>>24614366
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

It represents for me the point when reading fiction finally clicked. I initially decided to pick it up due to its association with the anime Haibane Renmei; The Town from the novel being one of its main influences for the setting and atmosphere. Everything in the book from the psychological sf concepts explored, to the themes of alienation, right down to the vague unsettling ending still makes this novel one the most haunting reads I've ever come across, and probably the most uncanny piece of media out there as far as I'm concerned. One of the most genius things about the novel is how, due to its alternating chapters, the reader is keeping tabs on two seemingly unrelated narratives. This means one of them becomes subconscious when the other is being read, and anyone who knows what the story is about will see the relevance in this.