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The Rat #3
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????? ???????? ???? ????????? ??????? "?????" ???????????? ??????.
"???????? ???????" ?????? ????????? ??????? ???????????, ??????? ?????? ????? ????????. ?? ?????? ??????? "??????? ?????????" ???-???? ??????. ??????????? ??????? ?????, ?????????? ????, ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????????????????? ?????? ??????????. ?????? ??????? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????????? ???????????? ???????.
????? ???????? ???? ????????? ??????? "?????" ???????????? ??????.
304 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 1982
5,480 people are currently reading
65.4k people want to read
About the author
Haruki Murakami
595?books127k?followersHaruki Murakami ( ´åÉÏ´ºÊ÷) is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Noma Literary Prize, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Kiriyama Prize for Fiction, the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards for Best Fiction, the Jerusalem Prize, and the Princess of Asturias Awards.
Growing up in Ashiya, near Kobe before moving to Tokyo to attend Waseda University, he published his first novel Hear the Wind Sing (1979) after working as the owner of a small jazz bar for seven years. His notable works include the novels Norwegian Wood (1987), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994¨C95), Kafka on the Shore (2002) and 1Q84 (2009¨C10); the last was ranked as the best work of Japan's Heisei era (1989¨C2019) by the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun's survey of literary experts. His work spans genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction, and has become known for his use of magical realist elements. His official website cites Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy and Dag Solstad as his favourite currently active writers. Murakami has also published five short story collections, including First Person Singular (2020), and non-fiction works including Underground (1997), an oral history of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2007), a memoir about his experience as a long distance runner.
His fiction has polarized literary critics and the reading public. He has sometimes been criticised by Japan's literary establishment as un-Japanese, leading to Murakami's recalling that he was a "black sheep in the Japanese literary world". Meanwhile, Murakami has been described by Gary Fisketjon, the editor of Murakami's collection The Elephant Vanishes (1993), as a "truly extraordinary writer", while Steven Poole of The Guardian praised Murakami as "among the world's greatest living novelists" for his oeuvre.
Growing up in Ashiya, near Kobe before moving to Tokyo to attend Waseda University, he published his first novel Hear the Wind Sing (1979) after working as the owner of a small jazz bar for seven years. His notable works include the novels Norwegian Wood (1987), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994¨C95), Kafka on the Shore (2002) and 1Q84 (2009¨C10); the last was ranked as the best work of Japan's Heisei era (1989¨C2019) by the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun's survey of literary experts. His work spans genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction, and has become known for his use of magical realist elements. His official website cites Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy and Dag Solstad as his favourite currently active writers. Murakami has also published five short story collections, including First Person Singular (2020), and non-fiction works including Underground (1997), an oral history of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2007), a memoir about his experience as a long distance runner.
His fiction has polarized literary critics and the reading public. He has sometimes been criticised by Japan's literary establishment as un-Japanese, leading to Murakami's recalling that he was a "black sheep in the Japanese literary world". Meanwhile, Murakami has been described by Gary Fisketjon, the editor of Murakami's collection The Elephant Vanishes (1993), as a "truly extraordinary writer", while Steven Poole of The Guardian praised Murakami as "among the world's greatest living novelists" for his oeuvre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,396 reviews
May 3, 2011
Reading Murakami is like experiencing someone else's dream. Trying to review Murakami is like trying to remember your own -- scattered events, confusing narrative lapses, inexplicable elements, petrified whale penises. A series of images:
And then you wake up. And wonder what that was all about.
And then you wake up. And wonder what that was all about.
April 1, 2008
A Wild Sheep Chase was the third book that I have read by Murakami. I found out after I finished that it is that third book in "The Trilogy of the Rat". The first two books in this series are now out of print, but after reading A Wild Sheep Chase, I think I have to chase down some used copies of the novels and experience the trilogy in full.
I interpreted the novel to be a story of emotion journey more than a story of physical journey. There was an actual journey involved as the main character went in search of the mythical sheep, but the true focus of the book was on the character's emotions. Murakami didn't even give the protagonist (or many of the other characters in the novel) a name. The main character could stand for any one of us.
I believe that the mythical sheep can be seen as either "the meaning of life," which sounds cliche but bear with me, or, "what happens when we lose sight of the true meaning of life".
Our main character (let's call him Max for discussion's sake) finds himself at the end of his marriage. His wife have left him for a friend of his, and he can't understand what that guy has that he doesn't, since the friend doesn't have a lot of money and he plays the guitar too much.
The girlfriend that "Max" hooks up with following the breakup of his marriage is a talented, quirky girl who compliments his own quirks nicely. Yet throughout the relationship, he is obsessed with her ears, a part of her, instead of the whole of her. She, on the other hand, has shown herself to be quite devoted to him, even supporting and joining him on his quest for the sheep.
These examples, plus his long-running friendship with his business partner and the company that they ran together, all worked together to form a meaning to his life that "Max" was unable to recognize or embrace. He was on his own sheep chase looking for meaning that he already had. When he finally caught up with The Rat and had their final chat on the mountain, he realized, to a small degree, what he had been doing wrong. The Rat had left everything he knew behind, including a woman who loved him, in search of new environments and new adventure in hope of some new meaning in life. What he ended up doing was forsaking the people and life that cared about him, that gave his existence meaning, and was overtaken by the mythical sheep. The encounter and habitation with the sheep revealed to The Rat that he had wasted his true meaning and life and was now left with an empty existance, when he should have appreciated and found meaning in the path he was originally given. The results for The Rat were thusly catastrophic. "Max", realizing this, leaves the mountainside with no girlfriend, no business, no business partner, and no wife, but with the enlightenment that it is not too late to find meaning in his life.
As a side story, the Sheep Professor serves as a microcosm of the larger plot. Having everything he needed in a profession that he loved and a family who cared for him, he gave it all up and sought "the sheep". He had the sheep as a part of him for a period of time, only to lose even that. In the end he was left with nothing except a son who wished that his father had cared more about him.
I loved the way that "Max's" emotions were described throughout the novel and how through "Max" we can see the results of not appreciating what we have, and also the overall process of what it is like to develop emotionally and truly realize what is important to us, what fulfills us, and what we need to do to keep those things in our lives.
I interpreted the novel to be a story of emotion journey more than a story of physical journey. There was an actual journey involved as the main character went in search of the mythical sheep, but the true focus of the book was on the character's emotions. Murakami didn't even give the protagonist (or many of the other characters in the novel) a name. The main character could stand for any one of us.
I believe that the mythical sheep can be seen as either "the meaning of life," which sounds cliche but bear with me, or, "what happens when we lose sight of the true meaning of life".
Our main character (let's call him Max for discussion's sake) finds himself at the end of his marriage. His wife have left him for a friend of his, and he can't understand what that guy has that he doesn't, since the friend doesn't have a lot of money and he plays the guitar too much.
The girlfriend that "Max" hooks up with following the breakup of his marriage is a talented, quirky girl who compliments his own quirks nicely. Yet throughout the relationship, he is obsessed with her ears, a part of her, instead of the whole of her. She, on the other hand, has shown herself to be quite devoted to him, even supporting and joining him on his quest for the sheep.
These examples, plus his long-running friendship with his business partner and the company that they ran together, all worked together to form a meaning to his life that "Max" was unable to recognize or embrace. He was on his own sheep chase looking for meaning that he already had. When he finally caught up with The Rat and had their final chat on the mountain, he realized, to a small degree, what he had been doing wrong. The Rat had left everything he knew behind, including a woman who loved him, in search of new environments and new adventure in hope of some new meaning in life. What he ended up doing was forsaking the people and life that cared about him, that gave his existence meaning, and was overtaken by the mythical sheep. The encounter and habitation with the sheep revealed to The Rat that he had wasted his true meaning and life and was now left with an empty existance, when he should have appreciated and found meaning in the path he was originally given. The results for The Rat were thusly catastrophic. "Max", realizing this, leaves the mountainside with no girlfriend, no business, no business partner, and no wife, but with the enlightenment that it is not too late to find meaning in his life.
As a side story, the Sheep Professor serves as a microcosm of the larger plot. Having everything he needed in a profession that he loved and a family who cared for him, he gave it all up and sought "the sheep". He had the sheep as a part of him for a period of time, only to lose even that. In the end he was left with nothing except a son who wished that his father had cared more about him.
I loved the way that "Max's" emotions were described throughout the novel and how through "Max" we can see the results of not appreciating what we have, and also the overall process of what it is like to develop emotionally and truly realize what is important to us, what fulfills us, and what we need to do to keep those things in our lives.
September 22, 2021
Hitsuji o Meguru B¨ken = A Wild Sheep Chase (The Rat, #3), Haruki Murakami
This quasi-detective tale follows an unnamed, chain-smoking narrator and his adventures in Tokyo and Hokkaido in 1978.
The story begins when the recently divorced protagonist, an advertisement executive, publishes a photo of a pastoral scene sent to him in a confessional letter by his long lost friend, 'The Rat.' He is contacted by a mysterious man representing 'The Boss,' a central force behind Japan's political and economic elite who is now slowly dying.
The Boss' secretary tells him that a strange sheep with a star shaped birthmark, pictured in the advertisement, was in some way the secret source of the Boss' power and that he has two months to find that sheep or his career and life will be ruined.
The narrator and his girlfriend, who possesses magically seductive and supernaturally perceptive ears, travel to the north of Japan to find that sheep and his vagabond friend. As he discovers that he is chasing an unknowable power that has been exerting its influence for decades, he encounters figures from his own past, unusual characters, and those who have encountered the sheep before.
???????? ??? ??? ?? ?????: ?????? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)?? ????? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)?? ???????: ?????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?????: ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? 2017??????
?????: ????? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)? ???????: ?????? ????????? ?????: ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? 1392? ?? 360?? ???? 9789647253628? ????? ????????? ????????? ???? ??? 20?
?????: ???? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)? ???????: ?????? ????????? ?????: ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? 1392? ?? 422?? ???? 9789643803761?
?????: ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ? ???? ???? ? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????? ? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???
??? ??? ???: (?? ????? ?????? ???? 1989??????- ????? ???? ? ????? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??? ? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????????? ?? ????????? ????? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? - ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ? ??????? ????? ???????? - ?? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????? ? ???? ?????? ???? ???? -??? ?????-? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ???????? ? ?????? ???? ?? ??????????? ?? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????)? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?????
????? ?????? ????? 12/09/1399???? ???????? 30/06/1400???? ???????? ?. ???????
This quasi-detective tale follows an unnamed, chain-smoking narrator and his adventures in Tokyo and Hokkaido in 1978.
The story begins when the recently divorced protagonist, an advertisement executive, publishes a photo of a pastoral scene sent to him in a confessional letter by his long lost friend, 'The Rat.' He is contacted by a mysterious man representing 'The Boss,' a central force behind Japan's political and economic elite who is now slowly dying.
