: like stories set in Tokyo, don’t mind a bit of fantasy, enjoy clever allusions, believe in fate (once again), want to know how to kill people in very clever ways, enjoy philosophy, enjoy descriptive passages, enjoy seemingly meaningless events and characters (but keeping in mind that they probably do have meaning, you just haven’t worked it out yet).

While reading this, listen to: Sinfonietta Janáček , Alone in Kyoto Air, Baroque Social Broken Social Scene, Rolling By Big Scary