1980s 19th-century 19th-century-literature a-wild-sheep-chase absurd absurdism absurdist absurdity advanced-technology adventure alien-civilization alienation allegory alternate-history alternate-reality animals apocalyptic atmospheric british-literature cautionary-tale chase civilization class-divide class-division class-struggle classic classic-literature classics coming-of-age consciousness conspiracy contemporary contemporary-fiction contemporary-literature cult-classic culture-clash dark dark-comedy dark-humor destiny detective detective-fiction detective-story dream-like dreamlike dreams dystopia dystopian dystopian-future dystopian-society eccentric-characters eloi enigma enigmatic escapism evolution evolutionary-theory existential existentialism exploration fantasy fate fiction folklore friendship future future-societies future-society future-technology futurism futuristic futuristic-technology h.-g. h.-g.-wells h.g.-wells haruki-murakami human-civilization human-evolution human-nature human-progress humanity identity identity-crisis imagination imaginative individuality industrial-revolution introspection introspective invention isolation japan japanese-culture japanese-literature journey literary literary-fiction literature literature-in-translation loneliness lost love love-story machine machines magic-realism magical magical-realism metafiction metaphysical metaphysics mind-bending modern modern-classic modern-fiction modern-literature morality morlocks murakami mysterious mystery mythology noir nostalgia novel obsession parallel-universe parallel-universes parallel-worlds philosophical philosophical-themes philosophy pop-culture post-apocalyptic postmodern postmodernism progress protagonist psychological quest quirky reality romance science science-and-technology science-fantasy science-fiction scientific-discovery scientific-ethics scientific-exploration scientific-invention scientific-inventions self-discovery sheep sheep-man social-class social-commentary social-criticism social-critique social-hierarchy social-inequality societal-decay society solitude speculative-fiction spirituality supernatural surreal surrealism survival suspense symbolic symbolism symbols technological-advancement technological-advancements technological-innovation technology thought-provoking thriller time-dilation time-machine time-manipulation time-paradox time-travel time-traveler tokyo transformation translation unconventional urban urban-fantasy utopia utopian-society victorian victorian-era victorian-literature visionary wells