The Boss' secretary tells him that a strange sheep with a star shaped birthmark, pictured in the advertisement, was in some way the secret source of the Boss' power and that he has two months to find that sheep or his career and life will be ruined.
The narrator and his girlfriend, who possesses magically seductive and supernaturally perceptive ears, travel to the north of Japan to find that sheep and his vagabond friend. As he discovers that he is chasing an unknowable power that has been exerting its influence for decades, he encounters figures from his own past, unusual characters, and those who have encountered the sheep before.
???????? ??? ??? ?? ?????: ?????? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)?? ????? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)?? ???????: ?????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?????: ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? 2017??????
?????: ????? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)? ???????: ?????? ????????? ?????: ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? 1392? ?? 360?? ???? 9789647253628? ????? ????????? ????????? ???? ??? 20?
?????: ???? ?????? ???? - ???? ?? - ??? ??? ?????? (??)? ???????: ?????? ????????? ?????: ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? 1392? ?? 422?? ???? 9789643803761?
?????: ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ? ???? ???? ? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ????????? ? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???
??? ??? ???: (?? ????? ?????? ???? 1989??????- ????? ???? ? ????? ???? ????????? ?? ????? ??? ? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????????? ?? ????????? ????? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? - ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ? ??????? ????? ???????? - ?? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????? ? ???? ?????? ???? ???? -??? ?????-? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ???????? ? ?????? ???? ?? ??????????? ?? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ? ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????)? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?????
????? ?????? ????? 12/09/1399???? ???????? 30/06/1400???? ???????? ?. ???????
April 28, 2009
'A Wild Sheep Chase' is a trippy tale with a mix of detective story, myth, fantasy and philosophy. Though it can be enjoyed simply as a fable at its face-value, just a little thought reveals a multi-layered allegory. On one hand, "the sheep" could signify post-war Japan itself. At the same time, the protagonist's sheep chase also ends up being a search for his own identity, his emotions and meaning of his existence. It is as much a physical journey as a spiritual journey. There are also several references to Japan's history, its cultural and spiritual beliefs, which fit very smoothly with the obvious western influence and pop-culture allusions. For a multi-layered story, the writing is deceptively simple. It was mainly the last few chapters where the symbolism struck home and left me thinking about the novel long after I had finished reading it.
More than the plot, it is the little things about Murakami's writing which make this book memorable. What I am going to remember the most is how Murakami captures the mood of a place or a moment of time. It is as if a room or a rock or wind are really alive and that time, darkness, silence have several characteristics of their own. There is marvelous imagery, astounding descriptions of natural landscape and beautiful metaphors. The lead character is apathetic and mostly emotion-less, yet he does notice the shimmer of water in the sunlight or chirping of birds. He also has an interesting way of looking at mundane things and his thoughts often wander in strange directions. And Murakami's sense of humor is so cute!
(PS: If I happen to see a sheep during the next few days, it might creep me out a little. Damn you magic sheep!)
More than the plot, it is the little things about Murakami's writing which make this book memorable. What I am going to remember the most is how Murakami captures the mood of a place or a moment of time. It is as if a room or a rock or wind are really alive and that time, darkness, silence have several characteristics of their own. There is marvelous imagery, astounding descriptions of natural landscape and beautiful metaphors. The lead character is apathetic and mostly emotion-less, yet he does notice the shimmer of water in the sunlight or chirping of birds. He also has an interesting way of looking at mundane things and his thoughts often wander in strange directions. And Murakami's sense of humor is so cute!
(PS: If I happen to see a sheep during the next few days, it might creep me out a little. Damn you magic sheep!)
June 4, 2024
A play on the old saying ¡®a wild goose chase', I'm afraid this book reads more like another old saying, ¡®a complete waste of time¡¯. It felt to me that a random series of events had been linked together to form a very loose and aimless narrative. I really had no idea what was going on or what I¡¯m supposed to take from this tale.
I¡¯m a fan of the author, and I believe he¡¯s written some stunning books, my personal favourites (in order) being:
1. 1Q84
2. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
3. Kafka on the Shore
4. Norwegian Wood
Although the order of the first three is interchangeable, depending on my prevailing mood.
I should have been forewarned regarding this offering as I¡¯d previously, randomly, read Dance, Dance, Dance, which I found incomprehensible. They¡¯re both part of the mini-series of ¡®Rat¡¯ books Murakami penned through the 80¡¯s and 90¡¯s and AWSC is the precursor to DDD. I¡¯d rather hoped that the former would provide some structure and some background to the latter, but I¡¯m afraid it just didn¡¯t hold my interest sufficiently to fully test this. I found myself drifting off through sections of the book, and the whole thing just washed over me without leaving much of an impression at all. So, the answers might have been there... I really don't know.
So why two stars and not only one? Well, at heart, this is a detective story, and I like detective stories. There are too many unlikely coincidences and shaky plot connections here, but Murakami¡¯s natural flow is also evident ¨C it¡¯s easy to read and has some nice lines. Also, I only ever give one star to books. I can¡¯t bring myself to finish, and I did finish this one.
My advice is to give this one a miss, but do catch up with his better work. You won¡¯t be sorry you did.
I¡¯m a fan of the author, and I believe he¡¯s written some stunning books, my personal favourites (in order) being:
1. 1Q84
2. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
3. Kafka on the Shore
4. Norwegian Wood
Although the order of the first three is interchangeable, depending on my prevailing mood.
I should have been forewarned regarding this offering as I¡¯d previously, randomly, read Dance, Dance, Dance, which I found incomprehensible. They¡¯re both part of the mini-series of ¡®Rat¡¯ books Murakami penned through the 80¡¯s and 90¡¯s and AWSC is the precursor to DDD. I¡¯d rather hoped that the former would provide some structure and some background to the latter, but I¡¯m afraid it just didn¡¯t hold my interest sufficiently to fully test this. I found myself drifting off through sections of the book, and the whole thing just washed over me without leaving much of an impression at all. So, the answers might have been there... I really don't know.
So why two stars and not only one? Well, at heart, this is a detective story, and I like detective stories. There are too many unlikely coincidences and shaky plot connections here, but Murakami¡¯s natural flow is also evident ¨C it¡¯s easy to read and has some nice lines. Also, I only ever give one star to books. I can¡¯t bring myself to finish, and I did finish this one.
My advice is to give this one a miss, but do catch up with his better work. You won¡¯t be sorry you did.
October 16, 2022
can¡¯t wait to read more from him¡. Norwegian Wood still not good tho?
September 28, 2021
Was this a good book?
Hell yes
Was this Murakami's best?
No, but he does hold high standards for himself.
Did I enjoy it?
Absolutely
Was I confused since I read the third in this series first?
Definitely, but it's Murakami so it might have been more confusing had I known the backstories.
Do I remember any of the plot?
Nope.
Was the man dressed as a sheep/sheep man scary?
Yeeep.
Would I recommend this book?
Definitely. I loved it. Can't remember why, or how, but it was good. 11/10 would read again.
2021 edit: The full backstory behind this review is that I had been a sleep-deprived university student reading books from the library in a study cubicle instead of studying. Maybe it was my monkey brain at the time, but I genuinely don't know how much I would enjoy this now.
Courtesy of Jen's mini reviews
Hell yes
Was this Murakami's best?
No, but he does hold high standards for himself.
Did I enjoy it?
Absolutely
Was I confused since I read the third in this series first?
Definitely, but it's Murakami so it might have been more confusing had I known the backstories.
Do I remember any of the plot?
Nope.
Was the man dressed as a sheep/sheep man scary?
Yeeep.
Would I recommend this book?
Definitely. I loved it. Can't remember why, or how, but it was good. 11/10 would read again.
2021 edit: The full backstory behind this review is that I had been a sleep-deprived university student reading books from the library in a study cubicle instead of studying. Maybe it was my monkey brain at the time, but I genuinely don't know how much I would enjoy this now.
Courtesy of Jen's mini reviews
May 11, 2020
A roller coaster of a book. Since it's hard to describe and others have already done so, I'm just going to go with how it made me feel to read it. An unorthodox way to review a book, but maybe not for a book made of magical realism, mystery, philosophy, sex, drinks, rock and roll and of course the ubiquitous sheep, in which you never learn the names of the characters and they really don't matter anyway. At times it's all wheeeeeeeee and then it's ooooof, then more wheeeeee and ooooooof with some whooooaaaa and woooohoooo, put your hands up and submit to the fun of structured chaos. I didn't understand all of this book but I loved all of it. And like I feel when I get off a roller coaster, I immediately wanted to go again. Which is why I'm reading the sequel, "Dance Dance Dance."
September 21, 2018
My first Murakami and I really enjoyed it.
May 6, 2023
"Have your ears ever exerted a power over anyone other than me?
You want to know whether my ears have special powers?"
In Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase, the narrator learns that his adventure will begin with a wild sheep chase. Without knowing what that means, he quits his old life and embarks on an odyssey that takes him and the girl with the exquisite and powerful ears in search of a specific sheep. After reading several of Murakami's novels, I've learned that it is never enough to say that his novels are quirky.
The narrator's adventures seem like scattered dream images that we'll be able to piece together if we can just connect the dots. Therein lies the problem. That's also what the narrator is trying to do.
He is trying to make sense of this new world he is confronted by just like we are. And he is as often in the dark. What are we to make of the narrator, the Rat (who first enters the story with a letter to our narrator) or the Sheep Professor? I'm not sure it is as well developed as some of Murakami's later works, but it is an interesting and engaging read.
You want to know whether my ears have special powers?"
In Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase, the narrator learns that his adventure will begin with a wild sheep chase. Without knowing what that means, he quits his old life and embarks on an odyssey that takes him and the girl with the exquisite and powerful ears in search of a specific sheep. After reading several of Murakami's novels, I've learned that it is never enough to say that his novels are quirky.
The narrator's adventures seem like scattered dream images that we'll be able to piece together if we can just connect the dots. Therein lies the problem. That's also what the narrator is trying to do.
He is trying to make sense of this new world he is confronted by just like we are. And he is as often in the dark. What are we to make of the narrator, the Rat (who first enters the story with a letter to our narrator) or the Sheep Professor? I'm not sure it is as well developed as some of Murakami's later works, but it is an interesting and engaging read.
February 14, 2020
This book is incredibly imaginative and has vibrant, colourful characters I enjoyed. However, I feel like?Haruki Murakami?added many layers of meaning?to this book and if so, they elude me. If there is an underlying meaning to this book, I can't tell you what the heck it is. Or maybe there is no underlying meaning. Maybe it's just a magical story and my brain always wants there to be something more.??
For the most part,A Wild Sheep Chase is an enjoyable story and I'll probably go back and read the first in the series.? However, there were some parts that really dragged, preventing me from giving this 5 stars.
For the most part,A Wild Sheep Chase is an enjoyable story and I'll probably go back and read the first in the series.? However, there were some parts that really dragged, preventing me from giving this 5 stars.
