Number9Dream by David Mitchell

 

Eiji Miyake has had a difficult life.  He grew up on a small island in Japan, living with his mother and twin sister.  His father was never in the picture although he is one of the wealthiest men in Japan and does provide money to the family.  When his sister drowns while Eiji is on a school trip, his mother falls apart.  Eiji decides to go to Tokyo to try to find his father.

There Eiji works a series of dead end jobs.  He meets a variety of people, some kind, some definitely otherwise.  The man who rents him a room runs a video store and looks out for him along with his wife.  Eiji meets a young man who seems to have infinite money, who takes him out clubbing where he meets beautiful women.  He has an appointment to meet his grandfather but instead his father's wife and stepdaughter show up, full of hate.  They tell him his grandfather has died and that his father wants nothing to do with him.  Will Eijji be able to find out who he is?

David Mitchell is one of my favorite authors and this is his second novel.  Upon leaving university, Mitchell lived and worked in Japan for several years so the setting and portrayals are accurate.  Along with many of Mitchell's novels, this one was a Booker Prize nominee.  One of my favorite books is Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.  This one is not that although the motif of several different stories eventually merging into one is followed.  It is a good exploration of Mitchell's writing progress and the things that will show up in later books.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.