[grady]

So this book was over and done with before it started, but a bit on the short side, very short. Coming in at just under 195 pages, just as the book started to get a good rhythm and intrigue going it was over.

That said it wasn't terribly great nor incredibly bad. It had a lot of the standard Murakami elements we all know and have come to expect in his novels and stories(references to jazz, classical, and pop music; films; and various foods and chain restaurants.)

There is a very odd feeling of a film to this novel including sections that describe the action that is occurring from the perspective of a camera shooting the scene. Aside from the obvious mention of a camera, shots, lenses, and perspectives, I think this film feeling also comes from the structure of the novel's very sparse prose on the page. At a couple points while reading the novel I could imagine the page and text restructured to mimic that of a screenplays formatting.

If you're a fan of Murakami, this is worth a read, but not something I would say rush out and get immediately, unless you're itching for new Murakami.(I'm guilty of this.) If you're new to Murakami, I would recommend reading one of his earlier novels or short story collections, something like A Wild Sheep Chase or Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World or Norwegian Wood.