July 17, 2011
An interesting read, three and a half stars for beauty in language. While I can't say I "really liked it" in the "will re-read one day" sense, I appreciated the richness of the ideas and language offered. I normally tend to devour a book in two or three sittings, but this was a book that worked well reading three or four chapters a night, breaking into small, choice pieces. Although there is a mystery that drives the plot, I would hesitate to say that is the focus of the book, so I didn't feel like I lost tension or details. Murakami seems to work best for me when savored in little bites with the opportunity to linger over phrasing, rather than reading for plot or conflict resolution. I also couldn't escape the nagging feeling that I was missing considerable subtext, as I know almost nothing about Japanese history, or even culture. It had very Vonnegut or Kafka overtones, where there is potentially digressive philosophical musing, and whose impact is strengthened by underlying meaning.
I enjoyed the book, and didn't even feel that it was particularly unrealistic, as other reviewers have charged. I know those kind of people that get into existential discussions with taxi drivers, if not chauffeurs.
One of the only aspects that bothered me what the emotional depression of the narrator. While I'm sure it was intentional, it made it hard to sustain interest in him as a character study. I suppose that could have been the point--just another nameless, disenfranchised person passing out of his twenties and distanced from everything of meaning in life. Nonetheless, Murakami and the translator achieved really wonderous feats with their word choices, and have a knack for gestalt description, for crafting line upon line that builds a priceless whole. It's given me courage to attack my long-unread copy of The Wind-up Bird Chronicles.
Favorite lines:
At the pinnacle of this tower was affixed a decorative lightning rod. A mistake. Lightning was meant to strike the building and burn it down.
The sofa was an unappealing orange, the sort of orange you'd get by leaving a choicely sunburnt (sic) weaving out in the rain for a week, then throwing it into the cellar until it mildewed. This was an orange from the early days of Technicolor.
"Haven't those ears of yours gotten the message yet?"
"No message for the time being," she said, eating her simmered fish and miso soup. "That much I know. I only get despairing messages when I'm confused or feeling some mental pinch. But that's not the case now."
The children were quiet too. They sat still and stared out the window. Occasionally, someone coughed with a dry rasp that sounded like a mummy tapped on the head with a pair of tongs.
I enjoyed the book, and didn't even feel that it was particularly unrealistic, as other reviewers have charged. I know those kind of people that get into existential discussions with taxi drivers, if not chauffeurs.
One of the only aspects that bothered me what the emotional depression of the narrator. While I'm sure it was intentional, it made it hard to sustain interest in him as a character study. I suppose that could have been the point--just another nameless, disenfranchised person passing out of his twenties and distanced from everything of meaning in life. Nonetheless, Murakami and the translator achieved really wonderous feats with their word choices, and have a knack for gestalt description, for crafting line upon line that builds a priceless whole. It's given me courage to attack my long-unread copy of The Wind-up Bird Chronicles.
Favorite lines:
At the pinnacle of this tower was affixed a decorative lightning rod. A mistake. Lightning was meant to strike the building and burn it down.
The sofa was an unappealing orange, the sort of orange you'd get by leaving a choicely sunburnt (sic) weaving out in the rain for a week, then throwing it into the cellar until it mildewed. This was an orange from the early days of Technicolor.
"Haven't those ears of yours gotten the message yet?"
"No message for the time being," she said, eating her simmered fish and miso soup. "That much I know. I only get despairing messages when I'm confused or feeling some mental pinch. But that's not the case now."
The children were quiet too. They sat still and stared out the window. Occasionally, someone coughed with a dry rasp that sounded like a mummy tapped on the head with a pair of tongs.
October 18, 2007
When one is approached by a random person and asked to locate a life form that is physically unable to exist, but which you have a picture of, and you choose to do it because you have to, you know you're in for something fantastical. Part noir thriller, part philosophical daydream, the wild sheep chase moves effortlessly along (partially due to the brilliant translation), and scene by scene we are more and more drawn into the story of soon to be thirty year old J. Philosophical detours into entymology, time and space, and the nature of what it means to have arrived just too late abound, and they're actually fun to think about (too much philosophical jargon really gets me going).
One of my favorite themes was the notion of silence, especially one that follows some kind of dramatic action. Several times throughout the novel the protagonist finds himself on a room, both alone and with other people, where different kinds of silence rest on things. I was blown away by the different ways one could express a single concept, and in each new description bring a completely new meaning to the word. For example, "The silence was not unlike the feeling one could get when the last curtain closes after a performance, the audience now gone, and the janitor, perhaps a man in his fifties with a wheeze, stands for a moment to inspect the job before getting on with the sweeping."
Or: "A silence hung in the room as if a window, open since earlier in the day, had finally been shut, the dust now settling onto the furniture."
You see what I mean. It's little things in this book. And things that are not said. Those always get me.
Ultimately, this was a very satisfying read, and I highly recommend it. And I'm probably going to read others.
One of my favorite themes was the notion of silence, especially one that follows some kind of dramatic action. Several times throughout the novel the protagonist finds himself on a room, both alone and with other people, where different kinds of silence rest on things. I was blown away by the different ways one could express a single concept, and in each new description bring a completely new meaning to the word. For example, "The silence was not unlike the feeling one could get when the last curtain closes after a performance, the audience now gone, and the janitor, perhaps a man in his fifties with a wheeze, stands for a moment to inspect the job before getting on with the sweeping."
Or: "A silence hung in the room as if a window, open since earlier in the day, had finally been shut, the dust now settling onto the furniture."
You see what I mean. It's little things in this book. And things that are not said. Those always get me.
Ultimately, this was a very satisfying read, and I highly recommend it. And I'm probably going to read others.
April 14, 2018
I wrote the following review two and a half years ago. Now that I've read A Wild Sheep Chase again, I don't think there's any need to change anything. Or maybe there's a great need to do so, I'm not sure. In any case, I'd rather put Benny Goodman's Airmail Special and breathe in deep the spring evening air.
On the back cover of this special 3D edition of "The Wild Sheep Chase", there's this quote by The Washington Post which goes like this: "Lean forward and topple headlong into magic". Well, it couldn't be more aptly put!
You know when you read something which as a story, is not particularly great, and yet deep inside you find it amazing? It's like there are two parts of you that simultaneously read the story. The pragmatistic part, that interprets what you read in a matter-of-fact way, and the emotional part that sort of does so in a more inner and abstract fashion that you can't really put your finger on. For instance (and this is only a minor spoiler, so don't worry), the part where the girlfriend leaves the house on the mountain, made me feel inexplicably sad. Though Murakami doesn't seem to deliberately try to make you feel sad at that particular point, I felt genuine and pure sadness. Like a reflective reaction. I really hope what I'm trying to say gets through so far.
This is the third book of The Rat series and Murakami's third novel overall. Like any of his works, this one can be read in two ways: as a modern fairytale about a man on a quest to find a special sheep, or as an allegory of a modern person's quest to find the meaning of life. Choosing the former (although it's not so much a matter of choice), one misses a lot and probably ends up baffled and frustrated.
Many of Murakami's stereotypic allegorical themes are there. Unnamed characters for instance which, the way I see it, is a way to portray the also unnamed protagonist's detachment from everyone. Indeed our hero, like most of Murakami's heroes, shows a tendency to avoid emotional connections. Not even his cat has a name, until a secondary character gives it one. What's more, there is a constant uncertainty throughout the book of what is real and what is not, as realistic facts mingle with... not so realistic facts. There is even a point toward the end where the main protagonist is unsure of who and why he really is. These elements really hit home and are the main reason Murakami gets so much praise from me.
Trying to rationalize everything you read in this book won't work, so don't waste your time. You should rather let your inner eye read this amazing story about sheep. Trust me, you never know what you might discover within the pages of "The Wild Sheep Chase".
On the back cover of this special 3D edition of "The Wild Sheep Chase", there's this quote by The Washington Post which goes like this: "Lean forward and topple headlong into magic". Well, it couldn't be more aptly put!
You know when you read something which as a story, is not particularly great, and yet deep inside you find it amazing? It's like there are two parts of you that simultaneously read the story. The pragmatistic part, that interprets what you read in a matter-of-fact way, and the emotional part that sort of does so in a more inner and abstract fashion that you can't really put your finger on. For instance (and this is only a minor spoiler, so don't worry), the part where the girlfriend leaves the house on the mountain, made me feel inexplicably sad. Though Murakami doesn't seem to deliberately try to make you feel sad at that particular point, I felt genuine and pure sadness. Like a reflective reaction. I really hope what I'm trying to say gets through so far.
This is the third book of The Rat series and Murakami's third novel overall. Like any of his works, this one can be read in two ways: as a modern fairytale about a man on a quest to find a special sheep, or as an allegory of a modern person's quest to find the meaning of life. Choosing the former (although it's not so much a matter of choice), one misses a lot and probably ends up baffled and frustrated.
Many of Murakami's stereotypic allegorical themes are there. Unnamed characters for instance which, the way I see it, is a way to portray the also unnamed protagonist's detachment from everyone. Indeed our hero, like most of Murakami's heroes, shows a tendency to avoid emotional connections. Not even his cat has a name, until a secondary character gives it one. What's more, there is a constant uncertainty throughout the book of what is real and what is not, as realistic facts mingle with... not so realistic facts. There is even a point toward the end where the main protagonist is unsure of who and why he really is. These elements really hit home and are the main reason Murakami gets so much praise from me.
Trying to rationalize everything you read in this book won't work, so don't waste your time. You should rather let your inner eye read this amazing story about sheep. Trust me, you never know what you might discover within the pages of "The Wild Sheep Chase".
April 18, 2023
4/5 ?
Officially, this is my first Murakami novel and guess what? I LIKED IT
I mean it had a lot of advantages and I'll actually list them for you:
1) it was a relatively short read;
2) the writing style made the story flow easily so even if you don't know what to expect you'll still manage to read 50 pages in one sitting;
3) you'll get some Squid Game vibes from it at some point during the story (trust me, if you watched the TV show then you won't really be able to unsee what I just said);
4) there are NO NAMES to be bothered with remembering; literally, the only name you'd actually see there is the name of the old cat the main character owns;
5) the whole narrative is bizarre, the characters seem to lack personality or even some vitality sometimes but in a way, it kind of makes sense to act like that, after all, they're all Japanese people in 1970s Japan, they just fit the vibe of the time and the place;
6) SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC THERE
Aside from all that, this book has been the type that manages to transcend normality and reality and it blends in the fantastic and the supernatural so well that at some point you can't tell when it's real and when it's not. It looks like the storyline just smoked something funky and now everything and everyone in there is high.
I know Murakami might not be everyone's cup of tea but if you ever want to try something of his, you can most definitely try this one, it's short, quick and quite funky.
