I have a troubled relationship with Murakami. There were so many aspects of this book that I really liked. I found the overall story to be very charming and very real. It felt much more "slice of life" compared to some of his other books I have read. But the very clear Murakami themes crept in and kind of tarnished my feelings about the book. Namely, the strange paranormal, supernatural themes that he's known for and can do very well! In Kafka and Wind up Bird, this had it's place and was done well because it just pushed the reader to think about the story in reference to these symbolic, supernatural events. But I just didn't feel like it has a place in this story. In fact, I felt that it was so jarringly out of place, that I couldn't get over it.