The opening paragraph to Haruki Murakami’s “1Q84”

Haruki Murakami's new novel, 1Q84, will be released in the States in October, and begins thusly:

The taxi’s radio was tuned to a classical FM broadcast. Janáček’s Sinfonietta—probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi caught in traffic. The middle-aged driver didn’t seem to be listening very closely, either. With his mouth clamped shut, he stared straight ahead at the endless line of cars stretching out on the elevated expressway, like a veteran fisherman standing in the bow of his boat, reading the ominous confluence of two currents. Aomame settled into the broad back seat, closed her eyes, and listened to the music.

The novel, which was originally released in Japan in 2009, has been described as Murakami’s “magnum opus”. More info over at The Millions.