Officially, this is my first Murakami novel and guess what? I LIKED IT
I mean it had a lot of advantages and I'll actually list them for you:
1) it was a relatively short read;
2) the writing style made the story flow easily so even if you don't know what to expect you'll still manage to read 50 pages in one sitting;
3) you'll get some Squid Game vibes from it at some point during the story (trust me, if you watched the TV show then you won't really be able to unsee what I just said);
4) there are NO NAMES to be bothered with remembering; literally, the only name you'd actually see there is the name of the old cat the main character owns;
5) the whole narrative is bizarre, the characters seem to lack personality or even some vitality sometimes but in a way, it kind of makes sense to act like that, after all, they're all Japanese people in 1970s Japan, they just fit the vibe of the time and the place;
6) SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC THERE
Aside from all that, this book has been the type that manages to transcend normality and reality and it blends in the fantastic and the supernatural so well that at some point you can't tell when it's real and when it's not. It looks like the storyline just smoked something funky and now everything and everyone in there is high.
I know Murakami might not be everyone's cup of tea but if you ever want to try something of his, you can most definitely try this one, it's short, quick and quite funky.
March 8, 2016
?????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? 150 ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???!
????? ???? ? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???...
???????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ? ??? ?? ???? ? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??????.
?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? :))
???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ? ????? ? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? :))
??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? :))
?? ?? ????? ????
??? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??????
??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????
??? ?? ??? ?? ???? :??
????? ???? ? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???...
???????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ? ??? ?? ???? ? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??????.
?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? :))
???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ? ????? ? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? :))
??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? :))
?? ?? ????? ????
??? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??????
??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ??????
??? ?? ??? ?? ???? :??
January 19, 2016
?lk olarak ?unu s?ylemek istiyorum. Bu kitab? okuduktan sonra kitap forumlar?nda vb. yerlerde, bir?ok "Japonya hakk?nda fikir sahibi olmak amac? ile okudu?um..."gibi yorumlar okudum. B?yle bir ?ey ?ncelikle ?ok yanl??. Bu kitapla, sadece bu de?il bu de?il b¨¹t¨¹n Murakami kitaplar? ile Japonya, Japon K¨¹lt¨¹r¨¹ ve Japonlar hakk?nda sa?l?kl? bilgi edinemezsiniz. H.Murakami yazd?klar? Japonya ile ili?tirilebilecek son Japon yazar. Tanizaki, Mi?ima, Dazai, Agutagava, Kavabata vb. yazarlar okuyarak ger?ek Japon Edebiyat? ile tan??abilirsiniz.
Bunu ge?ersem e?er Yaban Koyununun ?zinde, en rahat okunan Murakami kitaplar?ndan bir tanesi ve bence ba?lang?? i?in en uygun olan?. ?¨¹nk¨¹ yazar?n edebiyat?na hakim olan anlat?m ve ??eler bu kitapta e?it d¨¹zeyde yay?lm?? bulunmakta. Murakami, normalde asla olmas?na ihtimal vermeyece?imiz ?eyleri genel ger?ek?ilik i?inde bir imge karma?as? i?inde kullanan bir yazar. Bu y¨¹zden hikayeleri anlamland?rman?n bir yarar? yok. Ancak imgelerle ¨¹zerine d¨¹?¨¹nebilece?iniz bir harita sunuyor. A??k?as? bu karma??k ve abs¨¹rd hatta fazla hayalci imgelemler beni "Zemberekku?u'nun G¨¹ncesi"nde ?ok yormu?tu. O kadar uzun bir eser boyunca bitmek bilmeyen bir anlams?zl?k furyas? bir heveste okuma iste?i olanlar i?in bilhassa, zorluk yarat?yor. Bu kitapta da ayn? durum var. Ancak bu kez hem roman?n daha k?sa olmas? hem de olay?n "birlik" ta??mas? durumu kolayla?t?r?yor. Yan ?yk¨¹ler fazla ayr?nt?l? kurulmad???ndan zihin da??lm?yor.
Yine her roman?nda oldu?u gibi bu roman?n i?inden de m¨¹zik ge?iyor. M¨¹zik belli bir ama? ta??madan, tamamen yazar?n be?enileri do?rultusunda her zaman romanlarda kendine yer buluyor. Sizde e?er jazz, blues, klasik bat? m¨¹zi?i ve klasik rock ile ilgili iseniz romandaki atmosferleri kafada yaratman?z daha kolay oluyor.
Benim tak?ld???m ba?ka bir konu daha var. Baz? yazarlar diyalog yazma ile romanlar?n? y¨¹r¨¹t¨¹rler. Karakterlerin konu?malar? kitab? ileriye ta??r. Salinger, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Hardy, Mo Yan, Palahniuk gibi baz? isimler farkl? d?nemlerde, farkl? stillerde yazm?? olsalar bile en iyi becerdikleri ?ey diyalog ile hikaye ilerletmeleridir. Ben Murakami'de de b?yle bir sevda g?r¨¹yorum. Ancak o kadar postmodern konu?malar yaz?yor ki, konu?malar bir b¨¹t¨¹nl¨¹k ta??yam?yorlar. S¨¹rekli olarak insan Murakami'nin ne denli geni? bir hayalg¨¹c¨¹ oldu?unu idrak ediyor. Akl?na ket vurmam?? ve ucu nereye giderse, akl? nas?l bir ?a?r???m yaparsa yazm?? gibi hissettiriyor. Elbette ba?ar?l? oldu?u noktalar yok de?il benim a??mdan ama yorucu, baz? zamanlarda da itici oldu?unu d¨¹?¨¹n¨¹yorum.
Bu romanda da, H.Murakami romanlar?n?n ?o?unda da o an okurken ald???n?z verim esas. Sonras?nda ?ok fazla kalm?yor. ?nsan?n beyni bu denli ?arp???k, d¨¹zensiz, da??n?k g?rsel/i?itsel/metaforik imgeleri, puzzle misali kurabilmek ve yeniden tan?mlay?p anland?rmak a??s?ndan yeterli de?il. E?er yazar?n bir matemati?i varsa bu ?ok ileri d¨¹zey bir ?ey olmal? diye d¨¹?¨¹n¨¹yorum.
Onun d???nda ne desem bo?, Murakami ne kefil olup okuyun diyebilece?im bir yazar, ne de asla okumay?n diyip kendimce lanetleyebilece?im bir yazar. Okuyorum i?te... Arada d¨¹?¨¹n¨¹yorum, baz? ta?lar? yerine oturtmaya ?al???yorum, sonra d?n¨¹p kitap bitince cevaps?z kalan sorular?n arkas?ndan bak?yorum vs. En iyisi okuyup kendinizin karar vermesi. Bu kitap yazar?n sihirli ger?ek?ilik d¨¹nyas?n?n kap?s?n? en isabetli ve dozajl? a?t??? romanlar?ndan biri bence. O y¨¹zden ?nceli?i buna verebilirsiniz gibi geliyor.
?yi okumalar.
Bunu ge?ersem e?er Yaban Koyununun ?zinde, en rahat okunan Murakami kitaplar?ndan bir tanesi ve bence ba?lang?? i?in en uygun olan?. ?¨¹nk¨¹ yazar?n edebiyat?na hakim olan anlat?m ve ??eler bu kitapta e?it d¨¹zeyde yay?lm?? bulunmakta. Murakami, normalde asla olmas?na ihtimal vermeyece?imiz ?eyleri genel ger?ek?ilik i?inde bir imge karma?as? i?inde kullanan bir yazar. Bu y¨¹zden hikayeleri anlamland?rman?n bir yarar? yok. Ancak imgelerle ¨¹zerine d¨¹?¨¹nebilece?iniz bir harita sunuyor. A??k?as? bu karma??k ve abs¨¹rd hatta fazla hayalci imgelemler beni "Zemberekku?u'nun G¨¹ncesi"nde ?ok yormu?tu. O kadar uzun bir eser boyunca bitmek bilmeyen bir anlams?zl?k furyas? bir heveste okuma iste?i olanlar i?in bilhassa, zorluk yarat?yor. Bu kitapta da ayn? durum var. Ancak bu kez hem roman?n daha k?sa olmas? hem de olay?n "birlik" ta??mas? durumu kolayla?t?r?yor. Yan ?yk¨¹ler fazla ayr?nt?l? kurulmad???ndan zihin da??lm?yor.
Yine her roman?nda oldu?u gibi bu roman?n i?inden de m¨¹zik ge?iyor. M¨¹zik belli bir ama? ta??madan, tamamen yazar?n be?enileri do?rultusunda her zaman romanlarda kendine yer buluyor. Sizde e?er jazz, blues, klasik bat? m¨¹zi?i ve klasik rock ile ilgili iseniz romandaki atmosferleri kafada yaratman?z daha kolay oluyor.
Benim tak?ld???m ba?ka bir konu daha var. Baz? yazarlar diyalog yazma ile romanlar?n? y¨¹r¨¹t¨¹rler. Karakterlerin konu?malar? kitab? ileriye ta??r. Salinger, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Hardy, Mo Yan, Palahniuk gibi baz? isimler farkl? d?nemlerde, farkl? stillerde yazm?? olsalar bile en iyi becerdikleri ?ey diyalog ile hikaye ilerletmeleridir. Ben Murakami'de de b?yle bir sevda g?r¨¹yorum. Ancak o kadar postmodern konu?malar yaz?yor ki, konu?malar bir b¨¹t¨¹nl¨¹k ta??yam?yorlar. S¨¹rekli olarak insan Murakami'nin ne denli geni? bir hayalg¨¹c¨¹ oldu?unu idrak ediyor. Akl?na ket vurmam?? ve ucu nereye giderse, akl? nas?l bir ?a?r???m yaparsa yazm?? gibi hissettiriyor. Elbette ba?ar?l? oldu?u noktalar yok de?il benim a??mdan ama yorucu, baz? zamanlarda da itici oldu?unu d¨¹?¨¹n¨¹yorum.
Bu romanda da, H.Murakami romanlar?n?n ?o?unda da o an okurken ald???n?z verim esas. Sonras?nda ?ok fazla kalm?yor. ?nsan?n beyni bu denli ?arp???k, d¨¹zensiz, da??n?k g?rsel/i?itsel/metaforik imgeleri, puzzle misali kurabilmek ve yeniden tan?mlay?p anland?rmak a??s?ndan yeterli de?il. E?er yazar?n bir matemati?i varsa bu ?ok ileri d¨¹zey bir ?ey olmal? diye d¨¹?¨¹n¨¹yorum.
Onun d???nda ne desem bo?, Murakami ne kefil olup okuyun diyebilece?im bir yazar, ne de asla okumay?n diyip kendimce lanetleyebilece?im bir yazar. Okuyorum i?te... Arada d¨¹?¨¹n¨¹yorum, baz? ta?lar? yerine oturtmaya ?al???yorum, sonra d?n¨¹p kitap bitince cevaps?z kalan sorular?n arkas?ndan bak?yorum vs. En iyisi okuyup kendinizin karar vermesi. Bu kitap yazar?n sihirli ger?ek?ilik d¨¹nyas?n?n kap?s?n? en isabetli ve dozajl? a?t??? romanlar?ndan biri bence. O y¨¹zden ?nceli?i buna verebilirsiniz gibi geliyor.
?yi okumalar.
