I actually read this ages ago but on the way to London in June something happened that reminded me of the book. While Dan was running round the aisles of the plane he kept bumping into this man who would ask him if he had seen his crocodile. The man told me that he knew Haruki Murakami and Johnnie Walker in this book was based on him. Not sure if it was true but it was quite weird and Murakami-like anyway.