Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

With two narratives running side by side, Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a deep dive into the nature of consciousness. Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect. The result is deeply serious meditation and a wildly adventurous novel.