May 22, 2021
????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ????? ????????.
??? ?????? ??? ??????(?? ???? ??? ??? ?????) ?? ???? ???? ? ????? ??? ??????(??????????) ?? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ???. ????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????????? ? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????.
?? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ? ????(???) ????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ??????????? ??????? ? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ? ???? ?? ????? ? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????.
?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ????????? ? ??????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ?????????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ? ?????????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????????? ??????? ??????? ??? ? ??? ??? ?? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????????? ???? ??????? ? ?????? ???(???? ???? ?????) ?????? ?????? ? ...
?? ??? ?? ? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ? ????????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ? ???? ??? ? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? (??? ??? ???) ??? ????? ???.
??????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ?? ???? ?????????? ?????? ? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?????.
??? ?????? ??? ??????(?? ???? ??? ??? ?????) ?? ???? ???? ? ????? ??? ??????(??????????) ?? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ???. ????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????????? ? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????.
?? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ? ????(???) ????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ??????????? ??????? ? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ? ???? ?? ????? ? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??????.
?????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ????????? ? ??????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ?? ?????????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?? ???? ????????? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ? ?????????? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????????? ??????? ??????? ??? ? ??? ??? ?? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????????? ???? ??????? ? ?????? ???(???? ???? ?????) ?????? ?????? ? ...
?? ??? ?? ? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ? ????????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ? ???? ??? ? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? (??? ??? ???) ??? ????? ???.
??????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ?? ???? ?????????? ?????? ? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?????.
August 1, 2018
¡°I don't really know if it's the right thing to do, making new life. Kids grow up, generations take their place. What does it all come to? More hills bulldozed and more ocean fronts filled in? Faster cars and more cats run over? Who needs it?¡±
This is the first book Murakami wrote as a full-time novelist, and his third overall. The third book in the Rat Trilogy, the story revolves around a strange mystery surrounding an enigmatic sheep in Hokkaido, and how the narrator starts on an adventure to find something that even he can't grasp properly. Here, Murakami touches up on themes like right-wing politics in Japan, and ear fetish.
Take a dip into this fast-paced mystery with a strange surrealistic undertone, as we smoke Seven Stars and enjoy the dull, cold weather of Sapporo, searching for a long-lost friend.
This is the first book Murakami wrote as a full-time novelist, and his third overall. The third book in the Rat Trilogy, the story revolves around a strange mystery surrounding an enigmatic sheep in Hokkaido, and how the narrator starts on an adventure to find something that even he can't grasp properly. Here, Murakami touches up on themes like right-wing politics in Japan, and ear fetish.
Take a dip into this fast-paced mystery with a strange surrealistic undertone, as we smoke Seven Stars and enjoy the dull, cold weather of Sapporo, searching for a long-lost friend.
June 8, 2023
Murakami himself said that his writing career really only began with A Wild Sheep Chase, and I can see why.
While his first two novels aren't "bad" per se (although I guess this is a rather subjective take), they do lack in certain areas. What A Wild Sheep Chase does better than its predecessor(s), is the fact that it has a more solid structure. It follows a clear plot (although one could argue as to how "clear" it is, since it does occasionally venture into the surreal) which makes it possible for the reader to get more invested in the story.
In my review, I compared Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 to Hopper Paintings, due to the melancholy, detached feeling that those novels conveyed to me. A Wild Sheep Chase feels more like a shabby hotel lobby to me. Why? Honestly, I'm not so sure. Maybe because this book just feels like it would make for a perfect travel companion, because a) it makes you want to go out and Experience Things and b) it follows two people who go on a rather crazy adventure (a wild sheep chase, if you will) and I'd imagine it would be great to read on the go. A Wild Sheep Chase does not stay in the same place, and it almost dares you to get up and go do some exploring - or perhaps discovering? - of your own.
The writing, once again, really worked for me here. I love the way Murakami portrays alienation in his characters, as it's something I can somehow relate to. [Side note, characters in Japanese literature generally seem to have a bit more of a "skewed" perception of reality (at least that's what I've gathered so far) and I think that's why it almost always works for me.]
I also loved the settings in this book, especially the semi-closed setting at the end (which I cannot talk about due to spoilers) and whenever I pick up my copy of A Wild Sheep Chase I find myself transported back, if only temporarily, to those places. It's incredible how vivid they still appear in my mind. Murakami definitely knows how to create atmosphere with his settings.
Now, you may be thinking: Why is this weirdo (me) praising this book so much, yet she's still giving it "only" 3.5 stars?
Do not fret, my friend.
Here is what I didn't like about this book:
There is one thing in literature that I dislike above everything. Yes, even above annoying characters, and slow pacing, and the miscommunication trope. I hate it even more than the sentence "She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in". (Yes, I went there.)
The thing is.... I don't like being confused.
Especially when I know I'm not supposed to be confused.
As in, technically everything is supposed to at least kind of make sense, but my head for some reason just WILL NOT wrap its silly little mind around it. And what's worst of all? I know it's probably my fault (and that is pretty much unacceptable, for I am not supposed to feel shitty about myself. I'm soooooo great actually. Nothing should EVER be My Fault, you know?)
Somehow, I couldn't quite follow this book at times, and I feel like a lot of things are still lost to me, making the plot a fragmented, half-formed thing. Again, this is not the books fault, but entirely mine - I'm sure it makes sense to the general audience, (or at least they are aware of what is supposed to make sense and what isn't) - and I'm the one at fault here.
Sucks to say, but it is what it is.
Amen.
Conclusion (TLDR):
I really liked A Wild Sheep Chase! And the crazy part is that I feel like the more time passes, the more I like this book (which is an incredibly rare and thoroughly welcome phenomenon, if you ask me). I already want to reread this novel, because I think I might actually fall in love with it if I just gather all of the things I missed the first time and put them into place.
I'm excited to read next month!
Well, that's all I have to say.
Thank you for reading!
______________________
PROJECT MURAKAMI:
I have decided to read every novel that Haruki Murakami has ever written, in chronological order (yes, even after what happened with *....). I read roughly one book per month and then summarize all of my thoughts in reviews like these.
Ratings & Reviews:
1) Hear the Wind Sing & Pinball, 1973 ¡ï¡ï?
2) A Wild Sheep Chase ¡ï¡ï¡ï?
3) Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World ¡ï¡ï¡ï
______________________
*Basically, I posted an obviously satirical rant on how gross I think milk is and thousands of people took it a little too seriously and brutally murdered me in an Instagram comment section. (). Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking about how someone said I probably have weak bones...
While his first two novels aren't "bad" per se (although I guess this is a rather subjective take), they do lack in certain areas. What A Wild Sheep Chase does better than its predecessor(s), is the fact that it has a more solid structure. It follows a clear plot (although one could argue as to how "clear" it is, since it does occasionally venture into the surreal) which makes it possible for the reader to get more invested in the story.
In my review, I compared Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 to Hopper Paintings, due to the melancholy, detached feeling that those novels conveyed to me. A Wild Sheep Chase feels more like a shabby hotel lobby to me. Why? Honestly, I'm not so sure. Maybe because this book just feels like it would make for a perfect travel companion, because a) it makes you want to go out and Experience Things and b) it follows two people who go on a rather crazy adventure (a wild sheep chase, if you will) and I'd imagine it would be great to read on the go. A Wild Sheep Chase does not stay in the same place, and it almost dares you to get up and go do some exploring - or perhaps discovering? - of your own.
The writing, once again, really worked for me here. I love the way Murakami portrays alienation in his characters, as it's something I can somehow relate to. [Side note, characters in Japanese literature generally seem to have a bit more of a "skewed" perception of reality (at least that's what I've gathered so far) and I think that's why it almost always works for me.]
I also loved the settings in this book, especially the semi-closed setting at the end (which I cannot talk about due to spoilers) and whenever I pick up my copy of A Wild Sheep Chase I find myself transported back, if only temporarily, to those places. It's incredible how vivid they still appear in my mind. Murakami definitely knows how to create atmosphere with his settings.
Now, you may be thinking: Why is this weirdo (me) praising this book so much, yet she's still giving it "only" 3.5 stars?
Do not fret, my friend.
Here is what I didn't like about this book:
There is one thing in literature that I dislike above everything. Yes, even above annoying characters, and slow pacing, and the miscommunication trope. I hate it even more than the sentence "She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in". (Yes, I went there.)
The thing is.... I don't like being confused.
Especially when I know I'm not supposed to be confused.
As in, technically everything is supposed to at least kind of make sense, but my head for some reason just WILL NOT wrap its silly little mind around it. And what's worst of all? I know it's probably my fault (and that is pretty much unacceptable, for I am not supposed to feel shitty about myself. I'm soooooo great actually. Nothing should EVER be My Fault, you know?)
Somehow, I couldn't quite follow this book at times, and I feel like a lot of things are still lost to me, making the plot a fragmented, half-formed thing. Again, this is not the books fault, but entirely mine - I'm sure it makes sense to the general audience, (or at least they are aware of what is supposed to make sense and what isn't) - and I'm the one at fault here.
Sucks to say, but it is what it is.
Amen.
Conclusion (TLDR):
I really liked A Wild Sheep Chase! And the crazy part is that I feel like the more time passes, the more I like this book (which is an incredibly rare and thoroughly welcome phenomenon, if you ask me). I already want to reread this novel, because I think I might actually fall in love with it if I just gather all of the things I missed the first time and put them into place.
I'm excited to read next month!
Well, that's all I have to say.
Thank you for reading!
______________________
PROJECT MURAKAMI:
I have decided to read every novel that Haruki Murakami has ever written, in chronological order (yes, even after what happened with *....). I read roughly one book per month and then summarize all of my thoughts in reviews like these.
Ratings & Reviews:
1) Hear the Wind Sing & Pinball, 1973 ¡ï¡ï?
2) A Wild Sheep Chase ¡ï¡ï¡ï?
3) Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World ¡ï¡ï¡ï
______________________
*Basically, I posted an obviously satirical rant on how gross I think milk is and thousands of people took it a little too seriously and brutally murdered me in an Instagram comment section. (). Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking about how someone said I probably have weak bones...
March 23, 2016
Creepy.....as....hades.
But that's why I loved it!!!
I'm serious. This book was so creepy it had me wiggling around in my seat in discomfort. Yet, I was absolutely captivated! I couldn't put the book down!
If you're a reader looking for a book that will take you more than one read to truly grasp, then this is the book for you. It had my brain churning and my fingers tapping with nervous energy.
I'm not going to give a bit of a run-down of the book as I've done in previous reviews mostly because it would sound too convoluted out of context. All you really need to know is our main character is forced to go chase a non-existent sheep out in the cold country. He gets trapped on a mountain, in a creepy cabin, all alone, and is occasionally visited by a sheep-man.
There you go.
Murakami's imagery is rich and the meaning of his works heavy and grey, like a cloud hanging right over your head while the sun shines everywhere else. He is not an "IN YOUR FACE" horror master. He's the type that likes to really get under your skin in a very subtle way so that he has unguarded access to your subconscious. When he gets there he gets busy digging and thrashing around and without suspecting it... you're suddenly disturbed.
