Kafka on the Shore - Murakami
i liked Norwegian Wood better, but if i had to be objective i'd give the praise to KotS. it's more inventive, better written, and more interesting. it's bizarre, of course, but kept under control. i felt there was one loose-end that bothered me. also, for some reason, i felt uninterested in this book as i was reading it. maybe because i picked it up between re-reading LoTR and i was eager to just get through it. i also felt there were too many Japanese pop-culture clichés thrown in here, but it wouldnt' surprise me if murakami was the sort-of 'inventor' of those clichés so i may forgive him that in the future.