Normally I am not so keen on magic realism, I find the magical elements irritating and find it had to suspend belief.  However, this book was different.  In that sense, it was more like science fiction, where it was all so bizarre that you could let yourself be carried along by the story. 
I read the excellent (Dutch) translation by Jacques Westerhoven, which was also full of all sorts of helpful and useful footnotes.
It was indeed a gripping narrative.  The conversations with cats was what sold it to me and indeed that did not disappoint.
The book was originally written in 2002 and it is clearly before #MeToo. The female characters are less well developed and essentiall  there to help the men. The rape/incest scene is particularly disturbing because the man is presented as being unable to help himself and that that ik ok then. You would hope that the author would not have written it like that these days.
This was the first book from Haruki Marakami that I had read. Despite its shortcomings, I will definitely be reading more by him.