I'm with you again, fantasyfan. I couldn't suspend disbelief for a second concerning the Frog. But I did find "Honey Pie" believable and quite tender. I definitely liked "Thailand" best in the collection, because I found I could empathise with the central character in a way that I couldn't do when reading the first three stories.
And thanks for the link to the story about the elephants in Bangkok, desertblues. Such a sad and undignified life for these wonderful creatures. There are times when you wonder how things would have gone if the Neanderthals had come out on top instead of us. (Sorry:
)
I'm interested to know if others who have read a number of Murakami's books find these stories typical of him, or if you think fantasyfan and I should try something else by him before crossing him off the list altogether?