Number9Dream by David Mitchell

Number9Dream tells the story of Eiji Miyake, who goes to Tokyo at age 20 to try and find his father. Eiji has been raised by his grandmother, after being abandoned to her care as a child. Eiji's mother is an alcoholic, and his father is unknown to him. In the course of seeking out his father, Eiji runs afoul of the Yakuza, gets a couple of jobs, makes friends, falls in love, listens to John Lennon on his headset, reminisces about his childhood, and enters into elaborate fantasies and dreams. Sometimes stream-of-consciousness, sometimes drifting in and out of reality, drifting back and forth in time, and always seeking--Eiji is a compelling hero with a wild story to tell.