3.25 starsCompared to the other two of "The Rat" series from Murakami (I read [b:A Wild Sheep Chase|11298|A Wild Sheep Chase|Haruki Murakami|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327908774s/11298.jpg|2057170] in 2007 and then [b:Hear the Wind Sing|226973|Hear the Wind Sing|Haruki Murakami|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1209948233s/226973.jpg|2902423] last month), this one is not as engrossing. Yes, Murakami still write like a painter, so beautiful. However, about half-way, I lose interest with the "I" character. Especially when he starts talking about spaceship (not favorite subject of mine, I guess).The structure of two different perspectives between "I" and "The Rat" (Nezumi) also a bit distracting because there are times I only care for "I" but on other times, I truly want to read only about "The Rat" (especially when he has that conversation with the bartender, J).Like other stories of Murakami, this is basically a story without plot. It just flows along to whatever subjects that "I" or "The Rat" want to talk about to us readers ...