An interesting book, spawning in interesting discussion. I was hoping that among the 8 of us we could figure out what the book was all about. But of course it couldn't be so easy. It was an enigma on purpose, with no clear cut answers. Maybe no answers at all. But some found that if you could suspend your disbelief sufficiently and just go along for the ride, that it was a fun ride to be on, tossed from chapter to chapter, landing in a different and intriguing scene at every spot. The characters felt true. Most of them matured in some way in the course of the novel. And if the man child Nakata didn't, then he still had a unique view of the world. And engendered some motherly feelings among us.