Hyperkinetic and relentlessly inventive, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the finish of the World is normally Haruki Murakami’s deep dive into the very nature of consciousness.

Across two parallel narratives, Murakami draws readers right into a mind-bending universe where Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his shockingly undemure granddaughter, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to stunning effect. What emerges is a novel that’s simultaneously hilariously funny and a deeply severe meditation on the type and uses of your brain.