Decided to read this book after seeing it on a 100 must-read books list. I can't really decide if I liked the book. It was interesting enough to keep the reader flipping page after page- the plot was uncommon and so offered a fair bit of surprise. The story opened with an ordinary Japanese couple - Okada and Kumiko, who led a pretty much routinuous life with Okada being the house husband after losing his job. Things started getting strange when their cat disappeared and Kumiko hired a psychic of sort to find the cat. Instead of finding the cat, Okada ended up losing his wife. Kumiko vanished one fine day and Okada only knew the reason why after receiving a letter from Kumiko stating that she had been having an affair and wanted a divorce. Okada was however, determined to find Kumiko. The psychic, Malta reappeared in his life, this time, bringing her sister , Creta along. Creta had the ability to enter Okada's dreams and the line between reality and dreams began to blur. Creta eventually revealed to Okada that she had been defiled by his brother-in-law, Wataya, whom Okada abhorred. Central to the story was a cursed house in Okada's neighborhood- past occupants had all committed auicide. Okada was however drawn to the house and its well, which had laid dry for years. Okada decided to shut himself off from the outside world by entering the well and it was in the well where he received a burning "mark" on his face. The mark it seemed gave him the power to heal emotional troubles of middle-aged women. The twist and turn of the story ended with Kumiko killing her own brother for revenge as she knew that Noboru had caused the death of her sister by similarly defiling her.
The book borders on the occult and it felt just surreal reading it but it's probably not my cup of tea. I may however try to read Norwegian wood before giving a final verdict of the author.
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