Winsome window into the quiet and confused soul of the narrator, whose name I wish I knew but the author chose not to disclose. Shadowy sheep, dead women and a 13-year-old girl haunt him yet he never manages to lose his sanity or humaity. The language is lyrical and haunting in its own right.
A remarkable book well worth reading.
This was the first Murakami novel I've read but I'm addicted now. The man is a master.

*Dance, Dance, Dance* is a wholly original novel that's been rightly characterized as reminiscent of `a Japanese Philip K. Dick.' That's a compliment, by the way. If anything, Murakami out-[...] in this offbeat murder-mystery where the real mystery isnt so much whodunit, but nothing short of the `meaning,' if there is any, of life itself. A murder-mystery where the murder is only a subplot? Unusual, yes, but welcome to the world of Haruki Murakami. A work marred, or redeemed, depending on your tolerance for sweets, only by its somewhat syrupy ending, *Dance, Dance, Dance* goes down nice and easy thanks to a quicksilver plot and the smooth, almost conversational voice of Murakami's fictional narrator--an ordinary guy, who, true to hardboiled tradition, is doing his best to hold to a personal code of honor and decency in a world void of either.

With a minimum of sentimentality, Murakami gets you to sympathize with his quirky, but realistic characters, each of whom is broken in some heartbreakingly human way, even the `killer.' Has a `crime' even been committed, Murakami seems to ask, and if so, is it really what we think it is?

*Dance, Dance, Dance* is a novel that fits comfortably, if somewhat less comically madcap, alongside such recent novels as Matthew Sloan's *Fake Girls,* Jeff Noon's "*Vurt,* and the earlier Chuck Palahuniuk.

I absolutely adore Murakami's way of creating bizarre incidents that aren't necessarily explained or tied together nicely like a typical mystery novel. Mind and reality clash in his works, and Dance, Dance, Dance is one of his most fascinating journeys of this clash.

The story centers around a place: a hotel that was once charmingly seedy but has undergone a complete transformation. When the protagonist tries to figure out what happened to the hotel's former existence, people get nervous. Remnants of the past and fragments of another reality seem to exist within the hotel. The main character develops three relationships with the book: one with the hotel's receptionist, one with a young girl, and one with a man from his high school who is now a famous movie star--each relationship gives bits of insight into the novel's design.

Dance, Dance, Dance is funny, surreal, and forceful. I didn't realize it was actually a sequel until after I read it, so I'm out to buy A Wild Sheep Chase next!

Two things are sure about Murakami's writing now:
1. It's out of this world. Every book leaves something and changes me.
2. I am having troubles describing it.

Most amazing is how you are able to synchronize with the character's state of mind. All this calmness and deepness, you think that you should first get into similar mood in order to read, but once you start, your mood is itself shaped by the book.

If you desire a mindless fast-paced action-packed novel, try Tom Clancy. Every facet of this novel is developed beautifully and flows at a perfect pace. At no point did I feel that any aspect of character, emotion, setting, or meaning had been rushed. Definitely, it is the type of novel that, when finished, requires you to sit and contemplate situations in your own life.
This novel, like many of Murakami's, is an analysis of contemporary Japan, the intrinsic carnal desires of man, the malignant qualities of capitalism (and the exuberance of the modern world), and the roles we play in relationships with others. I can't say enough positive things about it. "Deep" aspects of the novel are eased through introduction and analysis with tidbits of humor and opposing arguments that are perfectly placed and aid in keeping the narrator from coming off as preachy and self-indulgent. All of this is wrapped in a fantastic fiction-mystery-scifiesque social commentary. Definitely read it.
As a side note, this novel is entirely readable and enjoyable without reading, A Wild Sheep Chase, the precursor; however, reading Sheep beforehand will definitely give you more of a connection to the narrator and story. The author was, by no means, "shoveling cultural snow." Keep Dancing.