Number 9 Dream, published in 2001, is David Mitchell's second novel. It's an entertaining and, well, imperfect work which gives fans like me a window into his development as a writer. I was introduced to Mitchell from his wonderful post-modern work Cloud Atlas. Number 9 is a much more conventional narrative, a wander through the life of a flawed protagonist as he embarks on a quest to find his long-absent father. It does have a convincing narrator and a disturbing portrayal of yakusa horrors that does manage to avoid total stereotyping. There were 2 interpolated story sets, one of which that works better than the other. At times is seems like a riff on a Murakami-type narration but does have its own dry humor and flavor. All-in-all it was an enjoyable read.
For a review of the book from The Guardian, click here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/10/fiction.davidmitchell