I honestly have no complaints about this book. To be truthful, I really need to read it a few more times to better gather an understanding for the work. As a piece of pure entertainment it's thrilling, as a work of intellect it's probing and there are quite a few exchanges in the book that make you say "Wait... What?" You wish you had the option to raise your hand and ask for an explanation.
A Wild Sheep Chase is a love child of myth and philosophy and there's plenty to decipher along the literary journey from cover to cover. That's what's so nice about it, and it's what makes this book a fantastic one for a book club that's really looking for some grit to grind.
The sheep-man is probably my favorite character, though he's undoubtedly the most bizarre and unsettling. He shows up randomly and you're never quite sure if he's real or not. You're never completely positive that the main character hasn't lost his mind. Near the end of the book you're not even completely positive that you haven't lost your mind. Doesn't that make a darn good book?!
Highly recommend this work. ABSOLUTELY.
But that's why I loved it!!!
I'm serious. This book was so creepy it had me wiggling around in my seat in discomfort. Yet, I was absolutely captivated! I couldn't put the book down!
If you're a reader looking for a book that will take you more than one read to truly grasp, then this is the book for you. It had my brain churning and my fingers tapping with nervous energy.
I'm not going to give a bit of a run-down of the book as I've done in previous reviews mostly because it would sound too convoluted out of context. All you really need to know is our main character is forced to go chase a non-existent sheep out in the cold country. He gets trapped on a mountain, in a creepy cabin, all alone, and is occasionally visited by a sheep-man.
There you go.
Murakami's imagery is rich and the meaning of his works heavy and grey, like a cloud hanging right over your head while the sun shines everywhere else. He is not an "IN YOUR FACE" horror master. He's the type that likes to really get under your skin in a very subtle way so that he has unguarded access to your subconscious. When he gets there he gets busy digging and thrashing around and without suspecting it... you're suddenly disturbed.
I honestly have no complaints about this book. To be truthful, I really need to read it a few more times to better gather an understanding for the work. As a piece of pure entertainment it's thrilling, as a work of intellect it's probing and there are quite a few exchanges in the book that make you say "Wait... What?" You wish you had the option to raise your hand and ask for an explanation.
A Wild Sheep Chase is a love child of myth and philosophy and there's plenty to decipher along the literary journey from cover to cover. That's what's so nice about it, and it's what makes this book a fantastic one for a book club that's really looking for some grit to grind.
The sheep-man is probably my favorite character, though he's undoubtedly the most bizarre and unsettling. He shows up randomly and you're never quite sure if he's real or not. You're never completely positive that the main character hasn't lost his mind. Near the end of the book you're not even completely positive that you haven't lost your mind. Doesn't that make a darn good book?!
Highly recommend this work. ABSOLUTELY.
May 9, 2023
¡°It is special sheep. A v-e-r-y special sheep. I want to find it, and for that I will need your help.¡±
Wellthiswasonecrazyrideaboutsheep.
Whoisthesheep? Whatisthesheep? Whereisthesheep?
The sheep that wants to change the world! Insert "baaaaaa" noises.
A postcard displaying lush green fields and grazing sheep lands on the work desk of our unnamed protagonist. He works in a small translation office, just him and his buddy. Life¡¯s good, they¡¯re their own bosses, cash is flowing at just the right amount. But then this postcard arrives, and with it, trouble. As if you look very closely at the sheep, one of them is anything but ordinary. The race is now on to find this very special sheep, with the clock ticking until our man loses it all.
¡±Maybe my eyes were playing tricks again. Or maybe somebody did actually spill coffee on that sheep¡¯s back.
¡®There¡¯s this faint stain on its back.¡¯
¡®That is no stain.¡¯ said the man. That is a star-shaped birthmark.¡¯ ¡°
With the help of his new girlfriend who has exquisite ears, he sells his portion of the business to his friend and takes off on an adventure to the other side of Japan to find the sheep who is the key to it all.
Our friend Rat (who was in Murakami¡¯s first two novels Hear The Wind Sing and Pinball) appears here, but only on the periphery. Since he last walked out of J¡¯s Bar in the early novels, he¡¯s been travelling around Japan. Both to lose himself and find himself. He only keeps in touch with our unnamed protagonist via the odd ambiguous letter, with no return address. The postmarks show the trajectory of his travels. The Sheep is very much a part of his journey.
It was nice to see J from J¡¯s Bar make an appearance here too. While time does not stand still, J remains unchanged. Still very much the same calm, Zen-like manner. New bar, new view, but still J¡¯s Bar.
It¡¯s interesting in that so much of this story reminded me of David Mitchell¡¯s Ghostwritten in that there is a thread here that deals with transference of a living entity entering the body of another in order to survive. Which is where the all-powerful-sheep comes into play. The other curious coincidence is that The Sheep has a star shaped mark on its back, which harks back to the comet shaped birthmark that appears on the skin of so many characters across many of Mitchell¡¯s novels.
¡± The sheep that enters a body is thought to be immortal. And so too the person who hosts the sheep is thought to become immortal. However, should the sheep decide to escape, immortality goes. It¡¯s all up to the sheep.
People who are abandoned by the sheep are called the ¡®sheepless¡¯.¡±
Hmmmmmmmm¡no wonder everyone is looking for The Sheep.
The Sheep Professor and a manic-depressive living wild in the mountains wearing a sheep onesie are eccentric and intriguing to say the least. It¡¯s an odd book with a high quirk factor.
What does any of it mean? Only Murakami knows.
If you like your adventures ovine, and have a bit of a soft spot for our woolly friends, this is the book for you.
3.5 quirky stars.
¡°We habitually cut out pieces of time to fit us, so we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that time is our size, but it really goes on and on.¡±
Wellthiswasonecrazyrideaboutsheep.
Whoisthesheep? Whatisthesheep? Whereisthesheep?
The sheep that wants to change the world! Insert "baaaaaa" noises.
A postcard displaying lush green fields and grazing sheep lands on the work desk of our unnamed protagonist. He works in a small translation office, just him and his buddy. Life¡¯s good, they¡¯re their own bosses, cash is flowing at just the right amount. But then this postcard arrives, and with it, trouble. As if you look very closely at the sheep, one of them is anything but ordinary. The race is now on to find this very special sheep, with the clock ticking until our man loses it all.
¡±Maybe my eyes were playing tricks again. Or maybe somebody did actually spill coffee on that sheep¡¯s back.
¡®There¡¯s this faint stain on its back.¡¯
¡®That is no stain.¡¯ said the man. That is a star-shaped birthmark.¡¯ ¡°
With the help of his new girlfriend who has exquisite ears, he sells his portion of the business to his friend and takes off on an adventure to the other side of Japan to find the sheep who is the key to it all.
Our friend Rat (who was in Murakami¡¯s first two novels Hear The Wind Sing and Pinball) appears here, but only on the periphery. Since he last walked out of J¡¯s Bar in the early novels, he¡¯s been travelling around Japan. Both to lose himself and find himself. He only keeps in touch with our unnamed protagonist via the odd ambiguous letter, with no return address. The postmarks show the trajectory of his travels. The Sheep is very much a part of his journey.
It was nice to see J from J¡¯s Bar make an appearance here too. While time does not stand still, J remains unchanged. Still very much the same calm, Zen-like manner. New bar, new view, but still J¡¯s Bar.
It¡¯s interesting in that so much of this story reminded me of David Mitchell¡¯s Ghostwritten in that there is a thread here that deals with transference of a living entity entering the body of another in order to survive. Which is where the all-powerful-sheep comes into play. The other curious coincidence is that The Sheep has a star shaped mark on its back, which harks back to the comet shaped birthmark that appears on the skin of so many characters across many of Mitchell¡¯s novels.
¡± The sheep that enters a body is thought to be immortal. And so too the person who hosts the sheep is thought to become immortal. However, should the sheep decide to escape, immortality goes. It¡¯s all up to the sheep.
People who are abandoned by the sheep are called the ¡®sheepless¡¯.¡±
Hmmmmmmmm¡no wonder everyone is looking for The Sheep.
The Sheep Professor and a manic-depressive living wild in the mountains wearing a sheep onesie are eccentric and intriguing to say the least. It¡¯s an odd book with a high quirk factor.
What does any of it mean? Only Murakami knows.
If you like your adventures ovine, and have a bit of a soft spot for our woolly friends, this is the book for you.
3.5 quirky stars.
¡°We habitually cut out pieces of time to fit us, so we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that time is our size, but it really goes on and on.¡±
December 6, 2010
Thank you again, brian tanabe!
Books like these, I feel like a child who has finally graduated to the grown-up table only to find that the cultery is too big and sharp, the edge of the table is level with my eyes, and the conversation always above my head. But no! I refuse to be demoted back to the kids' table with all the babies! I wanna eat here and contribute to the discussions about whether a vacation home in Hawaii or the SE islands would be better (so boring...zzzz....) and did you catch when the bridesmaid tripped and fell on the groom hahahaha oops there's a kid here (*eyes snap open* what?) and the land war brewing in Asia and, and, whatever it is grown-ups talk about. Which is still mysterious to me.
I'm reminded of when I tried to read The Crying of Lot 49 with and (you're supposed to flip back and forth between their posted reviews to get the full conversation). It was such a treat to listen to them tear into the book! I didn't understand a word of it! Pass the peas, please.
The confusion Pynchon brought was similar to the confusion from Murakami for me, but I tried to watch for all those double-meaning grown-up things for this book. With the main character and mysterious Boss in a tightly controlled advertising industry, sheep everywhere, a girlfriend with special ears, and a quest to find the meaning of a certain photo, I think it may be something about control of information and loss of individual will that comes with lack of accurate facts? Well. Maybe. I wasn't sure about the significance of the disolving of the main character's patched-together life at the beginning. At the end, I wondered if the character had gone insane. The magic-y bits were unexpected.
I wonder if it would be better to ramp up to Murakami, since I've always had difficulty with English and Literature classes in school and then all my training and work is for such literal things, where metaphors are not used and a sheep is just an animal that requires passage from field to stream. After reading reviews of others who love Murakami (notably, BenH), I know I'm missing much beauty and meaning.
But then I read something like this, , and I feel better. In my larval stage of lit appreciation, it's too easy to attempt to take on other opinions instead of concentrating on my own. Another reason for loving gr, all the varying loves and hates for the same things.
Books like these, I feel like a child who has finally graduated to the grown-up table only to find that the cultery is too big and sharp, the edge of the table is level with my eyes, and the conversation always above my head. But no! I refuse to be demoted back to the kids' table with all the babies! I wanna eat here and contribute to the discussions about whether a vacation home in Hawaii or the SE islands would be better (so boring...zzzz....) and did you catch when the bridesmaid tripped and fell on the groom hahahaha oops there's a kid here (*eyes snap open* what?) and the land war brewing in Asia and, and, whatever it is grown-ups talk about. Which is still mysterious to me.
