Number9dream (original 2001; edition 2001)

too much like murakami, this one. and i just can't get into that. ( )

This novel has many interesting parts, a simple plot (too simple, as many other reviewers have noted), interesting characters and a great setting (Tokyo). I had heard that some reviewers compared this novel to a Murakami novel, but there really is no comparison. Number9Dream is over-written, if anything, and the magical parts are all attributed to dreams, whereas Murakami's writing is very simple and uses magical realism. If you've never read David Mitchell, I wouldn't start with this novel, but I enjoyed reading it and like it as part of his collection of works. I also heard that Mitchell admitted in an interview that he was showing off with this novel, and I could see that. Mitchell showing off is pretty impressive. ( )

Mitchell is a good writer but he writes in such a frantic over-the-top style pacing that is not appealing to me. This style of writing wears me out. Where Haruki Murakami is warm and subtle, Mitchell hits you over the head and leaves you bleeding. In this novel Mitchell shows his excess and doesn't give the reader time to breath.

The time shifts didn't bother me and I rather liked them, but Mitchell's dream worlds are cold and sterile. This does follow the idea of isolation and abandonment themes in the book, but like most David Mitchell books, the characters carry little emotion and their actions are always action oriented. I like dream worlds to be dreamy, reflective, take me somewhere or present a different perspective in life. This book didn't do any of that. Another thing that didn't work for me was the John Lennon and Number 9 Dream connection. This felt really forced and somewhat personal to the author perhaps.

I did like the premise of the book and how the theme of loss is explored through fantasies. Like many ideas in the book, this was not original and has been done before, but I liked it nevertheless. Mitchell's prose is stellar and I admire his compact style; he is definitely not a writer that pads a book. So even though I had many issues with the book, it is still better than many books out there. ( )

This is my third David Mitchell novel, and unfortunately it's my least favorite so far. Unlike his other works I've read, this is more conventional in that it's only really told from one point of view (aside from a few letters woven into the text here and there) and has a fairly linear narrative. What makes it a David Mitchell novel is the unique perspective that the protagonist, Eiji Miyake, tells the story from.

Eiji is a naive twenty year old from rural Japan, looking for the father he never knew in big city Tokyo. Eiji's overactive imagination and lack of regular sleeping habits make it difficult for him--and us, the readers--to tell what are dreams and what is reality, as he finds love, works in a deathly hot chain pizza joint, gets mixed up with the Yakuza, and attempts to reconcile with his estranged mother, all while stumbling around Tokyo without a yen in his wallet.

It's obvious that David Mitchell is an extremely gifted writer, but this fell short for me. It just felt really long and tedious at times (and it's less than 500 pages). Without Mitchell's beautiful prose, this would have been a two-star read for me. ( )

A whizzing stylistic joyride. Not quite up to snuff with Mitchell's other stuff, but a fun bright piece of brain candy all the same. ( )