Another in a great series of Japanese novellas. Slow Boat is itself inspired by another story by Haruki Murakami. It is a strange, lethargic story of a man who really wants to leave Tokyo, the scene of his three failed love affairs, but can't quite seem to manage to get past the city limits. Is there some force preventing him, or is he the problem?  Not the best one of this series, but the writing is still interesting.