This is quintessential Murakami -- disarmingly profound, surrealistically realistic, a fantasy novel disguised as a detective thriller that ends up being a meditation on the nature of mind. It all just works with the deceptive simplicity that's the trademark of Murakami's genius. As always, his straightforward prose serves as a foil for the delightful weirdness of the story. If you've never read a Murakami novel before, this would be an excellent place to start. I'm going to be thinking (and maybe dreaming) about this story for weeks.