1.-japanese-literature 10.-existentialism 12.-tokyo 19.-metaphysical 1980s 2.-magical-realism a-wild-sheep-chase abstraction absurd absurdism absurdist absurdity adventure alienation allegorical alternate-reality alternative-reality animal-symbolism animals atmospheric band bizarre character-driven chase coming-of-age consciousness conspiracy contemporary contemporary-fiction contemporary-literature counterculture cult cult-classic cult-following cultural-references culture-clash dark dark-comedy dark-humor darkness david-mitchell delusion destiny detachment detective detective-fiction detective-story dream-like dreamlike dreams dystopia dystopian east-asian-literature east-meets-west eccentric eccentric-characters enigma enigmatic escape escapism existence existential existential. existentialism experimental exploration fantastical fantasy fate fiction folklore friendship haruki-murakami haunting heroes history identity identity-crisis imagination immortality individuality introspection introspective isolation japan japanese japanese-culture japanese-fiction japanese-literature journey kafkaesque literary literary-fiction literary-thriller literature literature-in-translation loneliness loner loss love love-story lyrical-prose magic-realism magical magical-creatures magical-realism manipulation metafiction metaphysical metaphysical. metaphysics mind-bending missing-person modern modern-classic modern-fiction modern-literature modernism modernist-literature murakami murakami-style music mysterious mystery mystical myth mythology nihilism noir non-fiction nostalgia novel obsession oddities parallel-universe parallel-universes parallel-worlds philosophical philosophy ponderous pop-culture pop-culture-references postmodern postmodern-fiction postmodernism power-dynamics protagonist psychological puzzling pynchon-esque quest quest-narrative quirky reality redemption romance romantic satire search-for-identity secrets self-discovery sheep sheep-chase sheep-man social-commentary solitude speculative-fiction spirituality storytelling subconscious supernatural surreal surrealism surrealist surrealist-fiction suspense suspenseful symbolic symbolic-animals symbolism symbols talking-animals thought-provoking thriller tokyo transformation translation twisted uncanny unconventional unconventional-narrative unexplained-phenomena unique-narrative urban urban-fantasy urban-life whimsical wild-sheep yakuza