Murakami is an author that I would recommend anybody read at least once. He's got such a specific and wonderfully unique writing style. Dance Dance Dance is the first book of his that I've read that I would say is less than universally recognizable. This one is for fans of his work only. Reading a few other reviews of this book, I gathered that what most people enjoyed was the style rather than the book itself. I found it meandering and oftentimes frustrating.

This is (kinda?) a sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase. I don't think you'll need to read that before you read this. They are fairly loosely connected. Some characters are recurring but it's pretty much it's own story. The problem I had with it is the almost complete lack of plot. The main character spends almost the entire book just... waiting for things to happen. And when they do it confirms that waiting was the right call which then begets more waiting. It's a very stylized waiting. Murakami is a gifted writer and when he wants to turn on a creepy or surreal scene, he can do so with gusto. The discovery of The Sheep Man and the Kiki skeleton dream are super unsettling. You have to wade through a lot of what feels like filler to get to that stuff.

The character of Yuki is interesting and unique but I never quite bought her relationship with the protagonist. I'm a thirty four year old man, and I can say that if I ever spent as much time with a thirteen year old as the protagonist does in this book then it should raise justifiable alarm bells. Most of the side characters didn't feel like they had much of a purpose. They're alright. But what purpose did Ami and Dick North ultimately serve?

Maybe I'm a dummy and maybe I need to try to connect the dots a little bit harder. I can say that with every other book of his I've read, I've walked away with satisfaction that it captured a "feeling". With this one I was feeling disengaged and a little disappointed.