Review of "Number 9 Dream" by David Mitchell

It's really annoying that there are two David Mitchells, the author and the comedian. It's even more annoying that they are both so talented, especially the author, who has written a lot of good books and only a few duff ones.

This is an early work but really good - it's set in quite-modern Japan, with a Japanese protagonist (is he an otaku?) and only Japanese character. It acknowledges a bit of a debt to Haruki Murakami, but it reads to me as an authentically Japanese novel. It's sometimes a bit surreal and fantastical, and the style varies between sections, but in a good way. It's a novel with a quest, and coming of age, and in between there are some fantasy sections and a gritty violent yakuza story. 

It's pretty great, read it.