I recently bought 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.
I am unsure whether to categorise it as Sci-Fi or as a novel. It does involve parallel worlds, mysterious “Little People” who are not as benevolent as you would like to initially think.
The story takes place in a fictional 1984 Tokyo. The chapters jump between two protagonists, Tengo and Aomame. The protagonists somehow, in unrelated events, enter a parallel world, 1Q84, a world with two moons. Events bring them closer together, like a whirlpool.
The book has a level of surrealism like only Murakami can convey (think of Kafka on the Shore). It can also get quite uncofortable as Murakami has no problems describing acts that go beyond our comfort zones. Nothing is gratuitous and it all has it’s place in this bizzare and page-turning story.
Reviews about this book are torn. Some claim it’s Murakami’s weakest work, others rave about it. I just know that I’m only onto the third book and utterly hooked.