Murakami's latest contribution to the area of fiction and translated by Harvard's Jay Rubin (who translates much of Murakami's work). This book takes place over one night in Japan and involves four main characters: Mari and Eri, two sisters the one of which is in a deep, powerful and perplexing sleep. This book interrogates what constitutes being confident and strong in yourself in a subtle manner, as well as taking a quirky poke at coincidence. The book is a really quick read and takes place over a very short period of time. It is not as good as some of Murakami's other novels (it's a 3 star Murakami), but is still a cut-above your run of the mill novel (hence 4 stars overall). For me it was a decent addition to the list of Murakami novels, but not really as good a follow up to Kafka on the Shore as one would hope. Therefore, don't let this be your first Murakami, read Kafka on the Shore, or Norwegian Wood, or Dance, Dance, Dance first.