I'm reminded of when I tried to read The Crying of Lot 49 with and (you're supposed to flip back and forth between their posted reviews to get the full conversation). It was such a treat to listen to them tear into the book! I didn't understand a word of it! Pass the peas, please.
The confusion Pynchon brought was similar to the confusion from Murakami for me, but I tried to watch for all those double-meaning grown-up things for this book. With the main character and mysterious Boss in a tightly controlled advertising industry, sheep everywhere, a girlfriend with special ears, and a quest to find the meaning of a certain photo, I think it may be something about control of information and loss of individual will that comes with lack of accurate facts? Well. Maybe. I wasn't sure about the significance of the disolving of the main character's patched-together life at the beginning. At the end, I wondered if the character had gone insane. The magic-y bits were unexpected.
I wonder if it would be better to ramp up to Murakami, since I've always had difficulty with English and Literature classes in school and then all my training and work is for such literal things, where metaphors are not used and a sheep is just an animal that requires passage from field to stream. After reading reviews of others who love Murakami (notably, BenH), I know I'm missing much beauty and meaning.
But then I read something like this, , and I feel better. In my larval stage of lit appreciation, it's too easy to attempt to take on other opinions instead of concentrating on my own. Another reason for loving gr, all the varying loves and hates for the same things.
June 29, 2024
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May 10, 2023
I don't think I will ever think about sheep the same way again.
Note: None of the characters in this novel have names; they are mutable characters, disposable and fleeting¡ª to readers and to each other.
Anyone of them could be you.
A Wild Sheep Chase is a story about searching for purpose, taking the good things you have for granted, not living up to your potential, the dangers of power¡.
and yes, sheep. Lots and lots of sheep. And ears.
It is difficult to define the genre, or even summarize the plot. So much happens in A Wild Sheep Chase, and yet it happens at a snails pace.
Essentially our unnamed narrator gets divorced, gets a new girlfriend with powerful ears, and stumbles his way into an otherworldly sheep enterprise. Through no design of his own, the unnamed narrator is thrust into a quest to find a sheep that should not exist with a star on its' back. This sheep has the power to enter people and exists like a kind of mutually beneficial parasite...it uses its' human host to gain power in the human world, and the human benefits by this power. But when it is done with its' host, it leaves them in a state of frustrated impotence.
It is a good metaphor for the allure and danger of power, as well as the loss of identity that can happen when power or purpose is lost.
You could call this a detective novel, you could call it a coming of age novel from the perspective of a man past his prime, you could call it a mystery, you could also call it a philosophical examination of post-war japan's generation/psyche. You can also definitely call it magical realism.
I've now read Murakami's first three works. Of Hear The Wind Sing, Pinball,1973, and A Wild Sheep Chase, A Wild Sheep Chase is the best. None of these books are perfect. But with A Wild Sheep Chase Murakami comes closer to the writing that I absolutely loved in and .
Thematically Murakami is still concerned with identity: both the identity we portray to others, and the inner, more secret identity. He also continues to mull over meaning and finding purpose in life. Murakami writes urban ennui like no one else I've ever read before.
¡±My biggest fault is that the faults I was born with grow bigger each year¡±
¡±I guess I felt attached to my weakness. My pain and suffering too. Summer light, the smell of a breeze, the sound of cicadas - if I like these things, why should I apologize?¡±
The novel opens with a funeral. It is bleak and out of context, and doesn't appear to fit with the rest of the novel. But if you consider how Murakami is questioning life and its meaning, it ultimately makes sense to open with the loss of someone else's life. Through the course of the novel Murakami makes readers ask questions like: Does anything matter? Does what I am doing matter? Does life have meaning? Does this journey have a purpose?
The narrator wonders as much himself, as he delves deeper into the quest he has been forced into. His physical journey begins to mirror his mental journey.
My main qualm with this novel is that the first half pales in comparison to the second. The second half of the novel is a different beast, and it is so good that if the entire novel was like the second half this would easily be five stars for me. The ending is near perfect. Everything from the Dolphin Hotel on, but especially once they arrive in Hokkaido. I feel that if the first 168 were condensed to 100, or even 75, the novel itself would read much more concisely. But this is early Murakami we're talking about. Nothing is concise, everything is up to interpretation, endless layers of meaning, or even NO meaning, are available.
I read an article that described this novel as labyrinthine and I'm inclined to agree. There are so many different ways to interpret this, so many different ways to read this. For my part, I tended to read through the lens of identity and of personal purpose. This interpretation worked for me, but maybe it won't for you. That's the beauty of Murakami's crazy labyrinthine writing.
¡±The song is over. But the melody lingers on.¡±
Note: None of the characters in this novel have names; they are mutable characters, disposable and fleeting¡ª to readers and to each other.
Anyone of them could be you.
A Wild Sheep Chase is a story about searching for purpose, taking the good things you have for granted, not living up to your potential, the dangers of power¡.
and yes, sheep. Lots and lots of sheep. And ears.
It is difficult to define the genre, or even summarize the plot. So much happens in A Wild Sheep Chase, and yet it happens at a snails pace.
Essentially our unnamed narrator gets divorced, gets a new girlfriend with powerful ears, and stumbles his way into an otherworldly sheep enterprise. Through no design of his own, the unnamed narrator is thrust into a quest to find a sheep that should not exist with a star on its' back. This sheep has the power to enter people and exists like a kind of mutually beneficial parasite...it uses its' human host to gain power in the human world, and the human benefits by this power. But when it is done with its' host, it leaves them in a state of frustrated impotence.
It is a good metaphor for the allure and danger of power, as well as the loss of identity that can happen when power or purpose is lost.
You could call this a detective novel, you could call it a coming of age novel from the perspective of a man past his prime, you could call it a mystery, you could also call it a philosophical examination of post-war japan's generation/psyche. You can also definitely call it magical realism.
I've now read Murakami's first three works. Of Hear The Wind Sing, Pinball,1973, and A Wild Sheep Chase, A Wild Sheep Chase is the best. None of these books are perfect. But with A Wild Sheep Chase Murakami comes closer to the writing that I absolutely loved in and .
Thematically Murakami is still concerned with identity: both the identity we portray to others, and the inner, more secret identity. He also continues to mull over meaning and finding purpose in life. Murakami writes urban ennui like no one else I've ever read before.
¡±My biggest fault is that the faults I was born with grow bigger each year¡±
¡±I guess I felt attached to my weakness. My pain and suffering too. Summer light, the smell of a breeze, the sound of cicadas - if I like these things, why should I apologize?¡±
The novel opens with a funeral. It is bleak and out of context, and doesn't appear to fit with the rest of the novel. But if you consider how Murakami is questioning life and its meaning, it ultimately makes sense to open with the loss of someone else's life. Through the course of the novel Murakami makes readers ask questions like: Does anything matter? Does what I am doing matter? Does life have meaning? Does this journey have a purpose?
The narrator wonders as much himself, as he delves deeper into the quest he has been forced into. His physical journey begins to mirror his mental journey.
My main qualm with this novel is that the first half pales in comparison to the second. The second half of the novel is a different beast, and it is so good that if the entire novel was like the second half this would easily be five stars for me. The ending is near perfect. Everything from the Dolphin Hotel on, but especially once they arrive in Hokkaido. I feel that if the first 168 were condensed to 100, or even 75, the novel itself would read much more concisely. But this is early Murakami we're talking about. Nothing is concise, everything is up to interpretation, endless layers of meaning, or even NO meaning, are available.
I read an article that described this novel as labyrinthine and I'm inclined to agree. There are so many different ways to interpret this, so many different ways to read this. For my part, I tended to read through the lens of identity and of personal purpose. This interpretation worked for me, but maybe it won't for you. That's the beauty of Murakami's crazy labyrinthine writing.
¡±The song is over. But the melody lingers on.¡±
June 1, 2012
1.5/5
What the f*** did I just waste a week of my life reading? Why couldn't I stop? Why was I enthralled? What was lost in translation? I felt like I was stuck in a dream but couldn't wake up. I've never so willingly subjected myself to crazy sh*t before. Something kept me reading, likely the philosophy and the mood/environment descriptions taking on characterizations all their own, but that's where the praise stops. It stops HARD.
I could not recommend this book to anybody, ever. It was "okay". A two star. I gave it and extra 1/2 star for rediculous originality mashing reality with bat-sh*t crazy fantasy.
Read if you like to wrack your brain with subtle hints, Japanese history, liquor, cigarettes, non-sense dialogue and lazy, unmotivated protagonists who rarely exhibit rage, confusion, or doubt given the irrational and insane things occuring in the world around him.
No amount, I mean no amount of spirituality or literary beauty can save this one. This was barely fun to read and is frustrating as all hell. How this book can be given above a 3.5 staggers me, and all the 5 reviewers are literary elitist that want to be in some sort of "I get it" club, like since I don't appriciate his crazy sh*t, I'm uncultured or incapable of higher thought. No matter the language this novel is in, no matter who describes their opinions and interpretations to me, I will never change my star rating for this book. It's a book that depends entirely on the readers interpretations. Only certain things are "fact" in this brain-pounding novel, and besides the ideas or reinvention of one's self, people can make up any reasonings and answers for this creative writing experiment and support whatever arguments they want. You can be right, you can't be wrong. You can only be mind-fu*ked.
You can't compare the two, but Norwegian Wood by Murakami runs literary, thematic, and emotionally-statisfying circles around "A Wild Sheep Chase." I need a brandy like the Sheep Man.
Fu*k this book.
What the f*** did I just waste a week of my life reading? Why couldn't I stop? Why was I enthralled? What was lost in translation? I felt like I was stuck in a dream but couldn't wake up. I've never so willingly subjected myself to crazy sh*t before. Something kept me reading, likely the philosophy and the mood/environment descriptions taking on characterizations all their own, but that's where the praise stops. It stops HARD.
I could not recommend this book to anybody, ever. It was "okay". A two star. I gave it and extra 1/2 star for rediculous originality mashing reality with bat-sh*t crazy fantasy.
Read if you like to wrack your brain with subtle hints, Japanese history, liquor, cigarettes, non-sense dialogue and lazy, unmotivated protagonists who rarely exhibit rage, confusion, or doubt given the irrational and insane things occuring in the world around him.
No amount, I mean no amount of spirituality or literary beauty can save this one. This was barely fun to read and is frustrating as all hell. How this book can be given above a 3.5 staggers me, and all the 5 reviewers are literary elitist that want to be in some sort of "I get it" club, like since I don't appriciate his crazy sh*t, I'm uncultured or incapable of higher thought. No matter the language this novel is in, no matter who describes their opinions and interpretations to me, I will never change my star rating for this book. It's a book that depends entirely on the readers interpretations. Only certain things are "fact" in this brain-pounding novel, and besides the ideas or reinvention of one's self, people can make up any reasonings and answers for this creative writing experiment and support whatever arguments they want. You can be right, you can't be wrong. You can only be mind-fu*ked.
