1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

An attractive young woman climbs down an emergency exit stair from a freeway, and finds that the world seems to have changed just a bit from what she remembers. For instance, the night sky has two moons. She is an expert assassin, who eliminates men who have abused women.

A enigmatic 17-year-old girl writes a rather amateurish, yet highly original, first-person novella about Little People who emerge from the mouth of a dead goat and create an Air Chrysalis, which finally opens to reveal an exact copy of the narrator. The girl says that the story is true. In her account, the earth has two moons.

A young man who is an aspiring novelist is persuaded by an ambitious editor to rewrite the girl's story and let it be published under the girl's name. It becomes a best seller. One day he notices that the sky has two moons.

A private detective is hired by a religious cult to investigate matters pertaining to the above characters. He finds a connection that has escaped the cult's notice.

This is a page-turner of a cat-and-mouse thriller, a highly romantic (although somewhat implausible) love story, a reconciliation story between parent and child, an examination of religious belief, and a fantasy/alternate world adventure. That's a lot to accomplish in one novel.

By allowing himself 926 pages, Murakami manages to pack all of this in, plus a good bit of filler, to my way of thinking. He includes descriptions of clothing worn (even though the garments are, at best, nondescript), of the preparation of many simple Japanese meals (These characters prepared very healthful foods.), and even of the day-to-day grooming details (They were very clean people.). I can only suppose that these mundane matters were included to provide contrast with the many surreal matters.

This novel was impossible to put down and very easy to read, so that I finished it as quickly as I have most books half its length. I found it more readable than the other Murakami novels I have read, but it was also less thought-provoking than those.

A most enjoyable read. Recommended.