Reading Murakami is like falling into a dream, while being wide awake, holding a book in your hand! For people who are new to Murakami, they should know that this book is the third one, in a trilogy. The trilogy (which is actually called the ‘Rat Trilogy’), consists of below books in this order:
#1 Wind/Pinball
#2 A Wild Sheep Chase
#3 Dance Dance Dance
At its heart “Dance Dance Dance” is a story about a man who has lost his love, feels disconnected from the society, and his journey to pick up the threads and put together lost connections again. It's his journey to find himself and to fall in love again. The journey is often weird and strange (as you would expect from Murakami). The protagonist goes through various journeys and experiences, which range from revisiting a past sexual encounter, a mysterious hotel, a too-intense relationship with a 13 year old girl, and probably the best sequence in the book - an obsession with returning to the cinema to watch the same scene in the same bad movie over and over again (which leads to a friendship with a film star and a murder-plot). The narrator's journey is more like a gentle trip towards the realization that life doesn't suck when we connect with people.
The novel didn't strike me as impressive or clever and it didn't strike me as subtle and thought-provoking either. Yet, it did touch me at various occasions and I did enjoy it and it was full of memorable moments and quirky characters. The writing was beautiful as always, and there was just the right amount of weird and surrealism. Hence, being a Murakami fan, I would give it a 4/5. Cheers!
Overall Rating - 4/5
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