You can't compare the two, but Norwegian Wood by Murakami runs literary, thematic, and emotionally-statisfying circles around "A Wild Sheep Chase." I need a brandy like the Sheep Man.
Fu*k this book.
July 26, 2020
Forse accade a molti di sperimentar, in un momento qualsiasi della loro vita, uno spasmodico desiderio di potere, di successo, di esser altro, di abbandonar i panni sino a quel momento indossati e trasformarsi in qualcosa di meraviglioso. Ma ¨¨ solo un'illusione di breve durata e che, a seguire, getta chi l'ha accolta nel pi¨´ cupo sconforto. Solo chi ha la forza di rimaner se stesso e non cedere alle lusinghe di tali, facili risultati, pu¨° infine sperar di viver la propria vita con fierezza e compiacimento. Senza rimorsi o rimpianti.
October 5, 2020
5/5stars
Such an amazing reread!
Such an amazing reread!
March 8, 2024
3,75??
Dziwaczne to wielce i do czytania przyjemne, ale nie ma podjazdu ani do ?Kafki nad morzem¡±, ani do ?Kroniki Ptaka Nakr?cacza¡±.
Dziwaczne to wielce i do czytania przyjemne, ale nie ma podjazdu ani do ?Kafki nad morzem¡±, ani do ?Kroniki Ptaka Nakr?cacza¡±.
October 4, 2022
W?hrend der Lekt¨¹re dieses fr¨¹hen, manche sagen ersten Romans von Murakami habe ich mir ein paar Dokust¨¹ckchen ¨¹ber Hikikomori, Karoshi und dergleichen angeschaut: soziale Ph?nomene in Japan, die symptomatisch f¨¹r die aus Konformismus und Leistungsgedanken entstandenen Probleme stehen. Abgeh?ngte, ?berforderte, Lebensm¨¹de, sich selbst vorzeitig Wegrationalisierende.
Auch die Eigenart vieler Japaner, die eigenen Gef¨¹hle nicht au?erhalb der Kernfamilie zu thematisieren (oder nicht mal hier + nicht jeder hat diese) tragen zur Isolation und psychischen Erkrankung bei. So sehr ich dieses Land bewundere, die sozialen Verwerfungen der Leistungsgesellschaft fern traditioneller Bindungen scheinen noch gravierender als hierzulande, wo sich eine laute Linke daf¨¹r auf die Fresse geben lassen muss, dass sie humane Verh?ltnisse auch f¨¹r die Nicht-F¨¹hrungsebene fordert. Danke, liebe gewerkschaftlich organisierte Sozialdemokratie.
Einen Zugriff auf die Vereinsamung haben wir in Deutschland leider ebenfalls nicht. Kirche und Kommunismus haben da beide nicht so abgeliefert. Schade.
Warum mache ich mir diese Gedanken, w?hrend ich ein recht schmales Buch lese, das die meisten Leser eher als vergn¨¹glich denn als trist bezeichnen w¨¹rden?
Weil mich die Frage besch?ftigt, wie Murakami auch in Japan der Bestseller wurde. Welche W¨¹nsche sticht er an, was schmeckt den einheimischen (und weltweiten) Lesern so gut?
Gar nicht einfach zu beantworten. Aber was auff?llt, ist die mehrfach betonte Mittelm??igkeit unseres namenlosen Helden, er scheint ganz passiv und wider Willen in sein Abenteuer um ein besonderes Schaf zu geraten. Weder als klug, noch lustig, charmant oder sch?n sieht er sich - ein Jedermann also. Das kokettiert mit uns. Au?erdem legt Murakami eigentlich mehr Gewicht auf die Wiederholung von bekannten Elementen als auf rasante Plot-points. Immer wieder trinkt er Bier oder Whiskey, h?rt Jazz, liest Sherlock und Dostojewski, raucht Unmengen an Zigaretten und begl¨¹ckt nat¨¹rlich die Frauenwelt, die sich rasch in ihn verliebt. Dabei entsteht, ?hnlich wie bei Camus, eine durchaus einnehmende Reihung sinnlicher Befriedigung, die vielleicht gerade aufgrund des Mangels an komplizierter Lebensziele f¨¹r Leser so nachahmenswert ist. Obwohl der Murakami-Held kaum Sinn im Leben sucht /kennt, noch mit vielen Menschen zu tun hat, wirkt er zufrieden in seiner Mittelm??igkeit. Dass unser Erz?hler nicht reflektiert, macht den Stoff b¨¹ndig und rasant, ihn selbst aber auch zur ungef¨¹llten (oder leserwunschgef¨¹llten) H¨¹lle.
ACHTUNG: GEM??IGTER SPOILER
Ganz dazu passend finde ich das Buch dort stark, wo es in der Schilderung eines Moments verharrt, zum Beispiel wenn ein Bier am Meeresstrand getrunken und w¨¹tend weggeworfen wird. Wenn er im Schnee auf Hokkaido ein W¨¹rstchen mit Ei br?t und danach Conrad liest. Da schreibt Murakami pointiert und durchaus lustig, und das Gef¨¹hl entsteht im Leser. Bemerkenswert schwach finde ich hingegen seine Erkl?rungen der "magischen" Plot-Elemente. Da wird aus unserem kettenrauchenden, trinkenden Mersault-Epigonen rasch ein Wirtshausphilosoph, der mit Begriffen wie Zufall, Chaos, Ewigkeit um sich wirft. Auch das Ende (also die Aufdeckung des Ziels des Schafs) ist auf Trash-Niveau angesiedelt, oder was genau erkl?rt die erw¨¹nschte "Ausradierung aller Unterschiede"? Das wirkt dann eher so, als w?re die Story samt Aufl?sung eher Beiwerk.
Vorl?ufiges Fazit zu diesem Buch (das mich vor allem wegen seiner japanischen Provenienz sehr zum Gr¨¹beln anregt): Oft super geschrieben und mit einer zumindest oberfl?chlich definitiv einnehmendem Erz?hler-Instanz ausgestattet, die aber (Japan-like?) nie ¨¹ber den inneren F¨¹hl- und Gr¨¹belapparat berichtet (z. B. Scheidung von Ex) und deren Frauenbild auf der Therapie-Couch mal angesprochen werden sollte. Dieser Sexismus steckt Mura... ?hh dem Erz?hler so tief in den Knochen, dass er ihn sicher nicht bemerkt. Dazu mehr in meiner YT-Rezi.
6 von 10 Schafen
Auch die Eigenart vieler Japaner, die eigenen Gef¨¹hle nicht au?erhalb der Kernfamilie zu thematisieren (oder nicht mal hier + nicht jeder hat diese) tragen zur Isolation und psychischen Erkrankung bei. So sehr ich dieses Land bewundere, die sozialen Verwerfungen der Leistungsgesellschaft fern traditioneller Bindungen scheinen noch gravierender als hierzulande, wo sich eine laute Linke daf¨¹r auf die Fresse geben lassen muss, dass sie humane Verh?ltnisse auch f¨¹r die Nicht-F¨¹hrungsebene fordert. Danke, liebe gewerkschaftlich organisierte Sozialdemokratie.
Einen Zugriff auf die Vereinsamung haben wir in Deutschland leider ebenfalls nicht. Kirche und Kommunismus haben da beide nicht so abgeliefert. Schade.
Warum mache ich mir diese Gedanken, w?hrend ich ein recht schmales Buch lese, das die meisten Leser eher als vergn¨¹glich denn als trist bezeichnen w¨¹rden?
Weil mich die Frage besch?ftigt, wie Murakami auch in Japan der Bestseller wurde. Welche W¨¹nsche sticht er an, was schmeckt den einheimischen (und weltweiten) Lesern so gut?
Gar nicht einfach zu beantworten. Aber was auff?llt, ist die mehrfach betonte Mittelm??igkeit unseres namenlosen Helden, er scheint ganz passiv und wider Willen in sein Abenteuer um ein besonderes Schaf zu geraten. Weder als klug, noch lustig, charmant oder sch?n sieht er sich - ein Jedermann also. Das kokettiert mit uns. Au?erdem legt Murakami eigentlich mehr Gewicht auf die Wiederholung von bekannten Elementen als auf rasante Plot-points. Immer wieder trinkt er Bier oder Whiskey, h?rt Jazz, liest Sherlock und Dostojewski, raucht Unmengen an Zigaretten und begl¨¹ckt nat¨¹rlich die Frauenwelt, die sich rasch in ihn verliebt. Dabei entsteht, ?hnlich wie bei Camus, eine durchaus einnehmende Reihung sinnlicher Befriedigung, die vielleicht gerade aufgrund des Mangels an komplizierter Lebensziele f¨¹r Leser so nachahmenswert ist. Obwohl der Murakami-Held kaum Sinn im Leben sucht /kennt, noch mit vielen Menschen zu tun hat, wirkt er zufrieden in seiner Mittelm??igkeit. Dass unser Erz?hler nicht reflektiert, macht den Stoff b¨¹ndig und rasant, ihn selbst aber auch zur ungef¨¹llten (oder leserwunschgef¨¹llten) H¨¹lle.
ACHTUNG: GEM??IGTER SPOILER
Ganz dazu passend finde ich das Buch dort stark, wo es in der Schilderung eines Moments verharrt, zum Beispiel wenn ein Bier am Meeresstrand getrunken und w¨¹tend weggeworfen wird. Wenn er im Schnee auf Hokkaido ein W¨¹rstchen mit Ei br?t und danach Conrad liest. Da schreibt Murakami pointiert und durchaus lustig, und das Gef¨¹hl entsteht im Leser. Bemerkenswert schwach finde ich hingegen seine Erkl?rungen der "magischen" Plot-Elemente. Da wird aus unserem kettenrauchenden, trinkenden Mersault-Epigonen rasch ein Wirtshausphilosoph, der mit Begriffen wie Zufall, Chaos, Ewigkeit um sich wirft. Auch das Ende (also die Aufdeckung des Ziels des Schafs) ist auf Trash-Niveau angesiedelt, oder was genau erkl?rt die erw¨¹nschte "Ausradierung aller Unterschiede"? Das wirkt dann eher so, als w?re die Story samt Aufl?sung eher Beiwerk.
Vorl?ufiges Fazit zu diesem Buch (das mich vor allem wegen seiner japanischen Provenienz sehr zum Gr¨¹beln anregt): Oft super geschrieben und mit einer zumindest oberfl?chlich definitiv einnehmendem Erz?hler-Instanz ausgestattet, die aber (Japan-like?) nie ¨¹ber den inneren F¨¹hl- und Gr¨¹belapparat berichtet (z. B. Scheidung von Ex) und deren Frauenbild auf der Therapie-Couch mal angesprochen werden sollte. Dieser Sexismus steckt Mura... ?hh dem Erz?hler so tief in den Knochen, dass er ihn sicher nicht bemerkt. Dazu mehr in meiner YT-Rezi.
6 von 10 Schafen
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