The novel follows two characters: a female fitness instructor with a sideline in dispatching men who abuse women; and a male maths teacher struggling to find his voice as an author, who rewrites a compelling but badly written novella by a strange 17 year old girl. Looming over both stories is a secretive cult with its hidden and enigmatic leader. Much of this three volume novel reads like a thriller and the swapping between the two protagonists builds up the tension, but the strangeness of Murakami's world gradually grows with extra moons, comas and sexless pregnancies amongst others. Brilliantly, Murakami makes the illogical logical. Even better, he does not try to explain all the strangeness but leaves unanswered questions for the reader to explore - a fourth volume is a possibility. Thee are 1,000 pages, it feels like a lot less, the pace sweeps you along.