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number9dream (Paperback)

by David Mitchell (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 14.99
Price: CDN$ 10.94 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Total List Price: CDN$ 54.89
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Product Details

Product Description

From Amazon.com

David Mitchell's second novel, Number9Dream, tells the story of Eiji Miyake, a young man negotiating a hypermodern and dangerous Tokyo to meet for the first time his secretive and powerful father. Naïve and fresh from the Japanese countryside, Eiji encounters every obstacle imaginable in his quest, from his father's--and in-laws'--reluctance for the encounter to occur (Eiji is the bastard son) to fiery entanglements with yakuza (the Japanese mafia) to the overwhelming size and anonymity of Tokyo itself.

The novel is cartoonish in that Eiji has a vivid and violent imagination that fills the book with daydreams. When not chain-smoking, forlorn Eiji wanders the city following vague or cryptic leads that invariably dead-end or land him back among yakuza. Mitchell (author of the critically acclaimed Ghostwritten) has a smart, eclectic writing style that seems foreign, and the novel is well paced, but the yakuza encounters are too cinematic, complete with unusual torture and pyrotechnics. Moreover, in addition to Eiji's daydreams, the last half of the book contains excerpts from the diaries of his great uncle's World War II naval heroics and bizarre short stories that Eiji reads while hiding--the latter of which make for tedious reading.

Number9Dream is crafted from too many disparate components; it does not seem to be a full expression, but an overly crowded one. Readers will sympathize with Eiji and his search, but in the end will wonder what effect, if any, all the extraneous forces had on him. The book provides many fun moments, but ultimately it doesn't really add up to the sum of its parts. --Michael Ferch

From Publishers Weekly

A young Japanese man's quest to find his estranged parents throws him into a bizarre world of mobsters, dream villains and cyber-tricksters in Mitchell's second novel (after Ghostwritten), a hyperactive, erratic sprawl of a book that begins when narrator Eiji Miyake finds himself out on his own after his twin sister, Anju, dies: his alcoholic mother had had a nervous breakdown and left her two children with their grandmother when they were very young, and they have never met their father. Miyake makes the move from rural Japan to Tokyo to stake out the company where his father is a powerful executive. But his search lands him in a nebulous yet dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with an equally powerful Japanese mobster who uses Miyake's need to find his parents to kidnap and threaten him in a series of malevolent and nearly inexplicable scenes. The most coherent sequence in the narrative takes place when Miyake is contacted by his grandfather, a former seaman who gives Miyake his diary, a poignant account of his stint on a submarine in the final days of WWII, as the Japanese frantically scrambled to deploy a new undersea warhead. Miyake eventually manages to meet his parents, but those potentially affecting scenes are overwhelmed and overshadowed by Mitchell's relentless tendency to spin out futuristic, over-the-top scenarios in which Miyake is whisked away into strange settings and then abused as if he were the hero in a deadly video game. Mitchell showed considerable promise in his highly acclaimed debut, but his sophomore effort is so chaotic that it will test even the most diligent and devoted reader. (Feb. 26)Forecast: Rave reviews from the British press, a Booker Prize nomination and a five-city author tour will give this challenging novel a needed boost.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars A quirky - but gripping - novel, July 5 2008
By Canuck Baritone (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
Okay, I realise (judging from some of the other reviews) that this novel will NOT appeal to everyone, but I thought it was brilliant. I loved the "manga" quality. And if anyone can hold such a wildly diverse novel together, it's David Mitchell. I think he's one of the world's outstanding young writers, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this eccentric, compelling work!
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3.0 out of 5 stars Murakami-esque novel fails to impress.., May 7 2002
By lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews
..., David Mitchell is obviously a fan of Haruki Murakami. In Number9Dream there are many cameo appearances of the works of Murakami, and the overall theme of the novel seems to be derived from Murakami's stable: disenchanted loner living in the crazy world of Tokyo's youth culture. Haruki Murakami has written some fine material, especially his brilliant The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. How does David Mitchell's Number9Dream hold up in comparison? Not very well.

The story itself, a complex tale of an illegitimate country boy going to Tokyo in search of his father, is interesting enough. Mitchell is most confident in his prose when delving into a side story concerning the yakuza, the Japanese crime syndicate his father obviously rubs shoulders with. But unfortunately our lead character is, quite literally, an avid dreamer. These weird dreams, constantly sprinkled throughout the novel, detract rather than enhance the story. Haruki Murakami is the expert in weaving surreal elements into his novels. David Mitchell fails, quite badly.

However all is not lost. There are vignettes within this overly complex novel which are actually quite interesting, and often the characterizations and the prose work very well. David Mitchell also captures the feeling of frenetic Tokyo quite convincingly. With better editting Number9Dream could have been quite a decent read.

Bottom line: Murakami fans will be appalled at this derivative material by Mitchell. Certainly not a terrible novel, but one has to wonder why Number9Dream was nominated for the Booker Prize?

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5.0 out of 5 stars Be patient!, May 4 2002
By Mark Delaney (Lyles, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
First of all, most of the other reviewers comments are true, even the comments of those who hated the book. Here's the scoop: Number9Dream is brilliant and moving, occasionally violent and shocking, and almost never boring. The scenes involving "Goatwriter" are everything you might imagine from what you have heard. They are puzzling. They are a distraction from the main story. They are also quite funny in their way. Be advised that these scenes do not pop inexplicably out of the ether, as you might assume from the other reviews posted here. The main character, Eiji, is hiding from those who might kill him, and he stumbles upon the text of a story. To bide his time, he reads this story about Goatwriter. It's odd, but it fits. Most importantly, readers who wade through that short section will find they've enjoyed one of the most satisfying novels they've read in a very long time.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Kaleidoscope of the Life
David Mitchell's second novel tells us a story of a young Japanese man Eiji Miyake who arrives in modern megapolitan Tokyo in search of his father who repudiated him long ago... Read more
Published on April 18 2002 by Andrew Karbovsky

5.0 out of 5 stars Number9Dream: Mitchell's second child
Number9Dream is a story from David Mitchell (who is also known for his bestseller Ghostwritten). It takes place in Japan and is about a 20 year old "man of the world", Eiji... Read more
Published on Mar 27 2002 by Joseph Sanchez

2.0 out of 5 stars First Time
I have probably been introduced to more writers' work through The Booker Prize than any other. I had already read, "Ghostwritten", which I very much enjoyed, so when this book... Read more
Published on Mar 17 2002 by taking a rest

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Worthy of a Booker Nomination
The scope of David Mitchell's imagination is astounding. This book moves through the unreal realm of video games, the horror of mafia retribution, the futility of war and the... Read more
Published on Feb 23 2002 by jean_frost

3.0 out of 5 stars Trying hard to be Murakami
I am a great fan of Haruki Murakami, and was very impressed by David Mitchell's first novel "Ghostwritten" which managed to combine the magic of Murakami's modern Japan with a... Read more
Published on Feb 20 2002 by D. Pritchard

3.0 out of 5 stars Suspended somewhere between (and below) DeLillo and Gibson
First of all I read an interview with David in the Sydney Morning Herald, where he talks about the mind as a meaning machine. I note the title down and commence searching. Read more
Published on Jan 23 2002 by Bradley Weslake

5.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling Dream
Twenty-year-old Eiji Miyake travels to the hyperkinetic, frenetic city of Tokyo in this second novel by David Mitchell, the English expatriate author of 'Ghostwritten' who lives... Read more
Published on Jan 18 2002 by Laure-Madeleine

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