The lines between fantasy and reality blurred for the hero, Toru, just as they blurred for us. I'm not sure he had any better idea than us what was happening and whether it was real or imagined. The novel is an examination of a marriage in trouble and a detective story where our hero seeks out first his missing cat and then his estranged wife, trying to establish why she left and where she went. On the course of our travels, extraordinary characters come and go. Mr Honda was my favourite: bequeathing to our hero an empty package in his will. But the empty package was a gift, bringing us the delightful Lieutentant Mamiya whose war stories were profoundly disturbing (Jane who'd read this book previously couldn't bring herself to reread them) but bright, detailed and immensely moving. Malta, Creta, Cinnamon and Nutmeg were all fascinating and enigmatic; May was downright scary; Kumiko was disliked by Jen for her treatment of our hero; everyone was a full and rounded character.
No-one understood this book and no-one minded that they didn't. We loved it. The characters were fascinating, running the gamut from quirky through odd to downright peculiar with a bit of dangerous and insane thrown in for good measure. The narrative drove the reader on and on: although you were never sure where you were going, you knew you wanted to get there. When I got to the end, I still didn't really know where I was but I'd really enjoyed the journey.